Technologies for intensification in SW Uganda ... - Foodnet - cgiar

• Research or information provision on enhancing market options would be welcomed and
supported by local leaders
(7) Need to consider or identify alternative off-farm sources of livelihood
• The land area per farm household is generally small in the region and there is need to
assist farmers to identify priority enterprises to improve their livelihoods without
subjecting to risks and uncertainities.
5.3 Soil management as a crosscutting issue
The survey report, and chapters 2 and 4 in particular, highlight the concern of farmers and local
leaders that the quality of their basic resource, soil, is rapidly declining. Together with marketing
issues, soil erosion and soil fertility decline ranked top of the agenda in all areas. In some areas a
link between run-off in the hills and flooding of valley bottoms and lowlands was clearly
expressed. Similarly, a clear link exists between low soil fertility, less vigorous plants and
increased effects of pests and diseases.
While it is true that concerns about the state of the soil are not new (reports on this date back to
the early parts of the 20 th century), it is also evident that soil degradation has reached a state that
limits the scope of agricultural options for farmers and leads to low outputs from nearly all farm
enterprises.
It is therefore proposed that soil management be an integral part of all efforts for agricultural
intensification in SW Uganda.
To achieve this, a rationale for soil management, based on scientific findings should be
developed. This could be based on the following proposed principles:
(1) Soil conservation is the basis of all soil improvement methods;
(2) Organic inputs are at the core of soil fertility management
(3) Supplementation by strategic use of inorganic inputs where required and economical
Currently most of the soil management initiatives are conducted in ‘pilot’ areas or with ‘contact
farmers’. A key challenge is to scale up these activities to larger areas and to make them
operational. Individual efforts on soil conservation are not efficient in highland areas with
fragmented farms. Such coordinated, locally driven efforts cannot be initiated by sporadic, shortlived
initiatives but requires long-term commitment.
Apart from the use of (capital intensive) inorganic fertilizer, soil management innovations are
labour and/or land intensive. This means that farmers will have to adopt a stepwise approach to
the management of their soils. In the longer term when these efforts are rewarded by better yields,
intensive soil management is expected to lead to increased rural employment.
• Conservation as first step
Soil and water conservation are the base for further investments in highland agriculture.
Without conservation, all other investments in soil fertility are at risk to be ‘washed away’
with the next storm. Farmers seem to prefer biological methods for soil conservation that also
provide products useful to their farms, such as:
ο Grass strips providing fodder
ο Contour hedges, providing firewood, stakes and fodder
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