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Category: Stories

Smallholders benefit from sustainable intensification in Mozambique

Written by rllopez on . Posted in News, Stories.

Maize-legume cropping systems have found a niche market among rural Mozambican farmers, thanks to good agricultural practices made possible by the SIMLESA program in the Manica province of the country.

Cowpeas are becoming increasingly more reliable as both a food and cash crop in the province with both high nutritional content beneficial for household consumption and a strong local market demand. SIMLESA program is working with farmers to change the country’s reliance on monoculture by promoting crop diversification as part of its broader agricultural technical package. The practice calls for farmers to plant a variety of crops, including cowpeas. The approach is beginning to take hold, with program clients adopting it.

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Agriculture Ministers Support Policies to Achieve Africa’s Growth Potential

Written by rllopez on . Posted in News, Stories.

Eastern and Southern African countries need to formulate and implement appropriate policies to help smallholder farmers access technologies that will enable them to increase farm yields and improve crop resilience and nutrition to address poverty, food security, and economic growth, renowned Zimbabwean agricultural economist and academic, Mandivamba Rukuni told a high-level policy forum.

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SIMLESA Review Finds Many Successes and Major Challenges

Written by rllopez on . Posted in News, Stories.

On 16-31 October 2015, the Sustainable Intensification of Maize and Legume Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) project undertook a two-week long Mid-Term Review (MTR) of its agricultural research and development activities on station and on farm. SIMLESA undertook this review to assess project performance and recommend actions to refine activities. The last MTR was carried out in 2012.

To wrap up the review, a two-day meeting was held with the participation of 40 people, including representatives from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the national agricultural research systems (NARS) of Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Kenya, and Tanzania, and CIMMYT scientists from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe.

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Drought-tolerant maize to the rescue as hunger threatens 1.5 million in Zimbabwe

Written by rllopez on . Posted in News, Stories.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations, nearly 1.5 million (16 percent) of Zimbabwe’s 14 million people are feared to go hungry at the height of the 2015–16 lean season – a 164 percent increase on the previous year(Hunger hits 1.5 million in Zimbabwe as maize production halves-WFP). This is due to a dramatic decrease in maize production. The lean season is the period after harvest when food stocks run low.

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Empowering Women in Agriculture through SIMLESA

Written by rllopez on . Posted in News, Stories.

CIMMYT’s Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume-based Cropping Systems for Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) project and the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) of South Africa hosted a five-day gender training workshop on 24-29 August in Pretoria, South Africa.

Called “Situating Gender in SIMLESA”, the workshop aimed at increasing awareness of gender issues in agricultural research and development, and identifying practical solutions to integrate gender into SIMLESA. It brought together a core team comprised of SIMLESA’s project leader, project manager, gender focal points, monitoring and evaluation specialist, communications specialist, and country coordinators. In his opening remarks, Litha Magingxa, ARC Group Chief Executive (Agri-Economics and Capacity Development), commended SIMLESA for the gender training.

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