• Enhancing food security through integration of climate resilient crops in maize based farming systems among small-scale farmers in Zambia and Namibia – FoSReCs
• Funding period: 2022-2025
• Funding Agency: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL) program

Many Southern African countries, including Zambia and Namibia, face food insecurity challenges especially among people living in rural areas who depend mainly on rain fed agriculture for their livelihoods. The food insecurity situations have been attributed to climate change, declining soil fertility, low diversification in terms of crop production, crop pests and post-harvest loses. In order to tackle these challenges, this study intends to use Area Specific Crop Diversification, an approach that looks at promoting three or more sets of different crops in one area and a different set in another. In addition to promoting drought resilient crops, Climate Smart Agriculture practices will be promoted to mitigate effects of drought on crops. Furthermore, future crop suitability over selected areas will be determined using current climatic trends and future projections. The project will also expose farmers to potential markets and improved storage technologies. Results on crop performance and climate change projections and analysis will inform policy on the importance of Area Specific Crop Diversification and future crop suitability within the selected areas.

 

Contact:

Dr. Brindha Karthikeyan (PI)  brindha.karthikeyan@fu-berlin.de