Transcript Precision Agriculture for Communal Farmers

Potential for Precision Agriculture on
the Communal Farms in Zimbabwe
Dual Agrarian Structure in Zimbabwe
• Up until 2000, Agriculture in Zimbabwe was
characterized by two types of agriculture
– Commercial Farming Areas
• Large Scale Commercial Farming Areas (LSCFAs)
• Small Scale Commercial Farming Areas (SSCFAs)
– Communal Farming Areas
• Subsistence Farmers
• Subsistence Farms produce only enough to support the farm
– Little is left for market
• Dual system is from legacy of colonization
– Need to understand a little of the history of Zimbabwe
in order to understand the dual agrarian structure
Brief History of Agriculture in
Zimbabwe (I)
• Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) was
established as an agriculture colony of the
United Kingdom
• Late 1800s - 1913
– British South African Company
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•
•
•
Acquired the most fertile agriculture lands
Pushed the native Shona and Ndbele peoples off
Local people required to work the lands
Established a “hut tax”, a labor levy on the Shona and
Ndebele people
Brief History of Agriculture in
Zimbabwe (II)
• British settlers went to the country in greater and greater
numbers and established commercial farms
– Bulk of lands in fertile areas converted to commercial farms
– By 1925, only 14 of the farms in the BSAC areas were owned by black
farmers (total land area only 19,000 ha)
Settlers
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
1900
1905
1910
1915
1920
1925
1930
Brief History of Agriculture in
Zimbabwe (III)
• 1925 Legislation
– black farmers prohibited from buying land in BSAC
areas
– 19.7 million hectares of fertile lands set aside for
white farmers
– Only 2.8 million hectares of mostly marginal lands
set aside for black farmers
– 11.7 million hectares set aside as a reserve
Brief History of Agriculture in
Zimbabwe (IV)
• Marginalization of Black farmers created a Dual
Agrarian System
• Dual Agriculture Extension system established
– Market and Agriculture Development priorities designed
to reduce competition for LSCFAs
– Department of Agriculture Development (DEVAG) for
farmers in communal areas (1926)
• Used to prevent farmers from growing local corn varieties
– Department of Conservation and Extension (CONEX) for
farmers in commercial areas (1950s)
– DEVAG typically underfunded
– Emphasis on agriculture and market development for
farmers in LSCFAs
Brief History of Agriculture in
Zimbabwe (V)
• Independence (1980)
– Zimbabwe achieved its independence after a short civil war
– President Robert Mugabe encouraged reconciliation to keep the
economy strong
• 1980 $1 ZIM = $1 US
• White Zimbabweans encouraged to stay
– Commercial farms continued to generate needed FOREX
– Land resettlement schemes established to address legacy of
colonization
– Improved Extension Agency established for farmers in
communal areas (AGRITEX)
– Dual Subsistence Farm and Commercial Farm Agrarian system
has persisted
Dual Technology (I)
• LSCFAs are Modern industrialized farms
– Large farms in fertile areas
– Modern hybrids developed locally by the Commercial
Farmers Union
• Short season varieties capable of maturing before the end of the
rainy season R201, R210
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Modern Equipment
Inorganic Fertilizer
Advanced Irrigation systems
Other inputs such as herbicides and pesticides
Combination of mechanized and hand labor
Monocultures of cash crops including corn, coffee and tea
Dual Technology (II)
• Communal Farming Areas
– Small farms on marginal lands
• typically only a few hectares
– Subsistence farms
• Farmers produce only enough food for their families each year
• Sometimes small surpluses can be sold
– May not be able to buy inorganic fertilizer or hybrid seeds
each year
• Saved seed
• Insufficient levels of fertilizer applied
– No mechanization, labor is either all by hand (most
common) or involves the use of draught animals
Dual Technology (III)
• Communal Farming Areas cont…
– Mixed cropping and intercropping
– Gardens and fruit trees
• Small Scale Commercial Farming Areas
– Small Farms in fertile areas
– Consist largely of farms set up by the government as a part
of land redistribution schemes to address inequities in
land distribution from colonial past
– Combination of modern industrial technologies and work
by hand an draught animals
• Access to inputs such hybrid seed and inorganic fertilizers
generally higher than on communal farming areas but still lower
than on the LSCFAs
AGRITEX
• After independence, agriculture colleges were
established
• Extension agents with technical degrees
distributed throughout the country
• Extension agents live in the communities they
work in for most of the year and educate local
farmers on use of modern technologies including
– Inorganic fertilizer
– Short season corn cultivars
– Irrigation
Appropriate Technology
• Precision Agriculture it the Communal Areas of Zimbabwe
should be based on Appropriate Technology
• Should not attempt to use the modern equipment used in
LSCFAs
• Modern technology can not always be applied in developing
nations for many reasons including:
– Cost
– Inability of farmers to obtain credit to purchase and maintain
equipment
• Communal farmers do not own their own land in Zimbabwe
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Lack of access to spare parts
Transportation problems
Cultural limitations
Limitations of terrain
Appropriate Technology
• FAO book of Farm Implements for Arid and Tropical Regions states that
technology for developing areas should be:
a)
Adapted to allow efficient and speedy work with the minimum of fatigue;
b)
not injurious to man or animal;
c)
of simple design, so that they can be made locally;
d)
light in weight, for easy transportation;
e)
ready for immediate use without loss of time for preparatory adjustments;
f)
made of easily available materials."
Precision Agriculture in Communal
Areas
• Small “Greenseeker” sensor for use in developing
countries currently being developed at OSU
– Projected cost is about $100 each
• Agritex agents already in Zimbabwe could be
trained to use this technology
• Simple weather monitoring instruments could be
used at Agritex stations to collect GD data since
Zimbabwe does not have a MESONET system
– Would provide current year temperature data for
calculating N application rates
Precision Agriculture in Communal
Areas
• Agritex could work with 2 or 3 local “master
farmers”
– Establish “fertile strips” at master farmers fields, to
read NDVI data
• Agritex could organize field days for farmers to
learn about how much nitrogen to apply for the
current year’s crop
• Agritex could provide training sessions on proper
use of and application rates of inorganic N
fertilizers
Precision Agriculture in Communal
Areas
• Where possible manure and green manure
alternatives should be sought
– Farmers are not able to buy sufficient quantities
inorganic fertilizer every year
– Farmers should receive training on manure and
application for those years in which they are not
able to obtain enough inorganic fertilizer
– Green manure manufacture, though labor
intensive, can provide an alternative source of
nitrogen fertilizer
Green Manure
• Fertilizer made by making infusions of cut N-rich materials
in water or by incorporating materials directly into the soil
or in compost
• A “time release fertilizer”
– Nitrogen in amino acids gradually becomes available as
microbes in the soil break it down
• A good candidate for green manure in Zimbabwe is
Leucaena leucocephala
– Native to Central America
– Mayans and Zapotecs used it over 2,000 years ago
– More recently, farmers in the Phillipines have used it
• Also helpful in erosion control on steep hillsides or for use
as a cattle feed suppliment and as firewood
Leucaena leucocephala
Green Manure
• Community tree nurseries for Leucaena
leucocephala and other locally-valued trees
should be established
– In Mahsonga-Sahmutsa locally valued trees
include fruit trees and Eucalyptus spp. trees
• Community nurseries have worked in the past
– Vetiver grass nurseries for use in terracing and
erosion control
Summary
• Commercial Farms produce large quantities of crops for
market whereas Subsistence Farms produce only
enough for the farmers to consume each year
• Technologies for commercial and subsistence farms are
often different because technologies used on
commercial farms are not always practical on
communal farms
• Universities and research institutions should develop
technologies for subsistence and commercial
agriculture simultaneously
• Since Zimbabwe has both types of agriculture it can be
a good place to develop technology for both systems
References
• Billing K.J. (1985) Zimbabwe and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of
Their collaboration in Agricultural Research, The International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Washington DC
• Mataruka, D.F. (1985) Review of the constraints to maize production
in the communal areas of Nat Region III, IV, and V, Zimbabwe
Agric. J. 82:171-175
• Von Blanckenburg, Peter (1994) Large Commercial Farmers and
Land Reform in Africa, Averbury, Aldershot, England
• Wiese, Karen (1988) Case Studies: Factors Influencing Agricultural
Production of Small Farmers in Zimbabwe and Malawi In:
Enhancing Agriculture in Africa: A Role for U.S. Development
Assistance
• Whingwiri, E.E. and Harahwa, G. (1985) Maize varieties for the lowyielding environments in Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Agric. J. 82: 2930