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

• Dual-purpose goats (produce milk, meat, manure, cash, skins) have been introduced
with some success in SW Uganda. Further promotion of dairy goats and exploring
processing (goat cheese) and markets are high priorities.
• Chicken, are kept on most farms and provide manure, eggs and meat. They are an
important source of cash for women. Improving local breeds and their management should
be stimulated through adaptive research and extension work.
• Beekeeping is well established in the region but production systems, processing and
marketing could be significantly improved.
5.6.3 Natural resources management
While the scale of degradation in southwestern Uganda may be subject to debate, there is no
doubt that the hilly terrain of SW Uganda requires increased efforts to maintain and improve its
productivity. Farmers readily accept a focus on increasing productivity while conservation is
considered a ‘by product’. This has some important implications on extension approaches.
The key questions in the management of natural resources are less technical but rather
organizational and social. We wish to underling the particular importance that local ownership of
natural resource management initiatives has for their success. Most of the ‘success stories’ on
natural resource management show that only when the initiatives become a farmer-driven
movement supported by local government and with some knowledge inputs from suitable
organizations, they are likely to be successful and sustainable. This may be an area where
adaptive social research would be of high priority to document the lessons learnt and analyze key
factors for success. One such factor is integrating more profitable enterprises (as mentioned
above) into the farming systems, which provide much needed incentives for improved
management of agricultural land.
Despite the above emphasis on socio-economic issues, there exists a clear need for adaptive
technical research and sound technical advice on both methodologies as well as technical
implementation details. Practical field training of extension agents should be a high priority.
While we consider soil fertility management an integrated activity which should make use of all
suitable resources on farms, some key technologies can be identified:
• Contour hedgerows with diverse, durable shrubs producing products which are in high
demand on farms, such as firewood, stakes, fodder and mulch. Seed multiplication,
farmer-driven and watershed based conservation initiatives are key areas that require welldesigned
support.
Contour hedgerows as biological means of soil conservation should be supplemented
where necessary with physical soil conservation structures, i.e. storm drains.
Although these conservation efforts only have moderate effect on the productivity, they are a
pre-requisite for all other soil management aspects and long-run systems health of the
agricultural environment.
• Improved use and management of manure and compost are at the disposal of most
farms and require mainly training. Equally the use of mulch has many positive effects on
soil productivity. For all these technologies the quantities of the organic inputs are usually
rather low and insufficient to cover all fields. Transporting the bulky material is laborious
particularly in highlands. Strategic use of these inputs in the productive fields near the
69