ASERECA to expand integrated farming technologies to seven more member states

The Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) plans to expand its integrated farming technology in seven more member countries in a bid to address food security through efficient utilisation of farm resources.

ASERECA Chairman Dr. Razafinjara Aime Lala told The EastAfrican that the project dubbed “Crop-livestock integration for sustainable management of natural resources and building livestock resilience in Eastern and Central Africa” launched in March 2012 in four member states has shown a success story and needs to be duplicated in other member countries.

“This project is a leading one and highly satisfactory; we as the board are very happy and hope that other member countries will emulate the same in the coming years,” Dr. Lala said while evaluating the performance of the project in Masaka District, located South West of Uganda’s capital, Kampala.

Over 150 farmers in Masaka District are presently involved in the integrated farming technology.

The one and half year project ending September 2013 at a cost of $950,000, is being implemented by the National Livestock Resources Research Institute (NaLIRRI) in Uganda, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) in Kenya, National Livestock Research Institute (NLRI) in Tanzania and Institute du Sciences des Agronomiques du Burundi (ISABU) in Burundi .

And now the countries lined up for the new project include; Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sudan, and South Sudan

Though Dr. Lala could not give details on when the project will be rolled out to the rest of the member states as they are yet to agree on funding, said the new technology, which was also launched in Kumi District eastern Uganda in August 2012, is to be scaled up countrywide.

Dr. Jolly Kabirizi, a senior research officer at National Livestock Resources Research Institute said the involvement of ASARECA and partners in the new farming technology is informed by the knowledge that mixed crop-livestock production is a major source of livelihood for numerous households in Eastern and Central Africa.

Dr. Kabirizi said the increasing effects of climate change coupled with other social, economic and political issues in the region have escalated farmers’ risks and losses and increasingly reduced crop and livestock production, resulting into constant food shortage.

The new development comes at the time many countries in east and central Africa are occasionally battling cases of food shortage resulting from partly persistent drought and poor government planning.

According to 2012 Global Hunger Index (GHI) report, Rwanda has the second highest levels of hunger in the East African region, after Burundi.

Rwanda ranks at 57th position out of 79 countries that were surveyed with a score of 19.7, while Burundi is at the bottom of the list with a global index score of 37.1.  The report blames lack of sustainable food security strategies for poor scores.

“What is happening here is that farmers feed livestock and the remains as well as animal wastes are put back to the farms as manure.  At the same time, the farmers use banana peelings to feed their animals as farmers gets milk and other products,” Dr. Kabirizi said.

Mr. Peter Ddaki, one of the farmers involved in the new farming practices said food production in his garden has increased in the recent months both for home consumption and for commercial.

“We also harvest enough water to irrigate the banana plantation, indigenous vegetables like Nakatti (solanum aethiopicum) and dodo (amaranthus sp), beans, and fodder  crops like Lablab, Gliricidia, Calliandra, Napier grass and others,” Mr.  Ddaki said.

Mr. Ddaki said the family also use harvested water for our three cross-breed dairy cows and other livestock.

ASERECA is a non-political organisation of the National Agricultural Research Institutes (NARIs) of 11 countries, aimed at increasing the efficiency of agricultural research in the region and promote economic growth, food security and export competitiveness through productive and sustainable agriculture. END