MAINSTREAMING CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION IN AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The project entitled “Mainstreaming climate change adaptation in Zimbabwe‟s
agricultural extension system” aims to integrate climate change adaptation in the
Department of Agricultural, Technical and Extension Services (AGRITEX);
whose professional staff are mandated to deliver agricultural extension in
Zimbabwe. With increased knowledge and awareness of climate change issues,
AGRITEX staff at all levels will be able facilitate decision-making and planning
by smallholder farmers in adapting and coping with climate variability and
change.
An initial manual was developed based on the content of four training workshops
each attended by 30 AGRITEX staff drawn from Head Office and the three
provinces; Matabeleland South, Midlands and Masvingo. The training workshops
were interactive, included several exercises and a community-based trial. All
participants were encouraged to comment on the suitability, content and style of
the training. Thanks are due to all the participants who provided valuable
suggestions which have been incorporated into a revised draft of the training
manual.
In the initial “roll out” phase of the project, the revised draft of the manual was
then used by a team of 15 AGRITEX staff, who had attended one or both of
these earlier workshops, to themselves train 20 new colleagues. Feedback from
this workshop has shaped this version of the manual.
Thus many people have contributed to the writing and final production of this
manual. The initial course content was developed and delivered by Dr Peter
Dorward and Dr Roger Stern (Reading University), Henry Muchedzi and Kudzai
Marovanidze (Practical Action Southern Africa), Rutendo Nhongonhema
(AGRITEX), John Mupuro (Meteorological Services Department (DMS)), Dr
Leonard Unganai (UNDP) and Dr Piet van den Ende (for Practical Action UK),
Special thanks must be extended to Rutendo and John for their sterling work,
often under considerable pressure and at very short notice, to analyse locally
relevant climatic data. The willingness of the directorate of the Department of
Meteorological Services to make climatic data available to AGRITEX must be
acknowledged. It would have been impossible to deliver meaningful training
without access to local meteorological data.
A special vote of thanks is extended to all who participated in the workshops and
who provided valuable feedback on different aspects of the training. Thanks
must also be extended to the communities and individuals who willingly took part
in the field activities that were part of the training. All the comments and
suggestions received have helped to shape this manual.
A Training Manual on Use of Climate Information and Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment for
Agricultural Extension Staff in Zimbabwe
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