ESApartnersmeet November2021

Africa RISING ESA Project Partners Meeting
4 November 2021
Virtual via Ms TEAMS

Participants

1. A. Kimaro, ICRAF
2. C. Thierfelder, CIMMYT
3. D. Mgalla, IITA
4. F. Kizito, IITA
5. F. Muthoni, IITA
6. J. Kihara, Bioversity-CIAT
7. J. Manda, IITA
8. J. Odhong, IITA
9. L. Claessens, IITA
10. M. Bekunda, IITA
11. M. Mulundu, ZARI
12. j. Mwololo, ICRISAT-ZW
13. W. Mhango
14. F. Michael, IITA
15. E. Mwambo, IITA
16. M. Chifuniro, Alliance Bioversity-CIAT
17. A. Mwangwela
18. I. I.Hoeschle-Zeledon

Agenda

• Optimizing performance of soybean and groundnut in different agroecologies through plant density, seed quality, and P fertilization-Dr.Wezi Mhango (LUANAR)
• Intergrating Food and Nutrition in AEI to improve household dietary diversity- Agnes Mwangwela (LUANAR)

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File:W.Mhango ESAPPT.pptx - Wezi Mhango (LUANAR)

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• Download the presentation from the link in the title above.

Discussion

• Mateete.Comment. BNF values are rather high!

Sieg.Doubled up legumes for doubled BNF!

• Mateete: Wezi, the certified vs. recycled seed...same as recycled on BNF even on yield for soybean except for one site. Can we recommend "no need for certified seed"?

Sieg.Interesting Mateete, maybe farmers can recycle good seeds for a number of years in some cases. Unless seed-borne disease comes in

• Sieg. Comment. Nice maize yield in rotation with high pop groundnut
• Mateete. It appears the same for groundnut certified vs. recycled – BNF

• Sieg. Mateete, Breeders need to increase BNF potential, perhaps

• Irmgard. Soybean response to P: no response in Golomoti. Is this a function of altitude or of soil type?

• Job. Well, P response could only be expected in Ntubiw and to some extent in Lintipe. The other sites have already high available P., looking at the data presented

Sieg: Golomoti Low yield potential site higher evapotranspiration and erratic rain so soil moisture deficit more common than the mesic Linthipe site

• Mulundu. In Zambia, we find small-scale farmers producing legumes using recycled seed most of the time, which tends to affect their productivity. To have fifth-generational, the seed productivity in terms of DNA won't be different certified seeds, and I think it is an eyer open.

Concerning the lack of significant differences in biological nitrogen fixation between the two agro-ecological zones, other than it is a consequence of competition for resources, I would like to know if the team considered the lack of significant difference might impact the sources of lack variation in the low altitude area, might be as the result of high temperature. Also, I would like to know how DNA was measured?

• Wezi. Modified nitrogen difference methods assessed BNFT

File:AMwangwela ESAPPT.pptx - Agnes Mwangwela (LUANAR)

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• Download presentation from the link in the title above.

Discussion

• Wanjiku. Agnes, was the baseline and end-line data collected in the same season?

• Agnes.Yes Wanjiku, they were all collected in the same month, September

• Mateete. Few livestock in Malawi. Would it not be anticipated that low consumption of livestock-source food should be expected?

• Agnes. Indeed, the livestock numbers in Malawi are low, but This was an integrated study, we also had interventions on goats within the same areas, we were had expected based other interventions on the production of animal feeds. But in Malawi, we also had fish, local chicken already in the households. Our expectation was the training results would be some the householders would integrate this product into the diet within the household. That is why the aspect of income became significant. In Golomoti were able to demonstrate the assess to the market was able to help in improving animal food within the diet diversity of the households. We knew the number are low but there was an aspect of exploring whether we could make the difference in utilization of whatever livestock products are available within the community.

• Irmgard: I agree with Agnes. Low livestock: the opportunity for SI of the farms!

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b/r

• Mateete. Reminder to those who did submit their workplan should do so.
• There is the project handbook is at its final stage and in the production stage and might come out by the end of this year

• Irmgard: We are reaching the deadline for submission of new CGIAR initiate on Sustainable intensification. It is the initiative within the new research program where SI is in the core, so our work in Africa RISING Project lays a lot of contribution in this initiative.