etable, while the pumpkin itself is consumed as a snack, usually in be- STUDY QUESTIONS
tween meals. Groundnuts are a very important relish crop. Dry nuts are 1. Why were the ARPTs created and what are their overall objectives?
ground into flour and are traditionally a woman's crop. They are added to vegetables as an alternative to cooking oil, which is difficult to acquire in 2. What were the objectives of the ARPT activities in TR3?
rural areas. Fresh nuts are boiled and eaten as snacks or are roasted if 3. What are the activities of men and women in agricultural housedry; surpluses are sold for cash. Mt. Makulu Red is the favored nut variety holds and when are they dlone throughout the year?
for cash cropping. Though the price for groundnuts is high on the world market, tile government price is low. Most groundnuts sold are sold pri- 4. What are the resources of men and women and what benefits do
vately though local markets. A persistent problem with groundnuts is they derive from their productive activities? From other activities?
pops" (empty shells). Pops is usually associated with highly acid soils 5. What are the primary constraints facing farmers in TRD3 and what
and the lack of calcium. are their causes?
Rplish crops are usually grown by women in small backyard gardens
or near main fields or in the dambos. Land preparation is the women's re- 6. For two of these problem areas, suggest solutions which might be
sponsibility for these plots. The average size of fields for these crops is tested and criteria for evaluating such tests.
0.07 hectares, with a range of 0.05 to 0.09 hectares. Most operations are 7. Design an on-farm trial based on one of the solutions proposed.
done with a hoe, and most labor used on these crops is expended on (optional)
ridging and weeding. Harvesting groundnuts and sweet potatoes also tends to take up a lot of time. The harvest of dry groundnuts is in two stages: the plants are lifted upside down so that the nuts can dry and the NOTES
nuts are hand-harvested a week or so later. Fresh nuts are dug directly from the ground. Groundnuts are planted from October through January. I. In 1980, when CIMMYT proposed to demonstrate these procedures in Zambia,
farming systems research and extension (FSR/E), as it is known today, was just
The harvest of the first plantings begins in February and continues being recognized. There was great diversity in terminology and procedures among
through June. Groundnuts are stored in August. Sweet potatoes and other the many early practitioners. The CIMMYT economics program operating out of
relish crops are planted January through March. Some cabbage and rape Nairobi, Kenya, was conducting what it called on-farm research. Most of cIMMYr's
on-farm research at this time focused on maize, one of the key commodities of tie
are planted in May. organization headquartered in Mexico. In Zambia, FSI/E was initially called on-l'arm
Beans are grovn by women i i pure stands or are intercropped with research or adaptive research, but by the mid-1980s, the term FSI/E was gaining ac,-e; female-controlled relish crol.s such as pumpkins and groundnuts. ceptance. In this case, the generic term FSR/E is used for consistency among the
Beans are in great demand bringing as much as K 100 for a fifty-pound different case studies in the volume.
bag on the informal market. Tie local varieties of beans produce a mixed 2. "Chitimene" is slash-and-burn shifting cultivation. All growth is cut down and kIe
field burned before cultivation. After the fertility of a field drops, a new field is
crop when sown. White or sugar beans are kept for home consumption; opened by the same method.
red beans are sold in town. Beans have several plantings throughout the rainy season, the first in December. Successive plantings are harvested from April through July. REFERENCES
The hours of labor required for different activities for different crops Adaptive Research Planning Team. 1982. Report of an Informal Survey of Farmers in
Traditional Recommendation Domain #3 of the Mkushi District, Central Province.
per hectare and per average area planted are indicated in Tables 9-6 and Kabwe, Zambia.
9-7. Appendix 9-li provides information on the prices, costs, and standards used by the ARPT in the economic analysis of on-farm trials. After 1983. Final Report of the Formal Survey in Traditional Recommendation' Domain *5
reviewing these surveys, the ARPT team worked to characterize the farm- of Kabwe Rural District, Central Province. Kabwe, Zambia.
ing system, to identify the major constraints and opportunities, and to 1984. Central Province ARPT Annual Report, I July 1983 to 30 June 1984. Kabwe,
plan its research activities for TRD3 for the coming season. Zambia.
 1985. Central Province ARIi Annual Report, I July 1984 to 30 June 1985. Kahwe,
Zambia.
 n.d. Central Province Trial Progiam: 1984./5 Crop Cycle.