Landcare Practices in Malawi

Landcare Practices in Malawi PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agroforestry
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Landcare Practices in Malawi

Landcare Practices in Malawi PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agroforestry
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description


Multi-scale Sustainable Intensification of Small-holder Agriculture in Malawi

Multi-scale Sustainable Intensification of Small-holder Agriculture in Malawi PDF Author: Leah Muthoni Mungai
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electronic dissertations
Languages : en
Pages : 203

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Book Description
Malawi's smallholder agricultural production is a maize-mixed system following the unimodal rainfall system, prone to climate shocks causing variable crop yields that increase food insecurity. Smallholder farmers make decisions on crop and farm management based on resource availability as well as socio-economic and environmental factors. The government of Malawi has made efforts to improve agricultural production through fertilizer subsidies and the promotion of sustainable farm practices such as legume intercropping and crop residue management practices for soil fertility enhancement. Such efforts are part of the Sustainable Intensification (SI) of Agriculture pathway widely supported across Africa as a means to increase food and agricultural production. The purpose of this research is to examine Malawi's agriculture through a multi-scale lens; national, sub-regional and local recognizing the spatial-temporal environmental and social drivers occurring across agro-ecologies and influencing smallholder farmers and their capacity for sustainable food production. We assess spatial patterns of Malawian productivity using decadal (2006-2017) climate, edaphic properties, and vegetation indexes, where spatially-located positive trends discrete from climate are presented as evidence of where Intensification (SI) of agriculture is taking place. Secondly, a baseline study that captures farmer demographics and farm practices from randomly stratified sites with varying agro-ecologies is carried out to better understand the contemporary Malawian farmer, the environment within which they produce food, and their overall potential for sustainable agriculture. Land Use Land Cover (LULC) change analyses and landscape quantification of agricultural intensification patterns and their underlying landscape processes are assessed for evidence of sustainable practices. Additionally, we elucidate the landscape patterns of the SI of agriculture associated with Malawi's agricultural extension delivery system. The main findings show evidence of positive spatial trends in Malawi's agricultural productivity that are not influenced by mesic climatic signals. This is consistent with evidence of farmer managed agricultural intensification. At the sub-regional scale, there are few land use changes in Central Malawi's Dedza and Ntcheu districts from 2014 to 2019 demonstrating the stability and maturity of this traditional agricultural landscape. However, overall land fragmentation has increased, particularly in land classified as agroforestry and shrubs/forests classes possibly indicating increased use of sustainable farming practices. Smallholders in central Malawi seek location specific agricultural advice on cropping systems and soil nutrient management recommendations. Effective delivery of advice by extension, responsive to farmer goals, could potentially boost farmer adoption of SI technologies.

Conservation Agriculture for Africa

Conservation Agriculture for Africa PDF Author: Amir H Kassam
Publisher: CABI
ISBN: 1780645686
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 319

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Book Description
Tillage agriculture has led to widespread soil and ecosystem degradation globally. This is especially so in Africa where traditional and modern tillage-based agricultural practices have become unsustainable due to severe disturbance and exploitation of natural resources, with negative impacts on the environment and rural livelihoods. In addition, agriculture in Africa today faces major challenges including increased costs of production and energy, the effects of climate change, and the lack of an effective paradigm for sustainable intensification, especially for small- and medium-size holdings. Africa is facing a serious challenge to food security and as a continent has not advanced towards eradicating hunger. In addition, the population is still growing much faster than on most other continents. This pressure has led to the emergence of no-till conservation agriculture as a serious alternative sustainable agriculture paradigm. In Africa, in recent years, conservation agriculture techniques and methods have spread to many countries, as greater development, education and research effort are directed towards its extension and uptake. This book is aimed at agricultural researchers and scientists, educationalists, and agricultural service providers, institutional leaders and policy makers working in the fields of sustainable agriculture and international development, and also at agroecologists, conservation scientists, and those working on ecosystem services.

Land and Water Management in Southern Africa

Land and Water Management in Southern Africa PDF Author: Calvin Nhira
Publisher: African Books Collective
ISBN: 0798302143
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 688

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Book Description
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and its Member States are making renewed efforts to revive agriculture in the region. Given that much of it is water-stressed, appropriate and sustainable land and water management practices are vital to achieving this objective. Recognising this, SADC's Land and Water Management Applied Research and Training Programme has convened two scientific symposiums. Held in Lilongwe, Malawi, in February 2006, the inaugural symposium brought together practitioners from 10 participating SADC countries to deliberate on land and water management for sustainable agriculture, and discuss how the most recent research and development advances in land and water management might be made more relevant to policymakers as well as the region's small-scale farmers. The edited contributions to this first symposium appear in this volume. The second symposium was held in Gaborone, Botswana, in February 2007, and brought together regional experts to discuss opportunities for improving water use and water use efficiency in agriculture in semi-arid and arid areas. The edited contributions to the second symposium appear in a companion volume entitled Land and Water Management in Southern Africa: Towards Better Water Use in Agriculture in Semi-Arid and Arid Areas (AISA 2008). It is hoped that these two volumes will help to disseminate regional expertise on land and water management to a wider audience, thus helping policy-makers and others to strengthen the agricultural sector in the region, and, in so doing, improve its food security and the wellbeing of its people.

Conservation Agriculture in Africa

Conservation Agriculture in Africa PDF Author: Saidi Mkomwa
Publisher: CABI
ISBN: 1789245745
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 537

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Book Description
Tillage agriculture has led to widespread soil and ecosystem degradation globally, and more particularly in the developing regions. This is especially so in Africa where traditional agricultural practices have become unsustainable due to severe exploitation of natural resources with negative impacts on the environment and food system. In addition, agricultural land use in Africa today faces major challenges including increased costs, climate change and a need to transform to more sustainable production intensification systems. Conservation Agriculture has emerged as a major alternative sustainable climate smart agriculture approach in Africa and has spread to many African countries in the past decade as more development and research, including in sustainable mechanization, has enabled its extension and uptake. It is key to transforming Africa's agriculture and food system given its ability to restore soil health, biodiversity and productivity of millions of smallholder farms as well as larger-scale farms. This book is aimed at all agricultural stakeholders in the public, private and civil sectors in Africa engaged in supporting the transformation of conventional tillage agriculture to Conservation Agriculture. The book will be of interest to: researchers, academics, students, development stakeholders, public and private sector investors and policy makers as well as institutional libraries across the world.

Towards Sustainable Landcare Practices in South Africa

Towards Sustainable Landcare Practices in South Africa PDF Author: Richard Holt
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Conservation of natural resources
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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Farm-level Economics of Soil-conservation Practices in the Zomba Rural Development Project of Malawi

Farm-level Economics of Soil-conservation Practices in the Zomba Rural Development Project of Malawi PDF Author: Julius H. Mangisoni
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Land use, Rural
Languages : en
Pages : 146

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Tree Seed in Malawi

Tree Seed in Malawi PDF Author: Anders P. Pedersen
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 68

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Examples of CBNRM Best-practices in Malawi

Examples of CBNRM Best-practices in Malawi PDF Author: Nobel Moyo
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Conservation of natural resources
Languages : en
Pages : 42

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Common Agroforestry Species in Malawi

Common Agroforestry Species in Malawi PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agroforestry
Languages : en
Pages : 88

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