ICRISAT Archival Report 2006 - The seedlings of success in the ...

In the region of Dosso, 47 systems were visited out of the 233 systems distributed. Overall, 44 systems i.e.
(94%) were still functioning. In peri-urban Niamey, 97 systems were randomly visited out of the 326 systems
disseminated. It was found that 56 systems (58%) were still functioning.
In order to assess the perception of users, the returns to using drip irrigation compared traditional practice as
well the range of constraints facing users, a survey of 92 systems used by 68 producers was carried out in Dosso
and Niamey. In addition, 21 producers using the traditional technology were surveyed.
In general, it was found that the economic returns to land for those using the drip irrigation systems was
estimated to 526 FCFA/m2 against 336 FCFA/m 2 for those using the traditional practice. The returns to water,
labor and fertilizers were perceived to be high by farmers. In general, to enhance uptake of the drip irrigation
systems, (1) the diffusion points need to be well targeted, (2) people need to be well trained at fabricating water
tanks that do not leak especially for small systems, (3) the technology has to be flexible to accommodate
different types of crops, (4) the systems have to be larger because most vegetable growers own on average more
than 80 sq meters , some of them who were given the small system did not find this useful, (5) access to cleaned
water has to be improved, (6) the need for more demonstration. In effect, many farmers had the perception of
low supply of water to plants and had to supply additional water with watering cans, (7) better use of the
technology, only 2 have used the technology during 2 seasons during the year, (8) the need to link producers to
better vegetable markets, more than 20% claimed to experience marketing problems and (9) the need to link
farmers to credit markets as many farmers found the start-up capital very high.
In Dosso where NGOs have technically supported the systems, practically all systems are still operating. Around
Niamey when no technical support and follow up was given about 60% are still operating. The diffusion of this
technology is limited producers were because of limited monitoring and poor access to capital by producers.
Policy and programs that will favor access to credit by producers is essential to enhance uptake of African
market garden.
Uptake of Soil and Water Conservation Technologies in the Office de la Haute Valle du Niger (OHVN) in
Mali (WCA)
Rationale: In many agricultural based developing countries, land degradation may occur at any time in any
geographical region of the planet. It is limited neither by space and time nor by a particular natural
circumstance. Among the various types of land degradation, soil erosion is the most important and an ominous
threat to the food security and development prospects of many other developing countries. It induces on-site
costs to individual farmers and off-site costs to society. Due to the presence of externalities arising from soil
erosion, market prices do not reflect resource scarcity and individual farmers will have insufficient incentives to
practice soil conserving agricultural practices. Accelerated soil erosion can be reduced by a combination of
proper land management systems and appropriate soil and water conservation efforts. Incentives to promote soil
and water conservation measures are, therefore, appropriate areas of intervention to mitigate the adverse effects
of irrigation. Physical soil conservation structures technically have the potential to reduce soil loss by decreasing
overland flow of water and to mitigate yield variability by reducing moisture stress on plant growth through
retention of rainwater that would otherwise be lost to runoff.
Substantial progress has been made in the development and testing of potentially profitable technologies for
improved soil and water management in West Africa. There is growing evidence that some of these technologies
(e.g. rock lines, branch barriers, small dikes, vegetative bands, compost pits) are beginning to be widely
adopted. However, the full extent of this adoption remains uncertain. There have been no systematic efforts to
evaluate the degree or quality of adoption (i.e., correct use of techniques). Little is known about how many
farmers are adopting these technologies, and there are no known attempts to record the extent of dis-adoption
over time (e.g. when the special development project ends).
Past research has raised a range of hypotheses about the levels and determinants of the adoption of soil and
water management technologies in West Africa. Questions have also been raised about whether this adoption is
the result of incentives associated with specific types of development projects, the presence of cash crops, or
some combination of the two. The purpose of study is to highlight socio-economic aspects of soil and water
conservations (SWC) as it applies to subsistence farm households in the Office de la Haute Vallée du Niger
(OHVN) in Mali.
Specific research questions addressed in this study are: What is the level of uptake of soil and water
management (SWM) technologies? 2. What is known about the determinants of uptake and the relative
importance of factors such as cash crops and technology promotion projects? 3. How do the levels of uptake
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