SASSCAL 2.0 research programme

The project aimed to establish a soil analysis laboratory and an agricultural microbiology laboratory in Angola and Zambia. This will make it possible to conduct reliable studies on the biological, chemical and physical properties of the soil, the rational use of fertilisers and the production of adapted seeds suitable for different soil and climatic conditions.

The results were fed into soil quality monitoring databases and enable effective participation in scientific research networks. The background is: knowledge of the biological, chemical and physical properties of soils is of paramount importance for evaluating agricultural management systems and practices, ensuring ecosystem sustainability and environmental quality, and assessing their condition and functionality.

In this regard, Angola, for example, faces major challenges as soil surveys date back to the 1960s, hence there is an urgent need for further studies aimed at updating the data and laying the foundation for knowledge-based on agricultural research. In addition, Angola has only about five laboratories for soil analysis, of which only two are currently in operation, leading to unregulated use of fertilisers without prior soil analysis.

Duration: 01/08/2022 - 31/07/2025

Currently, we know too little about the organismal flexibility and behaviour of long-lived mammals to assess whether and how these mammals can mitigate climate change effects for their species.

In this collaborative project, physiological and behavioural flexibility was being studied in four antelope species in relation to water dependence. These range from the water-bound lechwe (antelope of the genus waterbuck), the water-dependent eland, the water-seeking lyre antelope (sassaby) to the water-independent eland. All four species showed declining populations, mainly due to droughts and human impact.

To investigate this, the animals were fitted with temperature sensors and GPS collars, that receive data from satellite navigation systems. This was allowing the location of animal herds and the microclimate to be recorded. The results of this project will improve our understanding of mammalian evolution as a result of physiological constraints, shed light on the causes of recent population declines, and thus contribute to improved management and conservation of African wildlife diversity in a changing climate.

Duration: 01/11/2021 - 31/10/2024

The Beekeeping project promoted capacity building in beekeeping and honey production for climate change mitigation and forest conservation, as well as generating additional income for rural populations in Zambia and Angola. It was expected that the promotion of beekeeping and honey production will lift large numbers of people out of poverty while helping to protect rural ecosystems.

The project objectives were in line with the general consensus among decision-makers and researchers that climate change poses an imminent threat to Southern African society and the environment. Therefore, measures need to be taken to address the impacts of climate change on food security, natural resource protection and health. The potential of beekeeping for climate change mitigation is considerable as there is a large regional and international market for bee products.

Beekeeping promotes the conservation of biodiversity by reducing environmentally damaging activities while increasing ecosystem services, such as crop pollination. The organisation of beekeepers in Angola and Zambia is rather weak and should be strengthened through project activities. The region does not yet have efficient dissemination, production and value-adding technologies and the management skills of beekeepers are insufficient.

Furthermore, there is insufficient diversification, i.e. a lack of supply diversity, of bee products and their resources. This is where activities of the project came into play to diversify food sources for bees through field trials and afforestation programmes, to improve the quality of breeding bees and honey, and to evaluate new sales markets for quality products.

Duration: 15/11/2021 - 14/11/2024

The Climate Smart Crops project was researching climate-friendly indigenous plant species, such as morama (climbing banyan or morama bean) or kgengwe (melon species). These are ideal for combating desertification, mitigating climate change, creating food security and improving the livelihoods of vulnerable populations. These use the plants for food, feed, cosmetics and medicinal purposes, among others.

In the first phase of the SASSCAL research programme, much has already been achieved in this regard under the research theme: "Cultivation, value addition and marketing of climate-friendly emerging crops to improve food security in Botswana". With further research to improve yields, the project aimed to provide vulnerable populations with alternatives to exotic crops that no longer yield due to high temperatures and low rainfall in the increasing droughts of climate change. In this project, Kgengwe and Morama will be characterised molecularly and physiologically to understand the genetic make-up of these drought-resistant plants and, where appropriate, use them to improve arable cropping systems.

Farming communities will be further advised on the agricultural benefits of specific crop species. In the first phase of the SASSCAL programme, interested entrepreneurs have already been trained in product development, marketing and business start-up.

These developments were followed up and supported of the project. Research findings were be captured in policy papers to share with relevant decision makers. Capacity building of indigenous students and communities was continued in the project. In addition, capacity building of scientists in bioinformatics and/or geoinformatics and the development of a biodiversity database was realised.

Duration: 15/11/2021 - 14/11/2024

The ELNAC project addressed the existential and ongoing conflict between humans and fauna over resources and unmet conservation and development goals in the transboundary KAZA Conservation Area (Kavango-Zambesi Conservation Area Network). This area lies between Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The collaborative project assumed that the ongoing conflict between humans and fauna is caused by the current conservation paradigm, which stigmatises local communities (LGs) as polluting actors and therefore excludes them from managing the natural resources around them. Not only their livelihoods but also the achievement of conservation goals are threatened by this process. The researchers in the ELNAC project therefore suggested that conservation, development and food security should be seen as synergistic goals when pursued under a different (agroecological) approach.

The recommendation is to link landscape management involving different resources with socio-ecological systems in order to improve the governance of conservation areas and increase the empowerment of local communities in conservation and food security.

So the research project aimed to revitalise indigenous knowledge systems among local people and to empower communities to independently manage the natural resources around them. Through a systematic assessment of the distribution of resources and ecosystem services (such as oxygen and food, etc.) for wildlife and people in the vast wetlands and forests, the local communities and the research project were developing scenarios on which to base policy recommendations for the development and resilience of conservation, food systems and livelihoods in a rapidly changing climate.

Duration: 01/08/2022 - 31/07/2025

Many southern African countries, such as Zambia and Namibia, face challenges related to food insecurity. This is particularly true for people in rural areas who rely mainly on rain-fed agriculture without additional irrigation and have no other means of livelihood. The severity of food insecurity can be explained in part by the high crop reduction rates of 30 and 36 percent in rural areas of Namibia and Zambia. But food insecurity is also due to climate change, declining soil fertility, low crop diversity, pests, and crop losses.

This joint project addresses all these challenges through sector-specific crop diversification, with researchers growing three or more crop species in one area and another crop species in another area. In addition, climate-friendly agricultural practices are being promoted to mitigate the effects of drought on crops.

Moreover, the future suitability of crops for selected areas is determined based on current climatic trends and future projections. The project also familiarizes farmers with potential new markets, improves storage technologies and informes policymakers about the results of projections and analyses of crop performance and climate change.

Duration: January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2025

The FRAMe project aimed to improve food security and contribute to global crop quality improvement programmes. At the same time, South Africa's contribution to the breeding and use of melons had to be clarified. By using advanced molecular methods of modern biodiversity research, such as genome analyses, including genotyping in combination with extensive sampling, ecological modelling and the experiences of local farmers on the cultivated genotypes, an important contribution was made to improved plant breeding, especially with regard to drought tolerance.

The background is: Southern Africa has a rich diversity of crops and their natural relatives as well as so-called "orphan crops" (plants that play a minor role on the world market, such as millet or cassava) and underutilised plant species that can serve as plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

Some plant genetic resources under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (so-called PGRFA) combined with the extensive and useful traditional knowledge have enabled local farmers to survive, but a future-oriented agriculture is not yet foreseeable.

For a successful conservation and development of the promising resources, detailed analyses of modern biodiversity research on ecology, genomics or transcriptomics (analysis of the totality of all active genes of a cell) as well as historical-geographical lineage theory were applied.

Southern tropical Africa, for example, is considered a centre of diverse cucurbits with 116 species in 28 genera, with a significant proportion used in traditional agro-ecosystems, local community cooking, culture and local economies.

For example, Inara, a native gourd species of the extremely arid Namib Desert, is widely used by communities and can be developed into a commercial crop with targeted research. Farmers cultivate a variety of Citrullus variants for different purposes, such as greater adaptation to drought and plant diseases.

Duration: 01/11/2021 - 31/10/2024

To mitigate climate change, the Properties Plants project was using an ethnobotanical survey to explore different agricultural and botanical practices that will inform future decisions to promote sustainable use of the plants identified as crops in the current project.

South Africa and Angola are countries with a wide variety of crops that can be used for food security, medical applications and bioproduct development, as well as socio-economic development. However, lack of knowledge about the nutritional composition of the plants and their medical properties has meant that the development of sustainable use of this rich plant diversity has not yet progressed.

The researchers in this project argue that sustainable agricultural and botanical methods will be difficult to develop. They also argue that science-based decision-making is difficult when there is a lack of knowledge (scientific or indigenous) about plants and their potential properties for food security, medical use and the development of plants for bio-products.

The project therefore relied on close cooperation with local communities to train local people who can confidently identify potential crops and thus contribute to food diversification and food security. Moreover, the project aimed to develop natural medicines, including organic products, with local actors.

Duration: 01/11/2021 - 31/10/2024

The main objectives of the RIBS project were to sustainably improve soil fertility, restore biodiversity, protect aquifers and mitigate the impact of droughts in Southern Africa. The results of the project will help end users to restore agricultural land. In addition, the project aimed to help improve food security, as well as implement climate change mitigation measures by sequestering more carbon and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

To do this, RIBS started with research into scrub encroachment: Scrub encroachment is the increase in density of plant species with a high woody content that degrade the quality of agricultural land. This degradation reduces soil fertility, biodiversity, food security and also alters water cycles. The project brought together an interdisciplinary team from five different institutes in Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Germany.

It comprised five areas of work: (1) analysis of bush thinning and improvement of study methods, (2) planting of high quality fodder crops, (3) impact of crop land restoration on greenhouse gas emissions (TGE), water balance and biodiversity, (4) bush material as animal feed and economic value and (5) development of advisory services for bush removal measures.

The project evaluated the different bush removal techniques, farmland restoration, a post-bush removal follow-up and its efficiency, costs and impact on water cycles and biodiversity. Furthermore, recommendations for job creation and opportunities for business creation through value chains in the use of bush material will be developed.

Duration: 01/08/2022 - 31/07/2025

In the drought-prone rural areas of Northern Namibia, Botswana and Southern Angola, traditional smallholder farmers are confronted with low crop yields, declining soil fertility, poorly developed marketing chains, over-exploitation of forests and the consequences of climate change.

According to the regional needs of the African partner countries, the SUSTAIN project focused on the rehabilitation and sustainable use of degrading ecosystems in smallholder structures through: (A) climate smart conservation agriculture with stress-tolerant legumes and improved nitrogen fixation for increased food security, (B) supported regeneration of legume trees (black locust, acacia, etc.) for sustainable forest use, (C) sustainable use of forest resources, and (D) sustainable use of agricultural land (E) for sustainable forest use, (F) management of green water stored in soil and plants to improve water supply, (G) and restoration of degraded soils, (H) development of plant protein-enriched porridges for school feeding against malnutrition as well as (I) integrated assessment of the agricultural sector to assess socio-economic and environmental impacts in SADC (Southern African Development Community) countries outside the trial areas.

Duration: 01/09/2022 - 31/08/2025

The main objectives of the TIPPECC project were to produce forecasts that are as robust as possible on the occurrence of climate-related tipping points of ecosystems in southern Africa and to offer a comprehensive range of climate services. To this end, the project partners from Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Germany were building on close cooperation with various local actors (for example from politics, water management, commercial agriculture, rural communities and nature conservation).

Together, adaptation options were being developed to protect against the occurrence of ecosystem tipping points. Background to the project is: Southern Africa is currently warming at about twice the current average global warming rate.

In addition, southern Africa is expected to become generally drier under climate change, as indicated by the IPCC's Assessment Reports and Special Report on 1.5 °C Global Warming. This fact, combined with the generally low socio-economic adaptive capacity of a developing region, makes Southern Africa especially vulnerable to future climate change impacts. A particular risk for the region is, that the impacts of climate change may not occur gradually in the coming decades, but abruptly, irreversibly and with little warning.

Such changes are referred to as "tipping points". An example of a threshold-based risk is water security. Unprecedented multi-year droughts combined with increasing water demand due to urban, industrial and agricultural growth can lead to cities running out of available water, so-called "day zero" events.

These risks extend to very many rural areas in southern Africa, where water scarcity can bring long-lived agricultural and livestock systems to the brink of collapse and beyond. Livestock production in South African rangelands is also at risk of a collapse, with a tipping point caused by unhealthy temperatures.

Duration: 01/08/2022 - 31/07/2025

The project aimed to systematically analyse the results from the SASSCAL1 programme (2013-2018) in order to find technological solutions for the countries of Southern Africa that are most affected by climate change. The focus is on topics such as the secure collection of socio-economic data, the development of the population and how their needs can be met, the establishment of sustainable food production with sufficient water supply, the preservation of biodiversity and the collection of reliable climate and land management data.

To this end, the VRPE project was designing a competence network that will enable the interaction of project design and development (PDDE) of the other SASSCAL 2.0 projects and the provision of the respective project results. In the PDDEs, the aim was to identify patterns in the data already collected that provide insight into the characteristics of climate change and its regional impacts in South Africa.

Improvements in climate change adaptive capacity will require technological advancements to collect data with sensors or from cameras (visible and/or infrared), store and process information, transmit this information and computerised results to data centres, communicate with networked systems (Internet-of-Things), trigger actions through various channels and develop proposals to mitigate climate change and create resilient land management.

All SASSCAL 2.0 teams worked on solutions that are bundled via a virtual competence network (VRPE). The cooperation included the development of solutions, products (or a prototype) as well as studies for and with other SASSCAL 2.0 projects.

Duration: 01/08/2022 - 31/07/2025

The project aimed to provide local authorities and water management stakeholders with directly implementable solutions to increase water availability in rural areas of South Africa. The focus was on the Oshivambo-Iishana region: this is located in the western part of the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin and stretches across the border area between Southern Angola and Northern Namibia.

The region consists of a network of episodically water-bearing channels. This area is one of the most densely populated in south-western Africa. The semi-arid climate means that few water resources are available, so that depressions in rural areas, that fill up during the rainy season are often the only source of water for the local population.

At the same time, strong population growth and temperature increases due to climate change are increasing the pressure on the already scarce resource of water. The researchers in the project have been worked out the water storage potential of the Oshivambo-Iishana system with its numerous sinks as well as develop suitable measures to increase the storage capacity of the sinks and thus water availability.

Therefore, the project has addressed the following challenges: (1) Improving the understanding of the water bodies and water cycles of the Oshivambo-Iishana system including water balance, runoff processes in the channels and deposition in the sinks. (2) Increasing the storage capacity of the depressions and additional water storage measures in gravel pits including engineering assessment of the measures. (3) Assessment of climate change impacts on the water storage capacity of the Oshivambo-Iishana system and evaluation of the sustainability of measures under changing climatic conditions.

Duration: 01/08/2022 - 31/07/2025