Mokwakwaila community workshop, June 4, 2015

Below is a summary of the discussions and outcomes from the workshop. We appreciate the participation of all those that were present, both farmers and LDA staff!

All the farmers said that it was helpful to get the seasonal forecast information last year in Sept-Oct 2014. Many still ploughed even though the forecast said a dry year. They wanted to try their luck and hope for the best. With the information though they could better prepare for example by collecting maize stocks to feed their animals and some sold or culled unproductive animals. Some used drums to collect rainwater for irrigation of their gardens. However the rain events were few and the little they saved had to used for drinking water not irrigation. Some farmers used kraal manure to improve water holding capacity of the soil in their vegetable gardens. This was not specifically done because it was dry but rather it is for a long-term improvement of the soil. Some said that by the signs in nature they already knew early that it would be a dry year. They however also like to get the seasonal forecast information to confirm this information.

Activities performed during 2014-2015

14/33 planted drought resistant seeds

6/9 reduced herd

0/24 bought fodder (because of a communication problem about the subsidized fodder)

0/9 stored water for watering livestock

20/24 stored water for household use or vegetable gardens

26/33 mulched

2/9 have changed to indigenous cattle

29/33 ploughed early

9 /9 prepared for disease outbreaks in cattle

0/0 prepared for disease outbreaks in their crops

Timeline 2014-2015

Aug/Sept: We started worrying about the livestock. We had medicine already, we bought in June.

Oct: Some sold their animals. The body condition was already poor. The price was low. Some planted cowpeas. Some ploughed and planted maize.

Nov: We experienced the first rain and many ploughed. The grazing improved a little bit after some rain. But later in the month it was dry again.

Dec: Some planted groundnuts. Sometimes there was a shortage of drinking water. There were problems of wilting plants in the gardens because of dry periods. Most could not harvest anything.

Jan: Many realized it would be an exceptionally dry year. Those with livestock had no extra fodder. We took our cattle to faraway places, which was a strain for the cattle to walk up to 5 kms. Those with home gardens did not harvest fled crops (cowpea, maize, pumpkin) for seed to be used the following season and did not dry crop leaves for winter relish due to dry spells.

Feb-March: Many gave up hope that there would be any harvest. Most cattle died of lumpy skin disease. They died before we vaccinated them. Because we knew it was going to be dry, we did not vaccinate and the animals died. The small tributary close the community that they use for watering their livestock dried completely. Some that saved maize from last year’s good harvest had used up their reserve by February while some still had left in June. Some could not preserve enough through drying because there was not enough sun.

February-May

Some farmers planted spinach and mustard but did not harvest due to limited access of irrigation water. Most crops failed. Farmers got 0 to 25 kgs of maize after harvesting.

The activities that farmers pointed out as giving most benefit according to the effort required in terms of time and money were: using drought-tolerant seeds and ploughing with tractors. There can though be much stress waiting in queue for the tractors to be available. Water harvesting and mulching are both a lot of work.

Field Day in Mokwakwaila June 3rd, back to back with the regional workshop held in Polokwane, June 3rd

Below is a summary of discussions with two representations of the local community at Mokwakwaila Service Centre.

Signs of nature (Indigenous Knowledge)

When there is a wet season the farmers see more fruits and flowers. That is the sign for rain.

"It sometimes rains, but along the way it stops. It does not rain all the time."

When swallows arrive, they indicate that it is just about to rain. The occurrence of more flowers is a long-term sign (indicating good rains in the coming season)

How do you see that is a drought?

The moon

During the rainy season if the moon is covered by a misty cloud (on the outside), like a corona, or ring, around the moon, they know that rain is coming. This is a long term sign for the next six months or so - for the whole season.

The rain

If there is a function at home and people are enjoying themselves and they see that rain is coming, they can stop the rain by putting the plate on the back.

Planting date

When someone plants groundnuts before the right time, then the rains will stop. There are taboos such as this that need to be researched.

Management activities

When it is a wet year, the farmers will make contours to help drain the land.

When it is dry year, when they see that the rain will be less than normal, they will mulch so that the rain is kep in the soil and evaporation is prevented. This year, they tried to do many such activities, but when there is no rain, nothing helps.

The farmers often sit together and share their experiences and ideas and plans for how to handle whatever situation that may come.

Discussion notes and summay from Polokwane workshop, June 2nd

Below are some brief notes from discussions held during the day (For information on the workshop content, see the presentations and program, to be found separately).

Local signs in nature:

One person commented that the signs seen at the beginning of the rainy season e.g. much fruit on the trees, more calves, etc. might actually be a reflection on the conditions the year before instead of predictions of the coming season. More observations and comparisons would need to be made than on just the two seasons in this study.

For the two years in which the study was held, the signs in nature and the seasonal forecasts gave the same indications. IK is important to include because if you respect the knowledge have themselves, they might be also being open to new technology and knowledge. It is important that all types of knowledge be gathered and studied in order to increase understanding and use in a proactive manner.

Empowerment of Extension Service officers

The project has empowered extension service officers in uploading wireless sensor data and reading the output graphs and understanding the modeling-assisted seasonal forecast information. Training is needed as part of any sensor-based information collection exercises to make the outputs useful on the ground. Training would be needed in the care and data collection as related to the sensors, hydrological modeling and analysis of seasonal forecasts as well as scale issues. Early warning is only one part of the story. There must be willingness and opportunity from farmers to act on the information they receive.

How do we tackle the uncertainty issue in seasonal forecasting?

There are always uncertainties in predictions. The best way to handle this is by combining different sources and types of information. Uncertainty is not only related to the resolution of rainfall forecasting but also about how soil moisture is different according to soil types, vegetation, etc. There must be systems in place to improve the accuracy of information. Sensors only measure conditions at specific points. Much thought must be put into choosing where to put the sensors. GIS could be used to detect drought prone areas by using the information from sensors placed at strategic and representative areas in terms of soil, etc. System thinking is key to create a sustainable and useful program. Different incidents have been built into the disaster management database LADMSI.

How to continue the North-South collaboration?

Both sides will look for funding opportunities related to networking as well as continued project work to bring the project to the next stage. One possibility is WRC funding.

Local-scale Early Warning Systems - can they increase community resilience?

On June 2, 2015 a workshop was held at Bolivia Lodge in Polokwane to share the lessons learned from the 3-year collaboration between LDA, SMHI and LiU on the topic of early warning systems for drought as well as discussions of how to further the work and the collaboration. Participants came from LDA, HO and field staff, SMHI, LiU, University of Venda, University of Limpopo and AWARD.

On June 3 a fieldtrip was help to Mokwakwaila service centre and surroundings to see the effects of the dry season of 2014-2015 on farmers and their livelihoods and wellbeing.