Transcript 14 - 2nd Africa Food Security Conference

Adaptation of extra early maize (Zea
Mays L.)varieties for climate change
mitigation among small scale farmers in
south western Nigeria
Akin Omotayo, Badu-B Apraku, Adbusalam-Saghir Petra, Joseph
Olobasola, Yinka Sobowale
and M. Mpkado
What Risk was being addressed?
addressed
.At least two months of rainfed maize production has been lost due to
climate change in the last two decades
•Extra-early varieties of maize were originally developed for the semi-arid and
arid regions of West Africa
•These varieties of maize which mature green in less than 90 days have not
been systematically evaluated by farmers in the wetter ecological zones.
•Conscious efforts have not been made to introduce and promote their
cultivation particularly in south western Nigeria which is in the humid and subhumid agro-ecology.
•With declining rainfall, these varieties of maize are believed to hold a lot of
promise to overcome the loss of two months of rainfed maize production.
. On-farm trials of selected varieties of extra early maize were conducted with
150 farmers to determine the extent to which this intervention can mitigate
the effects of climate change and beat the increasing episodes of drought
and crop failure.
The objective
1.Assess the extent to which extra early maize varieties could mitigate the
effects of climate change among small scale in south western Nigeria
2.Determine the number of possible cycles of production of extra early maize
varieties with or without irrigation in the agro-ecological zone annually
3.Evaluate the yield of extra early maize varieties on farmers field
4.Determine the profitability of extra early maize and determine the extent to
which it improves the income of small scale farmers
5.Promote widespread adoption of production of extra-early maize varieties in
the zone using participatory techniques and the mass media
What EBA Techniques were used?
❖ The ecosystem approach adopted in this project
is climate-smart farming / management of soil,
water, crops.
❖ The risk being addressed is unpredictability of
rainfall and episodic drought
❖ The approach is applied throughout the raining
season and dry season.
❖ The target beneficiaries are small scale maize
farmers.
❖ The key stakeholders are maize farmers,
processors, marketers and extension services and
input providers.
❖ The project can be replicated in any part of
Nigeria and in similar ecologies in Africa
Preparation for installation of drip irrigation kit for dry season
extra early maize trial
Drip irrigation kit installed
Maize planted under drip irrigation using low cost drip kit.
Maize crop established under drip irrigation system
o
Locally fabricated drip system installed
Locally fabricated drip system in operation
Maize crop established under locally fabricated drip irrigation
system
Irrigated maize trial almost at tasseling stage
How did this approach address &
enhance food & nutrition security
❖ The study commenced with baseline survey of
maize value chain actors in three states of Ogun,
Ondo and Ekiti in southwestern Nigeria- These
include farmers, input agencies, marketers,
product end users such as feed millers, green
maize sellers, road-side maize roasters etc.
❖ The project addressed food and nutrition security
through enhancement of maize productivity by
introducing dry season maize production using
irrigation, increased maize value chain activities
and increased green maize availability for direct
human consumption.
❖ At least 30 percent of sampled value chain actors
are women.
Methodology
•
•
Achieving sustainable crop production intensification through an ecosystem
approach and an enabling environment, and capturing efficiency through
ecosystem services and management
Sustainable land management for enhancing land derived goods and
services
•
Prevention of crop failure through the use of early maturing, drought tolerant
and high yielding varieties of maize
•
The approach is being tested both during the raining season and the dry
season with irrigation
Small scale farmers are the major beneficiaries.
Farmers, extension workers and other actors in the maize value chain are
the major stakeholders
The project can be replicated in all ecological zones across West Africa and
other locations within the African continent where maize is cultivated.
•
•
•
Methodology & Implementation
• The field trial was the Mother/ Baby Trial System. This involved the
evaluation of the extra-early variety following ideal recommendations and
closely supervised centrally at the University and the ADPs (The Mother
Trial).
• Farmers observed and evaluated the technology and the management
regime meant to precede the second stage of evaluation at several satellite
farmers field managed by selected farmers i.e. Baby Trial.
• The Mother trial allowed the farmers observe firsthand the advantages of
the extra-early varieties and thus have sufficient motivation to try this out
on their own farms
• Low cost drip irrigation system was introduced to enable farmers produce
at least one cycle of maize during the dry season
Methodology and implementation
• For the Baby Trial, the ADP staff provided a realistic assessment of the
technology by the farmers in their own environment.
• Selection of farmers for the Baby Trial was stratified to ensure appropriate
representation across the different categories of the farming population and by
gender.
• This was in accordance with the relative abundance of each class or sex
within the farming population of the locality.
Methodology /Implementation Activities
• 150 households are currently participating in the project. And are
direct beneficiaries
• This is expected to be scaled up and replicated among over 5000
households once the ADPs pick the project up.
• About 5000Kilogramms of improved seeds of extra early maize were
distributed among farm households who already know about the
variety and would not require special intervention for them to start
using the variety
• Sustainability was addressed through the involvement of the ADPs
and development of community seed production system.
• Ownership of this project by the communities is expected to bolster
sustainability and strengthen this ecosystem approach to climate
change mitigation.
How can the approach feed Africa and create Jobs for the
youths and others
❖The project created opportunities along the
maize value chain for new job possibilities
and new social relations along gender lines
with marketing, processing and value
addition to products and out puts
❖With certain varieties of the extra early
maize being drought tolerant and containing
quality protein, new possibilities are
emerging for the replacement of soybean
with maize in livestock feed formulation and
household nutrition particularly as it affects
infants and nursing mothers.
❖Climate smart farming improved the
productivity of maize through increased
number of cycles of maize that can be
produced by reducing the number of days
on the field and through irrigated farming.
How did this approach address & enhance climate
adaptation/resilience building
❖ The project is still at the mother trial stage. However the next
stage which is the baby trial stage is expected to focus on
promoting the varieties of maize and adoption of dry season
irrigated farming.
❖ Although the baseline survey shows that over 150 farm
households will participate at this initial stage of the trial, the
project is expect to impact over 5000 households indirectly
through sustained promotion of the technologies involved even
after the expiration of the project.
❖ The indicators of climate change adaptation /resilience are:
❖
Increased cycle of maize produced annually by farmers
❖
Increased number of farmers adopting dry season maize
farming
❖
Increased irrigation farming using low cost drip system
❖
Increased maize productivity by at least 10%
❖
Increased income among beneficiaries by at least 15%
❖
Reduction in poverty by at least 15% among beneficiaries
How did this approach address & enhance
ecosystem productivity
❖Ecosystem productivity are maintained
through increased number of cycles of
maize produced annually
❖Traditionally maize is produced twice in
the ecological zone
❖With extra early maize it is expected that
rain fed production could attain three
cycles because of the short duration of the
varieties and one additional cycle could be
achieved through irrigation during the dry
season
How did this approach enhance incomes and
created jobs
❖Increased productivity is expected to lead
to increased income
AVERAGE COSTS AND RETURNS PER HECTARE FOR MAIZE PRODUCTION
Variables
Unit/ha
A. Returns: Maize yield (Kg/ha)
949.2
90.00
85,428.00
B. Variable Costs: Seed (Kg/ha)
30.0
150.00
4,500.00
Labour (Man/ha)
47.56
120.00 man hrs
5,707.20
Fertilizer (kg/ha)
250
100.00kg
25,000.00
Chemical (lit/ha)
21.38
900.00(lt)
19,242.00
C. Total Variable Cost
(TVC)
Gross Margin = TR-TVC i.e (A - B)
Unit price (N/kg)
Total Cost (N/ha)
54,449.2
85,428- 54,449.2=30,978.8
D. Average rate of return on
Gross Margin
0.57
=
57 Kobo
❖ The above table shows the cost and returns per hectare of maize
produced in a single cycle
❖ Three cycles of maize is expected to lead to tripling of income
from maize and four cycles with irrigation is expected to boost
income even further.
How did this ecosystem approach address & enhance
climate adaptation?
1. Production of maize is expected to increase by at least 15% at the end of the
second year of the project
2. The income of maize farmers is expected to increase by 15% at the end of
the project
3. About 150 farm households are expected to benefit directly after two years
of the project while at least 5,000 farm households are expected to have
been affected indirectly by the project at the end of two years.
4. Climate adaptation was achieved through the period gained by planting
extra early maize
5. Climate change adaptation was also addressed through the introduction and
acceptance of low cost irrigation system by small scale farmers
The big Picture- Impacts
❖
150 households are currently participating in the project. And are
direct beneficiaries
❖This is expected to be scaled up and replicated among over 5000
households once the ADPs pick the project up.
❖About 5000Kilogramms of improved seeds of extra early maize
were distributed among farm households who already know about
the variety and would not require special intervention for them to
start using the variety
❖Sustainability was addressed through the involvement of the ADPs
and development of community seed production system.
❖Ownership of this project by the communities is expected to bolster
sustainability and strengthen this ecosystem approach to climate
change mitigation.
How can the EBA approach feed Africa
•
•
•
The project created opportunities
along the maize value chain for new
job possibilities and new social
relations along gender lines with
marketing, processing and value
addition to products and out puts
With certain varieties of the extra
early maize being drought tolerant
and containing quality protein, new
possibilities are emerging for the
replacement of soybean with maize
in livestock feed formulation and
household nutrition particularly as it
affects infants and nursing mothers.
More climate smart approaches to
the production of other commodities
and value chains would be developed
for greater productivity
Barriers
• One major barrier being faced
by maize farmers is the
tradition of using lowland and
irrigation facilities for vegetable
crops during the dry season.
• With the introduction of maize
as irrigable crop in this area,
irrigation water users are likely
to demonstrate some
resentment that they could be
overwhelmed by the large
number of farmers involved in
irrigated maize production.
Solutions to barriers
• The solution will be to engage all water
users and dialogue with them on
involvement in maize production as well as
their traditional vegetable crops
production.
• The project intends to also encourage the
formation of inclusive water users
associations involving maize and
vegetable farmers.
What are the suggested actions to enhance replication and
create jobs for the youths
The following are actions recommended for enhanced
replication and job creation:
❖This
project
is supported
through
external
funding and as
and
create
Jobs
for
the
youths
such the area of coverage is limited. Stakeholders such as
andDevelopment
others Projects should sustain
the State Agricultural
its implementation even after the lifespan of the project
through continuous promotion of the technologies involved
❖Dry season farming and adoption of low cost drip irrigation
system can be sustained by purchasing a large number of
the drip kits to be distributed freely to young farmers and
women.
❖Market opportunities could be further enhanced through
development of maize value chain.
❖Youth empowerment in such areas as production,
marketing and input service delivery could create jobs,
improve income and reduce poverty.
2nd Africa EbA for food security conference 2015 | Nairobi - Kenya
| 30 – 31 July 2015
Suggestions for future research
• This work continues for another one year after which
comprehensive and concrete data could be presented.
• Further studies need to be carried out on extent to which
this current study had impacted on production of other
crops using the ecosystem approach and how this could
be enhanced to improve food security and alleviate
poverty
• Research focusing on climate smart farming involving
other commodities need to be intensified to overcome
the challenge of climate change
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