NewsLetter April 2006

Pioneering New Solutions for Conservation and Rural Development in Zambia

COMACO Monthly Newsletter ? Reports from the Field

Wildlife numbers in Magodi Area benefiting from COMACO?s impact on promoting alternative livelihoods

Field Report filed by Nemiah Tembo, Senior Extension Coordinator

Extension staff working closely with farmers in Lundazi and Chama Districts have convinced households to surrender another 80 firearms since the recent handover ceremony of 768 firearms in Lusaka in March. One of these guns was an automatic military rifle holding 10 rounds. Its owner said it was used to poach elephants that crossed into Senior Chief Magodi?s area from Lundazi National Forest.

For the past 20 years, according to information given by local residents, elephants have become a rarity in much of Chief Magodi?s area. Since the inception of the COMACO program in 2004 in this area, people have begun to see elephants more frequently. This past month 10 elephants were sighted in Magodi and 12 baffalo passed through the palace of Inkhosi Senior Chief Magodi.

Residents of Magodi have said many of these 80 firearms were locally made during the Leshina uprising and after this incident people began using the gun to kill animals until the area became depleted. Poachers from Magodi followed animals to the west in Musalangu Game Management Area, causing conflicts with the safari hunting operations in Chikwa and Chifunda chiefdoms. The situation has greatly changed now that COMACO is providing favorable market prices for agricultural commodities with market incentives that encourage food security. Today it is rare for ZAWA scouts to encounter poachers crossing into Chikwa or Chifunda areas from Magodi.

COMACO has provided extension support to over 4000 households in Magodi area over the past several years to learn new skills that can replace the need to poach wildlife. Somce of these skills include fish faming, goat and poultry production, bee keeping, soybean farming and various approaches to conservation farming.

One of 120 fishponds COMACO has helped local group members to build to supplement food and income.

COMACO activities have come at a critical time when farming pressure, caused largely by cotton, has begun to encroach into Lundazi National Forest to the west of Magodi area. This forest is a critical watershed and helps maintain water flow in the Luangwa River and also provides an important range for a variety of wildlife species. To reduce deforestation and build increased community interest in maintaining forest resource along the boundary of this national forest, COMACO is negotiating with the Forestry Department and Inkhosi Senior Chief Magodi to establish honey producing concessions that will reward producers with preferentially high honey prices for adopting firebreaks to protect apiaries and abandoning cotton farming, unless grown organically. COMACO will also intensify its efforts to develop favorable markets for soybeans as a basis for crop rotation to help reduce tree clearing and the use of pesticides.

Hives under construction for Magodi area

Seed multiplication: A Strategy for food security and poverty reduction

Field report field filed by Nemiah Tembo, Senior Extension Officer

Most farmers in Luangwa Valley have had in past years great difficulty accessing seeds and cultivars to help diversify crops and to grow those varieties ideal for Valley conditions. This generally results in low yields, less opportunity to market surplus and perpetuates chronic hunger situations that often lead to wildlife snaring and other forms of resource degradation. COMACO recognizes this problem and also recognizes the need to find a sustainable solution rather than relying on periodic support from partners in the form of inputs or donated seeds.

To address this need, COMACO has embarked on a wide-ranging seed and cultivar multiplication program covering Chama, Lundazi and Mambwe. Within these regions, COMACO has established seed/cultivar breeding sites for different crops, including cassava, maize MMV 400 open pollinated early maturing variety, rice, open pollinated soybeans and cowpeas. The Msekera Regional Research Station has collaborated with COMACO on these efforts through the support of the Provincial Agricultural Officer, whose staff assist with monitoring farmers on their seed growing practices. These nurseries are registered to meet seed inspector?s requirements in terms of germination success and seed quality. Some of the results of this work are as follows:

Cassava

In Mambwe area 3,045,000 cassava cuttings were given out from certified nurseries to 2665 households. Staff at Lundazi will be distributing close to 239,600 cuttings from 25 cassava nurseries. Cuttings are a meter long and will provide farmers with a total of 1,407,600 x 100 cm cuttings to be given out to 600 farmers for a 1 lima plot each.

One of 26 cassava nurseries for supplying local farmers with cuttings

MMV400 (Open pollinated early maturing maize seed)

Lundazi has 6 one Lima plots and has produced approximately 4,500 kilograms of seed that will be given to 900 farmers with 1 lima plot each for the 2006-7 farming season. Mambwe has the same program with the same number of farmer recipients.

Rice

26 tons of certified rice seed from Lundazi and Chama areas were provided to new farmers in Mambwe as well as Lundazi and Chama. Total farmers receiving seeds under this program was about 1400, who are expected provide a total recovery of not less than 15 tons for seed support in 2006-2007 farming season. The improved producer price for rice has dramatically increased farmer interest in rice, which has added a second important food crop as well as reliable and profitable cash crop, provided farmer refrain from snaring and practice conservation farming.

Soybean

COMACO introduced Soprano open-pollinated seed into Magodi and it has done extremely well. The program had now exceeded 3500 farmer and expected seed recovery for soybean this year should reach 30 tons, all of which will come from Magodi area.