Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
In summary, we argue for a framework in which sustainability is assessed as the abil-
ity to meet a balance of immediate-term livelihood needs, acceptable food/income stability
from year to year, and longer-term soil fertility improvement. Further, relative sustainabil-
ity of different management strategies should be addressed in a distributional manner,
that is, considering the variability in biophysical and socioeconomic resource endowments
and vulnerability of different households. We illustrate this framework using data from an
on-farm study in southern Malawi. Maize legume relay intercrop systems were being pro-
moted as potential strategies for improving both short-term productivity and livelihoods
while simultaneously helping to rebuild SOM in systems where land was limited (Chirwa
et al., 2006; Snapp et al., 1998). The project compared the performance of different fertilizer
and maize/legume relay intercrop systems established across a regionally representative
range of smallholder farms.
9.5 Case study: legume maize relay
cropping in Southern Malawi
Here, we use the conceptual framework developed in a case study from southern Malawi
to illustrate a model for interdisciplinary and participatory research examining the rela-
tive sustainability of different maize/legume relay cropping systems. Sustainability is
considered in terms of immediate-term livelihood benefits (crop yields, net income, and
secondary food or income provision), stability (risk of low yields over time and space), evi-
dence of potential and actual adoption of the system, and longer-term soil fertility impacts.
Our analysis also addresses the implications of distributional impacts (among different
socioeconomic groups, genders, and landscape positions) on the relative performance and
desirability of the different cropping systems.
Malawi is a small, landlocked country in southern Africa with high levels of poverty and
a history of chronic food insecurity (Chinsinga, 2005). Smallholder farmers comprise 85%
of the population, and maize, the staple crop, is planted to roughly 85% of arable agricul-
tural lands (Smale and Heisey, 1997). Southern Malawi is the most impoverished region
in Malawi and has high population density, limited landholdings (National Economic
Council [NEC], 2000), and few livestock.
The study was an on-farm, farmer-/researcher-designed and managed project initi-
ated by researchers at the University of Malawi's Bunda College of Agriculture in 1994
and continued with our participation through 2004. Participating farmers were located in
villages within the Songani watershed, located approximately 15-20 km north of Zomba
in southern Malawi. This region is subject to a unimodal rainfall pattern, with the wet
season occurring between October and May. Average annual rainfall in the study area
is 1,150 mm (Kamanga et al., 1999). The soils are mainly classified as alfisols and ultisols
(Eswaran et al., 1996). They are typically well-drained loamy sands, with N as the most
limiting nutrient (Snapp, 1998). Since agriculture has increasingly spread onto hillsides
and steep slopes in this region (Banda et al., 1994), our research included farmers with
plots at three different landscapes: (1) dambo (less than 12% slope and poorly drained), (2)
dambo margin (less than 12% slope and well drained), and (3) hillside (greater than 12%
slope) (Kamanga et al., 1999).
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