One of the challenges facing projects that promote onfarmtree planting or forest plantations is how to provideseeds and seedlings at reasonable cost to planting sites.This can be overcome if planting is done on forest blocksites through the forestry department’s central nursery.Earlier attempts to promote community tree plantingbased on central nurseries operated by extension agentsor non-governmental organizations (NGOs) proved bothcostly and ineffective. To reduce costs, there are continuedefforts to decentralise seedling production anddistribution to community levels through groups or centralnurseries organized in schools, camps belonging tocommunity chiefs and privately managed nurseries.In the past, group nurseries often did not survive pastthe group formation or project support stage. Centralnurseries, also, were sometimes abandoned when fundingpriorities changed. Yet, there are success stories andmany farmers continue to be effectively reached throughsuch nurseries. Certain group nurseries, for instance,were left under the management of a single individualyet continue to supply seedlings to the community.Privately owned nurseries, in contrast, have been ableto survive for longer periods, albeit with little supportfrom developmental organizations. Depending on theoperating scenario, all three types (group, central andprivate) are feasible seedling supply alternatives and canevolve along with the awareness and tree planting cultureof the community.
Tag: community involvement
Batu Rural Resource Centre: A community based approach to deliver agroforestry technologies to rural farmers
Batu RRC (geographical location: Lat. 07°56’27”; Long. 038°43’16”; elevation 1642 m.) situated at Jido Kombolcha Woreda, was established early March 2015 and inaugurated by the Australian ambassador to Ethiopia, H.E. Mark Sawers on 31 March 2016. The centre has facilities such as seedling production area (with shade net), soil and manure storage area, area for demonstration plots, fruit tree mother blocks, training hall, library, store, reliable water connection and working spaces. Batu RRC is run by landless farmers registered as a cooperative named “Magarissa”.
A coalition for enabling demand-driven development in Kabale District, Uganda
Fifteen nurseries that have demonstrated significant improvement in the produce on of quality plants and best nursery practices in Cameroon have received prizes. The prize award ceremony took place Wednesday 8th February 2012 at the Centre’s regional oce in Bastos,Yaounde. The biennial event brought together representatives of short-listed ICRAF promoted nurseries from across Cameroon is to recognize, motivate and celebrate outstanding efforts by nursery operators that have made eorts to improve the performance of their nurseries by producing improved planting materials and to promote tree domestication techniques and agroforestry practices.
Improving the availability of quality planting materials through community-based seed and seedling systems
Increasing the productivity in both crop and agroforestry subsectors is one of the measures taken to improve food security and livelihoods of subsistence farmers. This improvement can only be realized if subsistence farmers have access to quality planting material. The lack of high-quality planting material has been repeatedly identified as a major constraint to greater adoption of agroforestry innovations. The recognition of this fact has led to the development of national seed and seedling programs. However, the low capacity of these programs, the sluggish growth of the private sector, and the demand of subsistence farmers means they are obliged to seek alternative models. This paper discusses results and experiences drawn from a community-based seed and seedling production and dissemination system in the Western Highlands of Cameroon. The system is built on the concept of a rural resource centre in which capacities of farmers were strengthened to multiply improved planting material of four food crops and five fruit tree species. The rural resource centres are now sources of quality seeds and seedlings for farmers and institutional clients. The system has effectively improved the on-time dissemination, accessibility, affordability, and availability of quality planting material which are obtained at affordable prices due to proximity and reduced transport and distribution costs. Income from selling improved planting material has become an incentive for rural resources centres and helps to ensure sustainability of the system. Availability of quality seeds was found to increase on-farm crop yields by 20–40 %, while demand for improved seedlings has surpassed supplies in participating communities. The successful dissemination of this approach requires much more than the transfer of knowledge and availability of improved germplasm; it involves supporting the capacities of the rural resource centres, building partnerships with a range of stakeholders, increasing the involvement and interaction of government services, improving storage and marketing strategies, and decreasing dependency on external resources. The main challenge of the future is how to make such a system sustainable. Furthermore, in addition to the challenge of projecting and meeting the quantitative demands of farmers and other stakeholders, issues of seed quality and genetic diversity still need to be addressed when designing and implementing effective seed supply strategies and policies.
Beyond the farm: a new look at livelihood constraints in the highlands of East Africa
Throughout the highlands of eastern Africa, farming communities face critical challenges in providing for an ever-growing population while maintaining the productivity of the resource base. Most research and extension programs have approached this problem by focusing on the alleviation of farm-level productivity constraints, largely through technological solutions. There is a strong push within national and international arenas to move toward broader units of analysis and intervention, with the aim of enhancing the sustainability of rural livelihoods as well as environmental services emanating from highland areas. Yet little treatment has been given to the issue of farmer motivations for thinking and acting beyond the farm level. Outcomes of a participatory assessment of landscape-level problems of concern to highland farmers of Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania shed light on this question and point to contributions that can be made from research and development to support farmers and communities in addressing identified challenges.
Land tenure, agroforestry adoption, and reduction of fire hazard in a forest zone: A case study from Lampung, Sumatra, Indonesia
Clear land ownership and community involvement in managing forests are key determinants in securing sustainable land management. A recent study in Lampung in the province of Sumatra, Indonesia revealed that, even with the use of military force, forest policy and management has largely failed to protect forest resources when local communities were not involved. In contrast, with less government intervention but more secure land rights (as perceived by farmers), local communities have successfully rehabilitated degraded land, including that designated as state forest area, through establishment of coffee based agroforestry. The main incentive for local communities to manage land more sustainably was the expectation of secure land rights on state forest land through which livelihood and income could be realized. The study indicated that under such circumstances there is room for negotiation between the government forestry department and local communities to better manage state forest land. This not only can generate income for local communities but can also improve the overall environment through reduction of fire incidence. This indicates that legal land use rights for local communities on state forest land could be used as a ‘reward’ for upland farmers for their role in maintaining environmental services of forest land.
Farmer Community of Practice Workshop in Makueni, Machakos, and Kitui Counties in Kenya. June 2018
This round of workshops will focus on the performance of the tree planting options as well as the identification of additional land restoration options farmers would like to explore. These workshops are a key aspect for knowledge sharing both within and between the nested communities of practice (farmers; community facilitators; NGOs/governments; researchers).
Looking back to look ahead: insight into the effectiveness and efficiency of selected advisory approaches in the dissemination of agricultural technologies indicative of Conservation Agriculture with Trees in Machakos County, Kenya
Sub-Saharan Africa is facing a challenge of low agricultural productivity, which threatens the ability to achieve food security for the continent’s growing population. The low productivity has been attributed to a number of factors including climate variability and low soil fertility. Agricultural practices such as Evergreen Agriculture show promise in improving soil fertility and production in a sustainable way. One form of Evergreen Agriculture is Conservation Agriculture with Trees (CAWT), which combines the principles of Conservation Agriculture with tree-crop intercropping. The promotion of complex agricultural practices such as CAWT requires agricultural advisory approaches that are both effective and efficient. Effective in their ability to increase diversity of crop enterprises, productivity of staple crops and adoption of promoted relevant practices. Advisory approaches are also considered effective if they provide useful information and build social networks in the community. The approaches also need to be efficient, that is, be able to mobilize the community and provide training in a costand- time appropriate fashion.
Fostering collective action at landscape level: success factors of smallholder innovation platforms in the eastern highlands of Kenya and Uganda
Strong and vibrant smallholder groups provide opportunities to the community to play a role in rural development and benefit from it. However, most of those groups do not have the capacity to individually influence rural development. Bringing groups together facilitates access to combined knowledge and leverages complementary assets. This study identifies factors influencing the success of two smallholder innovation platforms in Embu and Kapchorwa. A five-level likert scale survey questionnaire was administered to 68 groups from the two platforms that had experienced significant development in their group’s capacity as a result of these platforms. Principal component analysis was used to extract indicators defining dimensions used to measure the success of these platforms. Multiple regression analysis was used to fit the model of successful linkages. The results indicate that ownership, motivation and leaders commitment skills and motives play critical roles in the success and sustainability of smallholder innovation platforms.
The legal game meat sector in Zambia: Status, challenges and opportunities
This Brochure gives an overview of Zambia’s legal game meat sector, and it is informed by interviews conducted with value chain actors and other sector stakeholders in 2023. It highlights key opportunities and challenges facing the legal game meat value chain to provide a way forward for supporting more equitable, sustainable growth of the sector for government, donor organizations and other stakeholders.