Gununo Watershed is one of the benchmark sites of the African Highlands Initiative in collaboration with Areka Agricultural Research Centre. It is located in the densely populated area of Wolayita z one in Southern Ethiopia. The area of the watershed is 544 ha with over 622 households residing in it . Low productivity mainly attributed to low soil fertility is one of the major factors constraining crop production. The major cause of low soil fertility i s soil erosion due to mainly run off. To tackle this problem collective action (CA) was initiated in the watershed for soil and water conservation (SWC). Frequent meetings were held with farmers to chart out the plan of action. Farmers selected local insti tutions that could effectively lead the CA. SWC structures were constructed for two seasons – 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 . Soil bund stabilizers were planted on the bunds to stabilize , intensify and increase the productivity of the bunds. Participatory monitorin g and evaluation was conducted at different stages and processes were documented eventually . As a result , close to 10 km length of SWC structures were constructed in the two seasons . Thousands of seedlings of elephant grass and banana were planted on the soi l bunds. Some farmers also adopted and constructed additional length of soil conservation structures individually and some others also planted sugar cane and elephant grass as bund stabilizer. The soil has started changing and crop productivity improved wi thin short period. These achievements were characterized by series of challenges and this paper is addressing the lessons learnt on collective action on SWC in Gununo Watershed.
Tag: Africa
Incorporating a landcare approach into community land management efforts in Africa: a case study of the Mount Kenya region
This report reviews the aspect of community based natural resource management approaches, the adoption of environmental conservation (soil and water conservation) technologies and extent and use of farmer innovations within the mount kenya regions. The report is based on a case study carried out within mount kenya region comprising four districts, namely Embu and Meru South in eastern province, nyeri in central province and laikipia in the rift valley of kenya. the study was carried out in the months of july, august and september 2002. This study presents the current status of natural resource management in the region, it explores the various actors in environmental conservation with particular emphasis on soil and water conservation, afforestation and general land care. Further, it examines community prioritization of constraints in environmental conservation and describes remedial efforts made especially through group activities
In search of substance: an analytical review of concepts and approaches in natural resource management in Sub Saharan Africa
Scaling up the impact of agroforestry: Lessons from three sites in Africa and Asia
This paper assesses recent lessons in scaling up agroforestry benefits, drawing on three case studies: fodder shrubs in Kenya, improved tree fallows in Zambia and natural vegetative strips coupled with the Landcare Movement in the Philippines. Currently more than 15 000 farmers use each of these innovations. Based on an examination of the main factors facilitating their spread, 10 key elements of scaling up are presented. The key elements contributing to impact were a farmer-centered research and extension approach, a range of technical options developed by farmers and researchers, the building of local institutional capacity, the sharing of knowledge and information, learning from successes and failures, and strategic partnerships and facilitation. Three other elements are critical for scaling up: marketing, germplasm production and distribution systems, and policy options. But the performance of the three case-study projects on these was, at best, mixed. As different as the strategies for scaling up are in the three case studies, they face similar challenges. Facilitators need to develop exit strategies, find ways to maintain bottomup approaches in scaling up as innovations spread, assess whether and how successful strategies can be adapted to different sites and countries, examine under which circumstances they should scale up innovations and under which circumstances they should scale up processes, and determine how the costs of scaling up may be reduced.
Can Science Lower Risks of Failure for Transformative Development Projects? the Example of Restoration and Regreening of the Sahel
An estimated 83 % of Sub-Saharan Africans are dependent on the land for their livelihoods, yet two-thirds of African land is already degraded to some degree. In many African countries, more than 65 % of the land area is degraded. By eroding the productivity of farming systems, land degradation reduces incomes and food security. By reducing the resilience of the ecosystems populations depend on, land degradation worsens their exposure to the vagaries of the increasingly erratic weather of the Anthropocene. Migration is thus, unsurprisingly, accelerating with about 60 million people at risk of being uprooted by desertification and land degradation in the next few decades in Sub-Saharan Africa. Can the science of agroforestry, land health assessments and the economics of land degradation be integrated into development projects so that they can lower their risks of failure The presentation explores the joint experiences and plans of the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and GIZ as they seek to answer this question while improving the livelihoods of 500,000 smallholder farmers in eight countries in the Sahel as 1 million ha of their degraded farm land is ‘regreened’. Taking a ‘research in development’ approach that seeks to integrate evidence into decision making on policies and investments by a range of stakeholders and partners, the project focuses on the potential of agroforestry and especially Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration and our understanding of the processes of land degradation and rehabilitation to act as the vehicles for transformative change. The presentation will discuss collaborative, institutional and technical arrangements in this structured ‘learning for development’ project supported by the European Commission
Conceptual analysis: The charcoal-agriculture nexus to understand the socio-ecological contexts underlying varied sustainability outcomes in African Landscapes
The production of charcoal is an important socio-economic activity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Charcoal production is one of the leading drivers of rural land-use changes in SSA, although the intensity of impacts on the multi-functionality of landscapes varies considerably. Within a given landscape, charcoal production is closely interconnected to agriculture production both as major livelihoods, while both critically depend on the same ecosystem services. The interactions between charcoal and agricultural production systems can lead to positive synergies of impacts, but will more often result in trade-offs and even vicious cycles. Such sustainability outcomes vary from one site to another due to the heterogeneity of contexts, including agricultural production systems that affect the adoption of technologies and practices. Trade-offs or cases of vicious cycles occur when one-offresource exploitation of natural trees for charcoal production for short-term economic gains permanently impairs ecosystem functions. Given the fact that charcoal, as an important energy source for the growing urban populations and an essential livelihood for the rural populations, cannot be readily substituted in SSA, there must be policies to support charcoal production. Policies should encourage sustainable technologies and practices, either by establishing plantations or by encouraging regeneration, whichever is more suitable for the local environment. To guide context-specific interventions, this paper presents a new perspective-the charcoal-agriculture nexus-aimed at facilitating the understanding of the socio-economic and ecological interactions of charcoal and agricultural production. The nexus especially highlights two dimensions of the socio-ecological contexts: charcoal value chains and tenure systems. Combinations of the two are assumed to underlie varied socio-economic and ecological sustainability outcomes by conditioning incentive mechanisms to affect the adoption of technologies and practices in charcoal and agriculture productions. Contrasting sustainability outcomes from East Africa are presented and discussed through the lens of the charcoal-agriculture nexus. The paper then concludes by emphasizing the importance of taking into account the two-dimensional socio-ecological contexts into effective policy interventions to turn charcoal-agriculture interactions into synergies. © 2017 Iiyama, Neufeldt, Njenga, Derero, Ndegwa, Mukuralinda, Dobie, Jamnadass and Mowo.
Agroforestry practical teaching and learning facilities as models for outreach in Africa
Inter-firm relations and resource-based performance: a contingent relational view of small-scale farmers in Zambia
Purpose
Effective and flexible organizational models have become an avenue for driving smallholder competitiveness in the agricultural sector. However, little is understood about the processes by which resource-constrained actors deploy their organizational networks to generate and retain value in rapidly changing agrifood environments. This study examines the moderating effects of business contingencies on the interplay between organizational relationships and the resource-based performance of small-scale farmers in a developing country.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors propose a novel conceptual framework grounded in the relational view, netchain and contingency theories. Cross-sectional data obtained from 330 maize farmers in rural Zambia were analyzed using variance-based structural equation modeling, which involves mediation-moderation analysis.
Findings
The results show that all relational networks – vertical, horizontal and lateral – positively mediate the effects farm resources and social capital have on farmers’ performance. However, these effects change depending on the predominant agency situations. Specifically, asymmetric power from customers and reputable competitors weakens the positive effect of closer horizontal relationships on business performance, while the positive effect of tighter informal vertical relationships on farmers’ performance weakens under conditions of high affective trust. Moreover, the gender-based multigroup analyses highlight variations in the contingent relational view of men- and women-headed households.
Research limitations/implications
The study relies on cross-sectional data from one agribusiness sector in Zambia, thus generalizations should be cautious.
Originality/value
The uniqueness of this study lies in the proposed theoretical framework and new empirical insights, which extend the scope of the relational view to small-scale farming households in developing countries.
The forgotten half? Women in the forest management and development discourse in Africa: A review
Numerous theoretical and empirical studies examining women’s engagement in sustainable forest management (SFM) have shown that women bring distinctive interests and values to forest management. However, their effective engagement is still low due to bottlenecks such as rules of entry, ownership, labor division, social norms, perceptions, rules of practice, personal endowments, institutional outcomes, and other organizational cultures. Key among those are the gendered perceptions that marginalize them from the onset. As a result, women’s potential to promote SFM in Africa has not been exploited effectively, yet. This raises concerns for gender and social equity as the current practice socially excludes groups that hold specific ecological knowledge, skills, and interests that influence SFM practices. By critically reviewing systematically selected 104 studies conducted on gender issues and forest management in Africa, this paper explores how women’s role in forest management and the broader development discourse is constrained. It also characterizes the prevailing engagement models and shows how they influence inclusive processes of deploying SFM practices. Women’s engagement in SFM is dominated by public/civic engagement and significantly lags in effectively engaging them as stakeholders, experts, or households. Of the 104 studies reviewed, 54% (n = 57) characterized women’s engagement as largely through public meetings compared to 5% (n = 5) as stakeholders and 4% (n = 4) as experts. Thirty-four percent (n = 36) did not clearly categorize the engagement type. Women’s engagement in SFM is merely to fill the gender ‘representation’ requirements and any effective roles such as decision making, ownership, and benefits are not under the control of women at large. As a result, women’s potential to promote forest management and avert ongoing forest loss is not exploited. There is a need to transition from mere representation to a meaningful engagement of women in the sector for inclusive forest management to flourish. In general, capturing, recognizing, and effectively utilizing women’s voices and potential in forest management and development discourse requires institutions that deliberately embrace inclusivity and promote equity in general and across gender.
From crisis to context: Reviewing the future of sustainable charcoal in Africa
Is charcoal a sustainable energy source in Africa This is a crucial question, given charcoal’s key importance to urban energy. In today’s dominant policy narrative – the charcoal-crisis narrative – charcoal is deemed incompatible with sustainable and modern energy, blamed for looming ecological catastrophe, and demanding replacement. However, an emerging sustainability-through-formalization narrative posits that charcoal can be made sustainable – specifically, through formalization of production, trade, markets, and consumption technologies. This represents an important opportunity to go beyond the crisis narrative and to engage productively with charcoal. However, this ascendent narrative also risks misrepresenting the reality of charcoal on the continent and leading to inappropriate policies. The narrative’s designation of the African charcoal sector as unsustainable at present obscures charcoal production’s diverse and uncertain impacts across the continent; moreover, the association of informality with unsustainability obscures a similarly complex and diverse social reality as well as the ways that social processes and relations of power and inequality determine charcoal’s sustainability. We argue that charcoal needs to be considered within its historical, social, and environmental contexts to better understand its present and the emergent pathways to sustainable energy futures. We draw upon research that is raising questions about both the charcoal-crisis and the sustainability-through-formalization narratives to argue for a new narrative of charcoal in context. This approaches charcoal as a politically, ecologically, and historically embedded resource, entailing significant socio-ecological complexity across diverse historical and geographical conjunctures, and calling for new agendas of interdisciplinary research with an orientation towards sustainability and justice.