Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Intensification of cereal-based systems in sub-

Saharan AfricaBrief intro to CIMMYT’s research

Bruno Gerard

IFAD Meeting 13-14 January 2015, Rome

CIMMYT’s MissionInternational Maize and Wheat Improvement Center

To sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat systems to ensure global food security

and reduce poverty.

CIMMYT’s Background: Key Facts• Headquartered in Mexico, CIMMYT is an international

organization with 22 offices worldwide.

• CIMMYT employs circa 250 IRS and 1,500 NRS.

• CIMMYT’s genebank holds 27,000 accessions of maize and 170,000 accessions of wheat.

• Annual budget in 2014: USD 175 millions.

• Sustainable intensification budget: USD 50 millions

Cereals production

Area changes (1970-2010)

Production changes (1970-2010)

Yields Increase (1970-2010)

World 2.7 % 108.4 % 103.0 %

Africa 61.0 % 174.9 % 70.1 %

East Africa 73.3 % 216.8 % 82.7 %

West Africa 88.5 % 236.1 % 78.4 %

Niger 263.6 % 356.2 % 25.4 %

India -0.3 % 135.1 % 135.8 %

Mexico 2.4 % 132.7 % 127.3 %

Data Source: http://faostat.fao.org/

Intensification in SSA is challenging• Access to land • Present and future

contribution of farming to rural livelihood

• Gender lens• Market integration• Multi-commodity (i.e. crops-

livestock)• Strong multi-functionality of

smallholder farming systems• Heterogeneity at various

granularities/levels/scales• Institutions • No silver bullet!

Why Conservation Agriculture?• Sustainable intensification

• Profitability

• Land degradation (physical, biological and chemical)

• Water and Nutrient Use Efficiency and Risk Management

• Energy and Labor Use Efficiencies

• Mitigation and adaptation to CC and climate variability

Grain yield long-term trial El Batán

Maize Wheat

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008G

rain

yie

ld (

kg/h

a)

Year

Farmer practice: monoculture, conventional tillage, remove all residue

Conservation agriculture: rotation, zero tillage, keep all residue

Monoculture, zero tillage, remove all residue

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010

Gra

in y

ield

(kg

/ha)

Year

Farmer practice: Monoculture, conventional tillage, remove all residue

Conservation agriculture: rotation, zero tillage, keep all residue

Monoculture, zero tillage, remove all residue

Conservation agriculture provides a viable means for strengthening resilience in agroecosystems and livelihoods that also advance adaptation goals (high confidence). A wide array of conservation agriculture practices, including agroforestry and farmer-managed natural tree regeneration, conservation tillage, contouring and terracing, and mulching are being increasingly adopted in Africa. These practices strengthen resilience of the land base to extreme events and broaden sources of livelihoods, both of which have strongly positive implications for climate risk management and adaptation. Moreover, conservation agriculture has direct adaptation-mitigation co-benefits.Addressing constraints to broader adoption of these practices, such as land tenure/usufruct stability, access to peer-to-peer learning, gender-oriented extension and credit and markets, as well as identification of perverse policy incentives would help to enable larger scale transformation of agricultural landscapes.

IPCC Report: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability (31 March 2014)

Adoptability/constraints to adoption and CA in a broader context

• Knowledge intensive (not a single technology) • Biomass tradeoff in mixed crop livestock systems • Change in resource allocation and need for

investment (machinery, herbicides and other inputs)

• Access to mechanization options• Weeds• Farm size? • For some systems, performance in early years• Adoptability limit regarding aridity

• Adaptive, participatory research with farmers

• Innovation systems approach involving multiple players

• Biophyscial research on soil and plant parameters

• Socio-economic research on feasibility, viability, profitability, risk and adoption

• Knoweldge and capacity building

• Generation of evidence

How do we address critical

constraints?

Benefits and costs Incidence at various scales

FarmRegionalNational

Global

Benefits

Reduction in on-farm costs: savings in time, labour and mechanized machinery

x

Increase in soil fertility and moisture retention, resulting in long-term yield increase, decreasing yield variations and greater food security

x x

Stabilization of soil and protection from erosion leading to reduced downstream sedimentation

x

Reduction in toxic contamination of surface water and groundwater x

More regular river flows, reduced flooding and the re-emergence of dried wells

x

Recharge of aquifers as a result of better infiltration x

Reduction in air pollution resulting from soil tillage machinery x

Reduction of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere (carbon sequestration) x

Conservation of terrestrial and soil-based biodiversity x

Costs

Purchase of specialized planting equipment x

Short-term pest problems due to the change in crop management x

Acquiring of new management skills x

Application of additional herbicides x x

Formation and operation of farmers’ groups x x

High perceived risk to farmers because of technological uncertainty x x

Development of appropriate technical packages and training programs x x

Source: Adapted from Knowler and Bradshaw (2007)

Scales matter and research at different levels needs to be integrated

• Need to adopt/develop novel research methods and widen our range of skills

• Time scale: understanding the dynamics, trajectories, shocks, drivers. Innovation. Theory of change…

• Spatial scales/levels• Field (data gaps, GxExM, weed control, adaptation,

mech., mitigation, nutrient and water use eff., …)• Farm (resource allocation, gender, nutrient cycling…) • Landscape (communal res., social cap) • Country, region

• Multi-scale prospective/ex-ante analysis, foresight, targeting and recommendation domains

Small farm

0

50

100Gross Margin

Return to labor

Benefit/Cost

Soil Carbon Balance

Soil Nitrogen Balance

Soil losses

Gross margin variation with rainfall

Gross Margin reduction in dry years

Gross Margin variation with prices ofoutputs

Gross margin reduction with lowoutput prices

Monetary Costs

Dependence to external inputs

0

50

100Gross Margin

Return to labor

Benefit/Cost

Soil Carbon Balance

Soil Nitrogen Balance

Gross Margin variation with prices ofoutputs

Gross margin reduction with lowoutput prices

Monetary Costs

Dependence to external inputs

Soil losses

Gross margin variation with rainfall

Gross Margin reduction in dry years

Large farm

Multi-criteria Farming systems analysis/ Recommendation domains

Surveys (resource endowment, crops/animals, management, ….x…) Interviews (farm management, resource allocation, strategies)Modeling (MCDM, farm flows, optimization)

FARMING SYSTEMS

Courtesy: S. Lopez-Ridaura

Gender MattersIn Farm Power -

Gender dynamics in small-scale

maize mechanization KIT – CIMMYT

SIMLESA Survey in Sussundenga (Mozambique). Statistical typologies based on survey data

G1 (13 hh) G2 (32 hh) G3 (23 hh) G4 (19 hh) G5 (11 hh)

Small scale

subsistence crop

farmers

i.e. very small land

(1ha), high pop.

pressure, all land

cultivated(maize

and beans), no

animals, nothing

sold, no off farm

income (?). But

high yields of

maize (?)

Small scale maize

farmers (with small

livestock).

i.e. small land (2.5 ha),

average land pressure

but low livestock

pressure. Mainly maize

(80% of land), little sold

and little off(on?) farm

income. No large

livestock but some small

livestock (sheep or

goats), know more

trader than average (?)

Small scale livestock

farmers (with subsistence

crop production).

i.e. Average land size

(3.5ha), relatively large herd

(3 TLU) so high livestock

pressure. Diversified

cropping systems for

subsistence, some off (on?)

farm income, and some

income from livestock

activities (15%).

Large maize farmers

i.e. Large farms (6ha), low

livestock and population

pressure on land. Mainly

dedicated to maize

production (85%) with 40% of

production sold. Not all land

cultivated (not enough

workers or not arable or no

need?). Small herd (mainly

small livestock). Older farmer

than average, traditional (not

mechanized), not willing to

innovate or invest.

Commercial

livestock farmers

i.e. large family

with large land

(6ha), large herd (10

tlu), so high

livestock pressure,

mechanized

farmers, 75% maize,

25% legumes high

income, more

educated than

average

Development of rapid farm typology assessment tools at community scale

Technology generation

Community to landscape system

HH farming systemField Institutions & Markets

Process research

Enabling & analysis tools

Output target

- Water

‘Last mile providers’

Innovation systemsParticipatory co-innovation & learning

- System interactions: - Livestock, cash crops; trees- Weeds

- Pests & diseases

- Soil health

- Nutrients

HH typologies (livelihood & biophysical)

Trade-off analysis Bio-economic models

Geospatial (domains, impact)

- Knowledge products

- Identify inefficiencies (markets, providers)

Outcome Increased productivity & stability of farming systems

Increased income of smallholder farmers

Scale

- Tillage

- Rotation

- Intercropping

- Systems for the future

Increased yield of maize/wheat for smallholder farmers

- System impacts on NRM & ecosystem services

- Mechanization

Business models

- Communication products

Sustainable Intensification Framework

Technology generation

Community to landscape system

HH farming systemField Institutions & Markets

Process research

Enabling & analysis tools

Output target

- Water

‘Last mile providers’

Innovation systemsParticipatory co-innovation & learning

- System interactions: - Livestock, cash crops; trees- Weeds

- Pests & diseases

- Soil health

- Nutrients

HH typologies (livelihood & biophysical)

Trade-off analysis Bio-economic models

Geospatial (domains, impact)

- Knowledge products

- Identify inefficiencies (markets, providers)

Outcome Increased productivity & stability of farming systems

Increased income of smallholder farmers

Scale

- Tillage

- Rotation

- Intercropping

- Systems for the future

Increased yield of maize/wheat for smallholder farmers

- System impacts on NRM & ecosystem services

- Mechanization

Business models

- Communication products

Sustainable Intensification Framework