NHAU MANGIRAZI
Climate resilience is paying off at Esigodini Agriculture College where trained farmers are well equipped to fight effects of climate change.
According to Green Climate Fund (GCF) project manager Rungano Benza, Esigodini agricultural institution’s role is to train students in contemporary farming skills and enterprises.
‘‘Graduates coming out of this training are expected to disseminate the knowledge and skills to farmers. This means that there are opportunities to mainstream emerging challenges such as climate change in the training curricula,’’ he said in a written response.
Situated in Umzingwane district within Matabeleland South province, the college is about 49km from Bulawayo metropolitan province. It falls under region 4 characterized by a semi-arid climate with low rainfall pattern and high temperature.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) project, ‘Building climate resilience of vulnerable agricultural livelihoods in Southern Zimbabwe’ is supporting smallholder farmers that experience climate change risks primarily through scaling up the adoption of climate smart agriculture (CSA) practices.
Benza explained that they aimed at facilitating a transformative shift from their subsistence-oriented farming to climate-resilient agricultural livelihoods.
‘‘The project has established five multi-stakeholder Innovation Platforms (IPs) at Esigodini Agricultural College, Matopos, Makoholi, Chiredzi and Chisumbanje Research Stations. These are intended to address barriers of limited access to knowledge, markets and value chains by building and coordinating ongoing public and private sector support to climate-resilient smallholder production, value chain coordination and market access.
‘‘Through Innovation Platforms, CSA adoption will be up-scaled by crowding in the participation of various stakeholders to support smallholder farmers on specific climate-resilient crop and livestock value chains such as the goat value chain for Esigodini Agriculture College,’’ he said.
Benza further explained that stakeholders include farmers, input suppliers, credit providers, buyers, processors, technical assistance agencies, research institutions, as well as the donor community.
‘‘The challenges being addressed by the Innovation Platforms can be classified as climatic, production, post-production and marketing related constraints. Climate change constraints relate to drought, dry spells and temperature extremes whose combined effects lead to crop failures, degradation of rangelands and death of livestock owing to disease outbreaks and pasture and water shortages particularly during the lean season,’’ he added.
The training college has embarked on climate resilient goat breeding through crossing the Kalahari Red pure breed and the Matebele pure breed.
‘‘The two breeds have been selected based on their characteristics which when merged are expected to produce generation offspring that can survive under the communal sector production system.
‘‘The breeding goats can survive and is adaptive to harsh climatic conditions like high temperature ranges, low rainfall leading to poor range and veldt resulting in low plain of nutrition. There is improved nutrition through production and processing of fodder and forage crops to sustain the goats through-out the year,’’ he added.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) handed over feed analysis, laboratory equipment and goats to the college worth over US$80 000 to advance the agricultural training institution’s capacity in goat breeding and nutrition.
It is aimed at enhancing the institution’s educational programs, extension, and business advisory services.
Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary Professor Obert Jiri said the integration of these resources into educational programs will enrich the learning experience of our students.
“Through hands on-training and practical exposure to livestock management and agricultural practices, our students will develop the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in the field.” Jiri said.
UNDP Zimbabwe Resident Representative, Dr Ayodele Odusola said the partnership is aimed at advancing the national climate resilience building agenda.
‘‘Zimbabwe, like most parts of sub-Saharan Africa, is perennially affected by climatic hazards impacting heavily on smallholder rain-fed agricultural production systems, often with severe extending consequences on socio-economic development,” he said.
“Climate Smart Agriculture interventions are particularly key in advancing the climate action and adaptation impact potential for the country, including in responding to the global Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 13 (Climate Action),” he concluded
