Farming
Certification
Elephant Aware Farming Certification
The certification program aims to promote sustainable farming practices that will reduce the risk of human-elephant conflict and the loss of life and property. The program will also promote the conservation of elephants and their habitat through the use of elephant-friendly farming practices.
Farming Certification Criteria
The criteria that must be met to be certified as Elephant Aware Farmer. These criteria are based on practices that are known to reduce human-elephant conflict, improve the lives of farmers and promote coexistence
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Respect for Elephant Corridors
The farmer recognizes elephants need to move constantly to the Okavango for resources and so should avoid converting and cultivating crops on these defined designated elephant corridors. The farmer will be required to respect the elephant corridors and not build any structures within the corridors.
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Actively mitigate crop loss
The farmer will be required to actively mitigate crop loss by using elephant-friendly practices such as fencing, crop rotation, crop diversification, and crop protection. The farmer will be required to use elephant-friendly practices to mitigate crop loss like chilli, bee-hive fences, flashing lights and solar-powered electric fences.
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Practice conservation agriculture
The farmer will practice sustainable farming practices that will reduce the risk of human-elephant conflict and the loss of life and property. The farmer will be required to practice conservation agriculture, which is a farming system that is designed to improve soil health and reduce erosion by implementing low cultivation methods and agro-ecologically suitable crops to improve crop yields while building elephant and climate resilience.
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Be more elephant aware
The farmer will be trained to learn more about elephants and how to be safer around them while interacting with them in their community. The farmer will be required to attend training sessions on elephant awareness and elephant-friendly protection practices.
Elephant Aware Farming Contracts
Each farmer that participates in the certification process will be required to sign a contract with the Elephant Aware Certification Program. The contract will outline the terms and conditions of the certification process and the responsibilities of the farmer taking into consideration the criteria. Compliance with the contract will be monitored by the Elephant Aware Certification Program which qualifies farmers for higher prices in the market for their surplus produce
Certification Statistics
Elephant Aware Compliant Farmers
