This document presents the salient points from an international workshop, Assessing the impact of research in natural resources management, organized by ICRAF in April 1998 in Nairobi, Kenya. The purpose and specific aims of the workshop are presented on the pages 7-11 (Introduction and Basic concepts). The abstracts of the papers given in plenary are found on pages 12-21 (Outlining the concepts and Abstracts). The main conclusions reached in working group discussions are then developed. Points concerning the expectations of stakeholders in the impact assessment process in natural resources management are presented on pages 22-24 (Defining stakeholder expectations). The framework for assessing the impact of natural resources management research, which emerged from the working group discussions, is synthesized from pages 25 to 29 (Developing a framework for impact assessment). Finally the plan of action derived in the last plenary session of the workshop can be found on pages 30-31 (Action plan and recommendations).
Tag: extension activities
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.
Rapid soil redistribution within alleys: why simple extension models for contour hedgerows may not be appropriate
Farmers as impact accelerators: sharing agroforestry knowledge across borders
Agroforestry development in Kenya
This publication contains the full proceedings of the Second Kenya National Seminar on Agroforestry, held from 7 to 16 November 1988 at ICRAF headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, as a joint venture between the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST) and the International Council for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF). The Seminar was the second major meeting of its kind in Kenya, the first one was held in 1980, to bring together a wide variety of professionals to highlight trends in agroforestry science and practice, facilitate the exchange of ideas and experience through plenary and working-group discus-sions and field tours, and set general guidelines and make specific recommendations for a national agroforestry research and development strategy for the next decade. The Seminar consisted of plenary sessions in which technical papers were presented. Poster sessions were also included as well as three field tours and five working-group meetings. The main objectives of the working-group meetings were to provide an oppor-tunity to the participants, based on their expertise and on what they gathered from the plenary sessions and field tours, to make specific recommendations on research strategies and priorities,extension strategies and packages, socioeconomic factors, education and training, and institutional issues in agroforestry research and development. The information generated at the Seminar has been provided in two publications, an executive summary and a complete seminar proceedings. The executive summary publica-tion contains an introduction, a list of the most importantrecommendations, summaries of 15 invited papers, and a list of participants. This publication, however, of the complete seminar proceedings contains the executive summary as well as all technical papers presented in the plenary sessions.
Agroforestry extension manual for Kenya
Agroforestry has received much attention in recent developments in rural Kenya. This has been reflected in the numerous projects in the past ten years that have supported tree growing efforts in Kenya. Many projects have synthesized their experiences gained in agroforestry extension and have developed relevant training materials for extension workers. This extension guide is written for the extension officers so that they can have a book that covers agroforestry in Kenya. The book explains the factors that need to be considered in agroforestry.
Agroforestry education and extension links in Malawi and Uganda: a pilot study of extension workers’ experiences.
The aim of this study was to explore linkages between education-at technical and professional levels-and extension, with reference to agroforestry in Malawi and Uganda. The study has been a joint effort by the Education Programme of the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), Bunda Collge of Agriculture in Malawi and Nyabyeya Forestry College in Uganda.
Building the smallholder into successful natural resource management at the watershed scale
This chapter explores the issues surrounding successful conservation farming as a process defined by spontaneous adoption. It assesses the components of a low-labour hedgerow system of pruned leguminous trees (Chromolaena odorata, Paspalum, or Digitaria) as an approach to a technical solution, and addresses the issue of how to disseminate information about a conservation technology cost-effectively at a sustainable rate. Rapid adoption of a low-labour, zero-cash-cost conservation practice based on natural vegetative strips in Claveria, northern Mindanao, the Philippines that led to examination of each component of the process of establishing and maintaining low-labour hedgerow practices was observed. A Contour Hedgerow Extension Team (CHET), established to respond to farmer interest, initially worked with individual farmers who requested their assistance. This evolved into supporting a peoples’ conservation organization (Land Care Association) that took on the main responsibility for technology dissemination. Local government became involved in supporting the effort financially, with active involvement of the village leaders (a process led by local government). It is planned to scale-up the effort to the watershed and regional levels, and evaluate whether it is practical in the context of agroecological domains.