Erasto Massoro

I am Technical Officer - coordinating field activities in a project called MICCA - Mitigation of Climate Change in Agriculture and Adaptation in Tanzania (Morogoro Region). This is a pilot project with the main objective of creating awareness on climate - smart agriculture and pacticing conservation agriculture practices to project identified sites to add value to the current agriculture project called HICAP-Hill Side Conservation Agriculture Project. This project ( HICAP) aimed at improving agricultural production by using conservation practices which include minimum tillage (double digging technique where only planted portions of the farm are dug leaving the other farm undisturbed,crop rotation, use of cover crops and mulching. Soil and Water Conservation initiatives are also implemented as most of the areas are steep leading to soil erosion, thus reducing the fertile layer of the land. These include contouring, trash lines, excavation of bench terraces and the like.So MICCA is trying to strngthen and scaling up of Conservation Agriculture (CA) practices by training more farmers so as to enable them implement these practices in their farms.
Prior to joining this project, I also worked with a project called Equitable Payments for Water shed Services- EPWS which was also a pilot project focusing on delivering sustainable natural resource management by modifying land usage to conserve and improve watersheds for reliable flow and high quality water.Improved livelihoods of the rural poor, social justice and equity are also realized through EPWS.This project is part of a broader concept of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES).Under PES principle, the upstream managers who real live and depend on these natural resources (in this water) are awarded/compensated by downstream users for conservation.
With this brief descrption, my areas of interest include;

Ways and methods involved in Climate- smart agriculture to be appllied to combat degradation of land so as to improve agricultural production, thus improving food security within the rural communities.
Adaptation priorities in Climate Change initiatives
Research works so far done and their findings,recommendations and lessons learned on MICCA initiatives
Menus for Climate Change Agriculture
Training techniques/guides/notes and materials on SWC practices
Sharing of experiences on Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) techniques from other related projects
Experiences in Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) and if they work for the poor
An ideal list of Conservation Agriculture practices and where applicable
Way forward in making Climate Change Agriculture sustainable in rural areas

Joined 2012

Organisation

CARE