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N2Africa is seeking to increase the production of legumes such as cowpea, common beans, groundnuts and soybean, among small-holder farmers, due to their ability to enrich soils with Nitrogen and for their nutritive and commercial value.
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Trials
on the use of
fertilizer to
boost yield of climbing
beans in Butere, Western Kenya
as part of
N2Africa Phase one activities.
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The Putting Nitrogen Fixation to Work in Africa (N2Africa) project
which aims at encouraging smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa to grow
legumes due to their ability to fix nitrogen from the air into the soils thus
improving soil fertility, and for their nutrition and commercial value, has launched
its activities in Tanzania.
N2Africa was officially launched by the Director for
Research and Development in the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Fildelis Myaka on
behalf of the Permanent Secretary Ms Sophia Kaduna at the start of a two-day project
planning workshop, from 19 – 20 February in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
It was hosted by the International Institute
of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) ―one of the project’s implementing partners.
Speaking at the event, Dr Myaka lauded the project for singling
out legumes. He said despite their obvious benefit to the country’s food
security, employment, and even contribution to GDP, their productivity was low
and yields were far below their potential.
Expanding area under legume production and increasing yield
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Dr Fidelis Myaka, Director for Research and Development
making the opening remarks.He lauded the initiative for
focusing on legumes.
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He attributed the low yield to inadequate application of
scientific knowledge by both farmers and development practitioners and other
factors. He was therefore pleased to note that N2Africa was working to expand
the area and enhance yields of grain legumes through the application of
scientific knowledge including the use of improved varieties and rhizobium
inoculants to maximize the yield potential of grain legumes.
“The application of scientific knowledge, especially by
smallholder farmers, has always been constrained by poor targeting of the
technologies to the diversity of farmers and farming conditions, poor packaging
of technologies, and issues relating to input supply and output market. I am
aware that N2Africa’s approach puts into consideration all these factors through
farming systems analysis to target technologies to the farming conditions of
smallholder farmers and through a value chain approach,” he added.
Development for Research
model
Other speakers at the forum included the Director of the
Project, Prof. Dr Ken Giller from Wagenigen University who gave an overview of the
project. Dr Giller said the aim of the project entitled ”Putting Nitrogen
Fixation to Work in Africa” aims at increasing the land area cropped with
legumes.
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| Prof Ken Giller gives an over view of the project. |
He said the project was following a Development-for-Research
model and was disseminating the already available technologies for legume
production such as improved varieties, and use of innoculants. The research would
now focus on the challenges farmers were facing in adopting and adapting these
technologies in their farming systems.
Dr Bernard Vanlauwe, IITA’s Director for Central Africa,
also at the event, conveyed greetings from IITA’s Director General, Dr Nteranya
Sanginga. Dr Vanlauwe noted the initiative was important to IITA as part of its
Natural Resource Management activities.
According to Dr Fredrick Baijukya, N2Africa team leader
in Tanzania, said the project will be implemented in the Southern, Eastern and
Northern parts of the country in Iringa, Ruvuma, Njombe, Lindi, Mtwara, Arusha, Kilimanjaro,
Shinyanga and Dodoma regions. It will focus on cowpea, common bean, groundnuts and soybean which are amongst the most important legumes in the country.
The project launch brought together a wide diversity of
stakeholders from those in legume production, input development, and supplies
including seeds and fertilizers, processing, marketing, and regulatory bodies
to policy makers.
The project which is now in its second phase is funded by the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and led by Wagenigen University. Phase one of
the project initiated in 2009 was implemented in DR Congo, Ghana, Kenya,
Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe. The second phase
started in January 2014 and will focus on five core countries: Ethiopia, Ghana,
Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda but will maintain activities in the other
countries under Phase 1.
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| N2 Africa target areas for Tanzania |
Implementing partners are IITA, the International Livestock
Research Institute (ILRI), and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
(AGRA). They will collaborate with the National Agriculture Research Systems
and local and international NGOs.
