For many subsistence farmers in the semi-arid regions of southern Africa, dependence on drought relief is tantamount to serving a death sentence.
About half of all farming seasons in the affected areas, which support about 30 million households, are characterised by the early termination of rains.
Many have been encouraged to expand their production of maize, which is the dominant cereal crop in the 14-member Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).
There is no doubt the cereal is popular. The problem with maize is that it needs regular rainfall over a 90-day period.
And when seasonal downpours dissipate it is farmers who are most affected. Dusty, dry furrows and failed crops mean they lack the grain necessary for their own domestic requirements, let alone setting any aside for the next season.
In an effort to increase grain production many SADC governments implemented technologies geared at expanding yields. But many of these were inappropriate in semi-arid regions because they were originally designed for higher rainfall zones.
Some scientists say improved varieties of millet and sorghum could hold the key to regional food security, despite the smaller grains’ blighted reputation as ”poor man’s” crops.
Geoffrey Heinrich is the regional representative of the International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). He says the institute helped develop early-maturing varieties of sorghum and millet which, in effect, cheat drought.
Tanzania is a case in point.
”They had several significant late season droughts,” says Heinrich. ”Most of these materials (improved small grain varieties) are early maturing. They yielded much better than the traditional varieties.”
Based in Zimbabwe, which hosts one of ICRISAT’s six centres on the continent, Heinrich explains that Tanzania distributed two improved varieties of sorghum six years ago. It did so with assistance from ICRISAT’s sorghum and millet improvement programme (SMIP).
Heinrich says the good reception of these early-maturing varieties resulted, in one year, to a drop of US$17-million the country’s food import bill.
He admits that farmers may be reluctant, at first, because of the work involved in protecting sorghum and millet from birds.
”People who are used to maize find it tedious,” he adds, ”but there is no reason why it should be looked at as inferior.”
With funding from the US development agency USAid, the SMIP was launched in 1983, by ICRISAT, at an invitation of SADC heads of state to help ease persistent food deficits caused by drought. The programme was also to ensure the establishment of a technological base for the region over a 20-year period.
While those two decades ended on December 31, Heinrich says components of the programme will continue because of the region’s recurring food shortages.
SMIP has acted as nucleus of a network of various national agricultural research initiatives, including studies by universities and the private sector. In particular, the programme resulted in the development, and distribution, of 49 varieties of
sorghum and pearl millet across Zimbabwe.
The programme has also led to the strengthening of seed systems.
”Just releasing a variety doesn’t do any good,” says Heinrich.
He adds that while maize has a ”pretty good” rural retail market, the same cannot be said for crops like sorghum, millet or groundnuts which, in his view, are important for food security.
In addition many traders are reluctant to stock seed, or even fertiliser, because agricultural inputs are periodically handed out, free of charge, as part of relief efforts. Lack of demand, in turn, led to commercial seed development and distribution lagging
behind.
ICRISAT and its partners counteracted this by working through farmer-based production systems and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in an attempt to build rural retail markets for seed.
One of these systems, according to Heinrich, involves voucher programmes, so that rural retailers stock the seed and instead of being given free seed. Vulnerable households are actually provided with vouchers, which they take to the retailer who remains in
business and can make a profit from that process.
Currently there’s close to 30% coverage of improved varieties of sorghum in the SADC, and about 35% for millet. Heinrich says more than 1.5 million households have access to, and are utilising, improved seed.
Developing industrial demand, which is key if one wants to raise prices, was a persistent challenge for the SMIP.
In Zimbabwe, however, there has been major success. Demand for the small grains increased exceptionally, particularly from the stock feed industry.
Research methods employed by ICRISAT in improving the small grains have relied on traditional scientific techniques. Bio-technology, or genetically modified organism (GMO), has not been used, although Heinrich says ICRISAT feels there are potential
risk-free uses for some of these technologies.
He says such a possibility is being explored in developing disease-resistant groundnuts.
”But none of that would be released to any country that does not
have bio-safety regulations,” he says.
With the exception of South Africa, which is much more advanced, the rest of the SADC countries have no bio-safety regulations and so cannot benefit from the selective application of GMO technology.
”ICRISAT would like to work with SADC countries in developing
these kinds of policies,” Heinrich says.
”There are areas where the materials would be very safe, where
they can bring important benefits to farmers.”
ICRISAT is also affiliated with an initiative called the ”Challenge Programme on Water and Food Consortium”.
Chairman Frank Rijsberman, recently called on scientists to breed new varieties of high-yielding crops that require less water.
Heinrich says this is another avenue ICRISAT will soon start exploring.
”The materials we have been looking at have, to a large extent, been screening for drought tolerance. We have not been looking at water usage efficiency but I think our programme is going to head that way.”
He says the centre in Zimbabwe has been unaffected by the upheaval caused by land reform programmes and is maintaining its presence in the country. Its other core research activity — natural resource management, especially soil fertility and soil water management — has become crucial and will also continue.
Soil fertility in most of southern Africa’s communal areas is declining, Heinrich notes.
One reason is the non-application of both organic and inorganic fertilizers.
”There is a net outflow of nutrients,” Heinrich says.
”If that trend is not reversed, ultimately the productive capacity of those areas will be completely eroded.”