Empowering African Smallholder Farmers for Fast-tracking Adoption

of Conservation Agriculture

ByPascal Kaumbutho PhD CEng MIAgrE

CEO KENDAT / ACT Ambassador!

www.kendat.org

Contents

• The critical situation for the smallholder farmer

• Understanding the Prime Client

• Value-chain positioning & Theory of Change

• Interventions that make business sense

• Way forward: suggestions for all of us

The critical situation for the smallholder

farmer..

The African Smallholder Farmer Livelihoods Model

Five Capitals:•Natural•Social•Human•Physical•Financial

Conventional Farming

Only a Fool Does Things the Same Old Way and Expect Different Outcomes... Ouch!

2050 – A Perfect Storm

Population

Climate

Food

WaterClimate

There is much to offer the more entrepreneurial farmer: Appropriate

technologies & means across the crop-livestock

value-chain systems...

Artisan Training. Local peoples empowerment in a complete sense.

Understanding the Prime Client…

What Does Change really mean to a Kenya Sugarcane Farmer

Source: Ashish Source: Ashish Shah, KenyaShah, Kenya

green – localpink - national blue – international

the farmer

The African Farmer’s Complex Business World: Control or Adaptation

Innovation for Empowerment: What Level

• Innovation 1.0– Technology focused – Expert driven

• Innovation 2.0 – Stakeholder collaboration– Interdisciplinary– Legitimacy of different knowledge aspects– Linking technology with social/institutional

change

• Innovation 3.0 – Based on complexity thinking– Institutional innovation accepting current weaknesses– Tackling explicitly, power, politics and conflict– Understanding human cognitive processes– Balancing individual and relationship transformation

with technological and system change– Multi - disciplinary– Rigorous use of Theories of Change

Value-chain positioning & Theory

of Change …

Supply Side: NEPAD (CAADP), RECs, National Agenda (Vision 2030), Research Findings, New Inputs/Supplies, Finance,

Markets etc.

Innovative Extension & Business Empowerment Services: KENDAT and Partner Programmes working to close information, technology, means and policy gaps for sustained economic

growth

Demand Side: Farmers and other entrepreneurs leading others into

productive and resilient environment & agro-industrial participation and

growth

Farming & Farm Operations:

Natural capital: More land or more intensive operations? Research or action?

Conservation Agriculture Operations (Technology, Power, Land, Water, Seed, Labour, Conservation)Crop maintenance (Power, Inputs, Labour and losses)Paradigm shifts allowing change from subsistence to business farmingSocial Capital: Order, Trust & Network Efficiency (FFS with Market)Financial capital and access to the sameHuman Capital: Knowledge conversion to Information

High Drudgery, High Labour, High Power, Low income &wealth

Market operations:

Brokers and even MungikiInfrastructure: roads, coolers, collection points, processors, etc.Logistics,Transport & efficiency: access & means, distances, handling & haulage sanitation & damage,

Harvest and post-harvest performance:

Work performance in handling and processing.

Little or no opportunity for value addition Storage lossesTransport losses.Value addition opportunity,

Heavy losses of hard earned produce

Amorphous market links and systems: Raw produce. High Income

Numerous Value-Chain Business Issues

Interventions that make business

sense

Rural Access to Inputs …

Biogas Slurry Systems

CA is not complete without energy and water access issues addressed

From Farms to Markets: Mercenary Brokers take the Profit (Ethical Trade?)

Donkey Transport: Human vs Animal Welfare Issues

Higher value crops mean Perishables at a rural collection points hauled over Difficult Infrastructure: 50% Transport cost of Fruit & Veg in Supermarket!

Renewable Energy is the 4th World Revolution

Model CA Demo-Farm: 5 Acres Employing 360 WomanHours per week

Gathering the Harvest for weighing and transport to market

Disabled Persons

Hort. Farmer Groups

Rice Market Women

Donkey Users Clubs

Boda-boda boys

Single Mothers

Community PARLIAMENT

Partners and Collaborators(KENDAT, MKG, FRIGOKEN, KHE,

FARMChem, AMIRAN, etc.

Farmer Field Schools

Church Groups

Community Parliaments Model

CABINET

Busia: BIAMF

Mwea: MTMO

Lari: LAMP

Kalama: KDUC

KENDAT/KHE Group Chairpersons: Collaboration: Some 2000 farmers out to save US$ 319,000 per month (Ksh 15000/acre) in water alone

Farmers Moving Technology and practices to own farms…

Agribusiness Health-Centres

Contributors inputs:• CA needs thorough training of extension

workers: to learn to do the right things at the right time.

• One size does not fit all: Innovation systems go beyond technical to social and institutional

• Diverse, highly flexible and iterative approaches to CA development and diffusion need to fit willingness, skills and experiences of local stakeholders.

Contributors input contd…• Permanent soil cover is most important. Ratio

of C:N is a constant, C storage implies more N, which is deficient in most African soils.

• Tap into success of cover-crops in Mozambique and Swaziland

• Non-food cover crops have little chance of acceptance

• CA must be seen in the context of Climate Change, particularly important for Africa

Contributors input contd:

• Land sizes are decreasing: Advance improved hand equipment and tools to replace hoes and ploughs

• Agricultural mechanization for smallholders is best driven by trained service hirers, including the youth as private hirers

• CA Governments Policy NOW or Perish

Way Forward• An ACT that is an Authority and Aggressive

Marketer of CA interventions at all levels.

• An ACT that has a stakeholder approved Strategic Plan, bringing us together to scale-up ventures, around old & new partnerships.

• An ACT that provides information and data, calling on country and international actors to participate in resource mobilization and project activities (Dulla).

• An ACT that strives to influence policy towards more centralized support at national, regional and international levels (Shetto).

Acknowledgements• Anne Bruntse - Infonet-BioVision

• Fred Kanampiu – CIMMYT

• Ademir Calegari – IAPA (Brazil)

• Barney Muckle – Triple W Engng

• Janet Oyuke – Min of Ag (Kenya)

• Wafula Mutoro – Min of Ag (Kenya)

• Wells Kumwenda – Malawi

• Bernard Triomphe – CIRAD

• Among others

Ahsanteni sana!