– Zimbabwean Context_ Practical Action

Deadline: 22 November 2020

Introduction

Practical Action is an innovative international development organisation putting ingenious ideas to work so people in poverty can change their world. Our vision is “a world that works better for everyone”. Practical Action, working in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement, and Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI), is searching for individual consultant/consultants to assist in the consultancy: “Development of Technical Manual on Resilient and Sustainable Livestock Rearing and Management practices aligned to Agroecology Principles – Zimbabwean Context”.

The consultant is expected to work with the relevant stakeholders to develop an appropriate, practical and well-articulated practical manual on resilient and sustainable livestock rearing and management practices aligned to agroecology technical and appropriate approaches for the Zimbabwean context. This document is aimed at guiding the diverse agroecology practitioners, key stakeholders and farmers in practice and implementation of regenerative, resilient and sustainable livestock husbandry practices nation-wide. This document will be informing the critical practices, indicators and approaches which will assist in identification, verification and validation of livestock rearing practices which are most appropriate for particular AEZs where livestock rearing is a critical livelihood or food security factor.

This strategic document will further enable evidence generation across the 5 agroecological zones of the country, and inform validated and informed recommendations for each contextual area. This document will provide guidelines to any practitioner, farmer, key stakeholder, corporate or civil society institution purporting to be practising or implementing systemic and holistic agroecology-focused sustainable livestock rearing enterprise. The upscaling of sustainable livestock rearing will be guided by this document in adherence to a holistic and systemic approach to their intervention in agroecology.

Background Information

More than a third of the world’s people rely on agriculture for their survival than any other occupation. But three quarters of the world’s poorest people are farmers, confirming that agriculture simply isn’t working for the vast majority of them. Practical Action helps people build farming systems that connect nature (climate, land, water, plants and animals) with people (culture, economics and society). We believe that Agroecology can enable smallholder farmers to achieve a decent standard of living, whilst protecting the environment and building natural resources. This offers a sustainable alternative to intensive agriculture, with the potential to transform the lives of millions of families. The proposed assignment is expected to provide practitioners with practical, appropriate and informed approaches to unpacking livestock rearing based on agroecological principles and elements aligned to each of the 5 Agroecological Zones of Zimbabwe.

Specific objectives and scope of the study

We would expect that this assignment be split into four (4) distinct parts clearly and concisely by – (1) defining/articulating what sustainable, holistic and systemic livestock rearing and management entails, the principles and approaches from a systemic and technical view point (2) Identifying and aligning which agroecology principles and elements are relevant to which contextual livestock rearing practises as defined under each of the environmental conditions under each agroecology zones of Zimbabwe – AEZ I – V, justifying this alignment (3) Identifying, defining and providing practical approaches and articulating, differentiating and providing specific practical examples of specific livestock rearing and management practices or production systems best suited for each AEZ context for Zimbabwe.

This section should also include holistic and systemic approaches in application of ethno-veterinary practices, fodder cropping, livestock feed formulation, natural veld/pasture best practices and appropriate stocking rates for each of the AEZs. (4) Identify specific livestock species prevalent in each of the 5 AEZs of Zimbabwe [small livestock, poultry, bovine/ruminants, and or pigs if justifiable within a particular context) and articulate the appropriate needs, practices and relevant technologies necessary to enhance transitioning into enhanced uptake of resilient sustainable livestock rearing for each specific AEZ I - V.