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Once considered the breadbasket of southern Africa, Zimbabwe’s economy is on the mend after a decade-long recession that led to a sharp drop in agricultural production, falling incomes and worsening food shortages. With around 70% of the population dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods, the strength of the agricultural sector is key to economic recovery. FAO is working with the government to increase farmer acceptance of conservation agriculture, a no-till system that increases yields while protecting land from erosion, improving soil quality and mitigating the effects of drought. In its initial stages, conservation agriculture required more labor than traditional methods, so FAO launched a training and demonstration program and introduced labor-saving mechanical seed drills to win farmers over. As a result, Zimbabwe has seen a phenomenon of “self-adoption,” meaning farmers see increased returns on their neighbors’ farms and decide to adopt conservation agriculture. Today, more than 300,000 Zimbabwean farmers are practicing the approach, nearly tripling their yields.
After conservation agriculture was introduced in Zimbabwe, rural areas began to see what observers called “NGO plots” – plots where farmers were adopting the method. However, these small plots were surrounded by other fields where farmers continued to use traditional methods. Initially, FAO and other development groups provided farmers with enough seeds and fertilizer to plant half a hectare of conservation agriculture – enough to get them started. The fact that they did not expand these plots, however, clearly indicated that, while farmers welcomed the inputs, they were not yet confident enough to devote all their land to conservation agriculture. Their initial skepticism was justified. Conservation agriculture is built on three principles – minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and crop rotation – which are known to reduce erosion, improve soil quality, save water, reduce fuel costs and, most importantly, increase yields. From the perspective of smallholder farmers, however, each of these principles presents its own problems.
Overcoming skepticism with evidence of success and use of mechanization
Minimizing soil disturbance means that instead of tilling, farmers dig individual holes (15x15x15 cm pots) by hand to plant thousands of seeds. This, of course, requires more labor than planting in furrows. In addition, weeds grow faster in undisturbed soil, and more effort is required to keep the fields clean. Maintaining a permanent soil cover also requires more labor. Farmers must collect the straw and leaves left in the fields after harvest and use them as mulch to protect the soil from erosion and retain moisture. Crop rotation requires farmers to alternate legumes with corn crops to improve soil fertility, but they are often reluctant to give up field space where the main crop is usually grown.
In reality, these problems only become a problem in the first or second season. By the second or third season, farmers can reuse the seed pots they have already dug, and as the mulch gets deeper, it helps control weeds. Yet despite this, farmers in Zimbabwe have been slow to adopt conservation agriculture, and some give up altogether when the free inputs stop.
In light of this, FAO changed its strategy and narrowed its focus to a small core group of farmers who truly believed in the benefits of conservation agriculture. FAO also set up demonstration plots so that farmers could observe the increased yields of conservation agriculture compared to other agricultural techniques.
FAO has also identified, tested and introduced new mechanized technologies that reduce the labor required for conservation agriculture without compromising its principles. FAO has provided sample equipment to extension workers, agricultural colleges and NGOs so they can demonstrate them to farmers and students. With these machines, farmers no longer have to dig planting pots by hand. They can plant up to two hectares a day standing up, using a lever to release seeds and measure micro-fertilizers at the same time.
Farmers reduce costs, increase yields, mitigate climate change
The Zimbabwean government supports conservation agriculture because of its success in mitigating the adverse effects of climate change and conserving soil and water resources. The Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development co-chairs the National Conservation Agriculture Working Group with FAO and regularly meets with farmers, extension workers, researchers and the private sector to discuss, improve and advance conservation agriculture research. It is estimated that 300,000 Zimbabwean farmers have now adopted conservation agriculture.
Once farmers get past the initial labor-intensive start-up period, conservation agriculture techniques reduce input waste, which reduces costs. Although conservation agriculture is currently used in only 5% of Zimbabwe’s maize-growing area, farmers who use the technique have been able to get more from small plots of land, with an average maize yield of about two tons per hectare, nearly three times the yield of traditional farming. At the same time, bean production has doubled. Not only do farmers harvest enough maize and beans to feed their families, but the increased yields actually provide a surplus of food to sell, improving their lives and contributing to the national food supply.
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