Synthesizing agricultural research findings in MalawiMalawi main report, GAPs apply available...

Synthesizing agricultural research findings

in Malawi

Guide to Good Agriculture Practices in Malawi

January 2019


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FOREWORD

The government of Malawi recognizes the importance of using well researched and vetted

Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) in promoting sustainable agricultural production in the

country to eliminate hunger and malnutrition. The Sustainable Agricultural Production

Programme (SAPP), one of the initiatives that Government of Malawi (GoM) has put in place

to address some of the problems that smallholder farmers face in their production activities is

contributing to poverty reduction and improved food security among rural populations through

achieving a viable and sustainable smallholder agricultural sector employing good agricultural

practices (GAPs) in Malawi. The program is being implemented in 6 districts of Chitipa,

Nkhotakota, Lilongwe, Balaka, Chiradzulu and Blantyre.

The government of Malawi, through SAPP noted the shortfalls in the implementation of the

GAPs and commissioned a synthesis of the research findings in Malawi and the region to

inform on the GAPs which are ready to go and where best fit to advise the extension and

technical person and their applicability. The exercise developed user friendly tools which can

be used by the extension personnel in advising the most befitting GAPs in their areas of

operations. The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Irrigation Development is committed to

support all the stakeholders supporting agricultural production in the country to adopt the

application of the tools developed.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Irrigation Development is indebted to the team which

developed these Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) application tools which comprised of Dr.

Patson C. Nalivata, Dr. Wilfred W. Kadewa, Dr. Lameck Fiwa and intern Mr. Innocent

Sandram with technical backstopping from the ministry personnel, Mr. Kefasi Kamoyo,

……………………. The ministry further, wishes to express its gratitude to all the stakeholders

that provided valuable information for the production of this document.

Special thanks should also go to the whole agricultural TWG for the valuable comments and

guidance to the development of this document and the able chairmanship of Mr. …………., in

guiding this work. The ministry will fail in its duties if it does not recognize the technical advice

which was offered by the SAPP project coordination team.

The Ministry further acknowledges financial support from SAPP which led to the successful

production of this Guide to GAP application tools.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD .............................................................................................................................. i

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................................................................................... ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................... iii

LIST OFTABLES ..................................................................................................................... iii

LIST OF CHARTS ................................................................................................................... iii

LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................. iv

1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1

1.1 Linkages of agriculture, AEZs and GAPs ................................................................... 1

1.2 Context of Agro-Ecological Zones ............................................................................. 1

1.3 Characteristics of GAPs .............................................................................................. 2

2. GUIDE TO APPLICATION OF ON-FARM GAPS BY AEZ ......................................... 4

1.4 Chart 1: General Agro-Ecological Zone Reference for Malawi ................................. 4

1.4.1 The Map ............................................................................................................... 4

1.4.2 Agro-Ecological Zone .......................................................................................... 4

1.4.3 Specific descriptions ............................................................................................ 4

1.4.4 Challenging conditions ........................................................................................ 4

1.4.5 Enabling conditions ............................................................................................. 5

1.5 Chart 2: General Agro-Ecological Zone and Good Agriculture Practices for Malawi

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1.5.1 Malawi Agro-Ecological Zones ........................................................................... 6

1.5.2 Average slope, Annual rainfall, and Average temperature .................................. 6

1.5.3 Red Boxes: Challenging conditions ..................................................................... 6

1.5.4 Green Boxes: Appropriate practices .................................................................... 7

1.5.5 Conservation Agriculture ..................................................................................... 7

1.5.6 Common Practices ............................................................................................... 7

LIST OFTABLES Table 1: List of Recommended On-Farm and Off-Farm GAPs ................................................ 3

LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1: General Agro-Ecological Zone Reference for Malawi ................................................ 8

Chart 2: General Agro-Ecological Zone and Good Agricultural Practices for Malawi ............ 9


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LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS AEZs Agro-Ecological Zones

GAPs Good Agricultural Practices

MoAIWD Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development

CA Conservation Agriculture

ISFM Integrated Soil Fertility Management

IPM Integrated Pest Management

CSA Climate Smart Agriculture


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GUDELINES FOR GOOD AGRICULTURE

PRACTICES IN MALAWI

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Linkages of agriculture, AEZs and GAPs

Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) constitute crop husbandry practices to post harvest

handling and management practices which are defined by their farm and off-farm practices and

their intended outcomes, resulting in safe and healthy food and non-food agricultural products,

while considering economic, social and environmental sustainability (FAO, 2012; Shaxson, et

al., 2005). The key outcomes on what constitutes GAPs are usually discussed in terms of how

they contribute to on-farm husbandry practices, they are not limited to land husbandry. In any

case, good land husbandry is the active process of implementing and managing preferred

systems of land use and production in such ways that there will be increase – or at worst, no

loss – of productivity, of stability or of usefulness for the chosen purpose; also, in particular

situations: existing uses or management may need to be changed so as to halt rapid degradation

and to return the land to a condition where good husbandry can have fullest effect (Shaxson et

al., 2005). There is still conflicting understanding of the contextual meaning of GAP among

stakeholders, however in principle these are specific methods which, when applied to

agriculture, create food for consumers or further processing that is safe and wholesome. Key

among the intended outcomes are:

1. Increased agricultural production;

2. Increased resilience to climate change;

3. Reduction and mitigation of greenhouse gas emission from agriculture.

Agriculture production responds well to a set of conditions including climatic, biophysical,

topographical as well as anthropogenic factors that complement each other to increase

production. In Malawi, biophysical, topography and climatic factors are critical natural factors

that need to be considered when advancing agricultural enterprises. These factors have been

used to characterize the agro-ecological zones (AEZs) in the country, to which four major

AEZs are recognized. Each AEZ has a different complementarity of the climatic, biophysical,

and topographical conditions which require different approaches to agricultural production. As

such each agro-ecological zone has unique agricultural practices, termed Good Agriculture

Practices (GAPs) that will enhance production in that particular area. That means application

of a practice in a wrong set of conditions does not disqualify it as a GAP. This guide provides

an easy to use interface to assist in decision making on what practices are suitable for different

location in the country, taking into account the climatic, biophysical and topographical factors.

Specifically, the GAPs herein recommended corresponds to typical factors including soil,

temperature, rainfall and slope characteristics.

1.2 Context of Agro-Ecological Zones

The agro-ecological zones herein considered include the four major zones as are recognized

countrywide by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoAIWD) and agricultural researchers. These

AEZs include the following:

i. The Lower Shire valley

ii. The Lakeshore, Middle and the Upper Shire


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iii. The Mid Elevation Upland plateau

iv. The highlands

These zones differ sharply in terms of altitude and terrain, climate (rainfall and temperature),

and soil characteristics, factors which constituted their differentiation. These differences

present variable challenges to agricultural production thereby warranting different practices

suitable for particular areas. Consequently, GAPs in different areas need to be adaptable to the

characteristics of each area.

1.3 Characteristics of GAPs

As indicated earlier in section 1.1 and in the Synthesizing agricultural research findings in

Malawi main report, GAPs apply available knowledge to addressing environmental, economic

and social sustainability for on-farm production and post-farm production processes resulting

in safe and healthy food and non-food agricultural products. Their application is through

sustainable agricultural methods such as Conservation Agriculture (CA), Integrated Pest

management (IPM), Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) and more recently Climate

Smart Agriculture (CSA) in the face of climate change and degradation of the environment.

GAPs, in this guide are grouped into two main broad categories. These include (i) On-Farm

Practices; and (ii) Off-Farm Practices. On-Farm Practices include all applicable activities that

can be performed on the farm, be it for crop or livestock production, and post-harvest handling

of the produce. On the other hand, Off-Farm Practices include those activities that farmers do

outside the farm but relevant to crop or livestock production. To some extent, On-Farm

Practices may vary across AEZs depending on prevailing conditions, while Off-Farm Practices

can be practiced in any AEZ. On-Farm and Off-Farm Practices are complementary to crop and

livestock production. Table 1 below presents the GAPs that are promoted in Malawi and are

recommended for adoption in the country. These are the GAPs that have been analysed from

the SAPP Baseline Report (2015), AEDO Handbook on GAPs (n.d.), and Guide to Agricultural

Production and Natural Resources Management in Malawi (GoM, 2012).


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Table 1: List of Recommended On-Farm and Off-Farm GAPs

On-Farm GAPs Off-Farm GAPs

1. Agroforestry

2. Application of inorganic fertilizers

3. Application of organic manure

4. Check dams

5. Compulsory vaccination against foot and mouth disease

6. Conservation Agriculture (CA)

7. Control of the movement of livestock from one veterinary station to

another

8. Correct ridge spacing

9. Cover cropping

10. Crop diversification

11. Crop rotation

12. Deworming livestock routinely at the beginning and end of the rainy

season every year

13. Early maturing or drought tolerant varieties

14. Graze livestock away from dambos during the rainy season

15. Integration of legumes in farming system

16. Inter-cropping

17. Marker ridges

18. Meat from infected carcasses not to be handled or sold to prevent the

disease from spreading

19. Mulching

20. Off-pasture, Lot feeding, and Stall feeding

21. Optimum plant density

22. Pit Planting

23. Proper housing facilities such as khola, milk parlor, crush and

exercise yard

24. Reduced or no tillage

25. Removal of manure from the kholas

26. Reporting of sickness or death of livestock to the nearest veterinary

office

27. Rotating 2 to 3 times a day tied or tethered livestock during the rainy

season

28. Small stock production

29. Swales

30. Timely land preparations

31. Timely planting

32. Timely weeding & weed management

33. Use of a balanced concentrated feed for all livestock

34. Use of Box Ridges

35. Use of Herbicides

36. Use of Improved Varieties.

37. Vertiver hedgerows

38. Visitors not allowed to enter into livestock pens

39. Well ventilated khola, with a good urine and water drainage system

to keep the floor dry

40. Food and nutrition

practices (i.e. to

maintain good

health)

41. Farm business

management

practices (e.g.

records keeping)

42. Savings and

investments (i.e.

for financial

security)

43. Group / Club

participation (i.e.

for knowledge

sharing)

Source: SAPP Baseline Report (2015)1, AEDO Handbook on GAPs (n.d.)2, Guide to Agricultural Production and

Natural Resources Management in Malawi (GoM, 2012)3


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2. GUIDE TO APPLICATION OF ON-FARM GAPS

BY AEZ Each AEZ presents unique challenging conditions that may limit agricultural production. These

challenging conditions require specific practices that help to build and sustain the resilience of

agricultural ecosystems. The charts 1 and 2 presented in the following sections have been

designed to identify critical agricultural production challenges and the appropriate GAPs that

can be applied to enhance production. This is meant to help decision makers (agricultural

advisers/extension workers) and farmers faced with the choice of agricultural practices which

must match the specific location and characteristics as well as features of the location under

consideration.

1.4 Chart 1: General Agro-Ecological Zone Reference for Malawi

This chart serves to familiarize the user with the location in which they are practicing

agriculture. The chart comes with a map showing all the four AEZs under consideration.

Further, each AEZ is classified based on its distinct terrain, soil, temperature and rainfall

characteristics that help to point out both challenging and enabling conditions for sustainable

agriculture.

1.4.1 The Map

This serves as a geo-reference tool. The user should be able to point a location on the map

where they are based. The user should be able to tell what AEZ they belong to, based on the

legend as shown on the map.

1.4.2 Agro-Ecological Zone

This section mentions the name of the AEZ where agriculture is taking place. The AEZ at this

point corresponds to the AEZ on the map, and there are arrows linking the map legend and

AEZ in this section.

1.4.3 Specific descriptions

This section provides the description of each AEZ. The description herein provided include

rainfall, temperature, slope, soil type, soil texture, and soil loss rate of the area. These

characteristics are crucial for identifying challenges of production (natural challenges) as well

as appropriate practices that best suit the area.

1.4.4 Challenging conditions

These are unique environmentally-based challenges limiting agricultural production in an

AEZ, for both crop and livestock. These challenges are deduced from the specific description

of the AEZ provided on this chart.


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1.4.5 Enabling conditions

These are unique environmentally-based conditions that an AEZ possesses, which are essential

for practicing agriculture. These are also framed from the specific conditions presented on the

same chart.


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1.5 Chart 2: General Agro-Ecological Zone and Good Agriculture

Practices for Malawi

This chart stems from chart 1. The chart is designed to align each AEZ to its challenging

conditions for agriculture production, and thereafter providing appropriate practices to

overcome the challenging conditions. The GAPs presented in this chart are context based,

bearing the technicality of the practices in the AEZ. As such, some are named with technical

terms, to avoid misquoting and misinformation. However, these are typically the same practices

that are listed in section 1.3 of this guide. In this chart, the challenging conditions have been

condensed to general grouping terms, to avoid ambiguity of some challenges. Similarly, the

GAPs are condensed to general grouping terms to account for all related practices that are

mentioned (as examples) in the boxes. In the chart, Challenging conditions are presented in

red boxes, and the appropriate specific practices in green boxes. The common practices

presented are in dark-blue boxes. There are also AEZs and climatic conditions presented on

the chart. The detailed descriptions of the features on the chart are discussed below.

1.5.1 Malawi Agro-Ecological Zones

These are the previously identified and classified four AEZs for Malawi. On this chart, they

serve to remind the user that the linkages among slope and climatic conditions, as well as

challenging conditions and appropriate practices are all related to the AEZ under context. The

naming arrangement of the AEZs on the chart is not following any order and should therefore

not be confused with the direction of the arrows below them.

1.5.2 Average slope, Annual rainfall, and Average temperature

Apart from soil erosion and soil fertility, the outrageous production challenge in Malawi is

climate change. Climate change is in this case addressed by considering rainfall and

temperature characteristics, coupled with slope characteristics of the area which further has a

bearing on soil erosion. By using this chart, user should bear in mind soil characteristics

described in chart 1.

Under average slope, there is the general classification of the slope, i.e. gentle to medium and

medium to steep. Annual rainfall presents rainfall ranges in three categories i.e. less than 600

mm, between 600 and 1200 mm, and above 1200 mm. Temperature is presented in two

categories, i.e. less than 15o C to 20o C and 20o C to 25o C and above. This illustration is

applicable to all the AEZs, because when considering micro-watershed factors, any AEZs can

have a combination of these characteristics despite the general characteristics earlier provided.

1.5.3 Red Boxes: Challenging conditions

These boxes are directly connected to such factors as slope, rainfall or temperature. They

present the effects arising from each of the factors which are deemed counteractive to


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agricultural production. The direction of the arrows denotes where the effect comes from and

how to handle it in the outward arrow.

1.5.4 Green Boxes: Appropriate practices

These boxes present a set of previously identified practices (GAPs) that can be applied to

handle the specific challenging conditions. As earlier pointed out, the terms used in this chart

have been condensed to allow generalization of related practices, but they are still the same

previously identified GAPs in section 1.3 of this guide.

1.5.5 Conservation Agriculture

Conservation Agriculture in this case is applied where certain conditions prevail, for example,

where they experience intermittent rainfall, water stress, and loss of fertility including type of

the soil and pH status. Conservation Agriculture practices are not to be applied everywhere,

except where necessary (see suggested Research Protocols informed by the synthesis of

agricultural research findings in Malawi).

1.5.6 Common Practices

These are practices that can be applied in every Agro-ecological Zone. These practices are

complementary to crop and or livestock production regardless of the location where farming is

taking place.

To use the charts, user should understand the following steps:

1. User should be able to read map and identify the location and agro-ecological zone in which

they are on the Reference Chart

2. User should carefully understand the “Characteristics/Description” and “Challenging

Conditions” of the agro-ecological zone in which they are on the Reference Chart

3. User should refer to the Good Agricultural Practices chart for the Challenging conditions,

presented in red boxes, and apply necessary practices attached to the boxes, presented in

green boxes

4. Note that “Common Practices” can be practices in every AEZ regardless of the challenging

conditions.

5. Note that Conservation Agriculture (CA) can only be applied where certain challenging

conditions are prevalent (refer to the chart)


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Chart 1: General Agro-Ecological Zone Reference for Malawi


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Chart 2: General Agro-Ecological Zone and Good Agricultural Practices for Malawi

Synthesizing agricultural research findings in MalawiMalawi main report, GAPs apply available...

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