News
Tech access key to smallholders tackling climate change
�e effects of climate change on agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa are now real ; we have increased cases of ood and prolonged droughts that destroy crops .
Smallholder farmers , especially those in rural areas , are the most affected , with some experiencing total loss on their farms . �ese farmers still rely on traditional methods of predicting weather , which in most cases , fails miserably . For instance , in the past , one could con dently predict and expect short rains in Kenya between September and December . Today , this is no longer the case .
Innovations such as new seed varieties that can withstand droughts are available but cannot be accessed by smallholder farmers in droughtstricken northern Kenya .
�e devastating impact of climate change is increasingly becoming a matter of concern , leading to debates globally on how to combat climate change .
�is was the case at the 5th congress of the Seed Trade Association of Kenya where scientists , seed traders , government and the private sector gathered to share key developments and innovations that help smallholder farmers mitigate against climate change .
In fact , the conference that was held in Kenya last week ( 8-9 November ) had the objective of discussing the use of quality seeds to tackle climate change and improve agricultural productivity .
Listened to the delegates , it was worrying that many farmers in rural areas still have no or limited access to agricultural innovations and technologies that could help them tackle the effects of climate change . For example , innovations such as new seed varieties that can withstand droughts are available but cannot be accessed by smallholder farmers in drought-stricken northern Kenya .
One of the farmers revealed to me that some of the technologies are expensive for smallholders to afford . He added that in some cases , they do not know where to get the seeds suitable for their climatic zones . �e farmer , who hails from Busia county of western Kenya , added that increased sensitisation could help smallholder farmers access agricultural technologies and innovations to tackle climate change . For Sub-Saharan Africa to realise its development agenda and global blueprints such as the UN ' s Agenda 2030 on sustainable development , it is prudent that the agricultural sector is transformed .
It is time that we put in place systems that ensure smallholder farmers access and use agricultural technologies to help transform Africa ' s agricultural sector .
Could systems research transform
Africa ' s agriculture ?
I know across Africa , presidents are repositioning their policies to re ect agriculture as the new engine for growth , and are also changing strategies that considered agriculture as a social obligation to a business enterprise .
In Nigeria , for instance , the president launched the green alternative with an agricultural transformation agenda to show how important the administration prioritises agriculture .
But scientists and researchers at a three-day workshop at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture ( IITA ), Nigeria this week ( 15-17 November ) are discussing the role of systems research in the continent ' s quest for food self-sufficiency and security .
Systems research could transform the continent ' s agriculture because it creates the necessary platform for scientists and researchers to think and work with policymakers and farmers .
Nteranya Sanginga , director-general of IITA , told the audience at the meeting that the biggest challenge the institute faces on the continent is providing answers to leaders who seek their knowledge on how to transform their agriculture .
I received senators from Nigeria last week who came asking for how to transform the nation ' s agriculture . I was also with the president of Benin who asked the same question . So how can this happen ? Are there things we are doing that aren ' t working or what lessons are we failing to put to use ?” he posed .
Scientists and researchers at the meeting , to me , are of the view that systems research could transform the continent ' s agriculture because it creates the necessary platform for scientists and researchers to think and work with policymakers and farmers to solve the challenges they face .
Kwesi Atta-Krah , IITA director of CGIAR Research Program on agricultural research systems for humid tropics , says that agriculture in Africa is currently plagued by low capacity , institutional bottlenecks and biological challenges that require the convergence of various systems and components to solve . “ We have to link research to policies , with societal needs and aspirations … and this require an integrated and multistakeholders approach where research can speak directly to challenges ,” Attah-Krah says . Atta-Krah adds that system research is not just about yield or bumper harvests but it focuses on considering all the variables involved in agriculture for farmers ' overall wellbeing .
But as good as the idea of systems research may sound , Asamoah Larbi , IITA ' s country representative in Ghana and a farming systems agronomist , notes that it is not new , and that l it will not solve all the continent ' s agricultural challenges .
Larbi says what Africa needs to transform its agriculture is to strengthen and adequately fund its national agriculture research institutions to enable them do what is necessary .
By Alex Abutu
By Gilbert Nakweya
November - December 2016
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