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

Output 8B. Crop, tree and livestock integration strategies incorporating enhanced water and nutrient use
techniques with appropriate capacity building measures developed and promoted for agro-diversity
management, commercialization of agricultural enterprises and improved human and livestock health.
Knowledge shared annually and strategies formalized by the end of the DMP Phase III in 2009
The DMP focused on the development and adaptation of the strategies for conservation, restoration and sustainable
use of degraded agro-ecosystems. These included the rehabilitation of degraded lands using micro-catchments, half
moons, the zai system, fertilizer micro-dosing technologies, reseeding with grasses, forages and trees such as
Ziziphus mauritania and Acacia Senegal.
In West and Central Africa, Best bet technologies for improved soil, water, plant, livestock and nutrient
management (viz. fertilizer micro-dosing, zai system), as well as the sustainable alternative livelihood options have
been identified and proposed for adoption to rural communities living in the desert margins. These include the
African Market Garden (AMG), the Sahelian Eco-Farm (SEF), the Pomme du Sahel being promoted in West and
Central Africa. More than 50,000 ha of degraded lands were rehabilitated using A. Senegal and Ziziphus
Mauritania. Approximately 200,000 seedlings of Pomme du Sahel were grafted and planted. More than 1800
African Market gardens were disseminated. There is an estimated 50,000 families in these WCA countries who
benefited from these techonologies through additional income generated
In East and Southern Africa, one of the greatest achievements in the region was the development of the FIRM
approach – the Forum for Integrated Resource Management – a strategy to build the capacity of local people to
become the informed decision makers of their own development process. The level of its adoption in three of five
ESA countries is testimony to its success. Apart from this, an array of improved NRM tools and technologies were
developed, tested and are ready for landscape level scaling out. Various alternative livelihood strategies were
identified and evaluated for further dissemination during phase III. Benefits to stakeholders include: greater
understanding of the dynamics of the degradation process, procedures for identifying and developing improved
NRM strategies, improved models of participation, participatory impact assessment; improved natural resource
management strategies were developed to cope with degradation of rangeland, depleted soil in crop systems;
improved technologies were developed for rehabilitation of degraded land, sustainable harvesting strategies of
natural populations (rooibos tea, mopanie worms, gum Arabic, honey etc); direct benefit to farmers at this stage
already are impressive – existing markets can be more effectively exploited with improved varieties, higher quality
produce, and more consistent harvests through improved land/crop/livestock management strategies, and finally as
improved policies are drafted – new procedures and technologies may become institutionalised. The real benefits to
the range of project partners and target populations will only be realized during the next few years following the
large out-scaling of the program outputs.
Introduction
The Desert Margins Program (DMP) works to arrest land degradation in Africa’s desert margins (see Figure 1) through
demonstration and capacity building activities developed through unraveling the complex causative factors of
desertification, both climatic (internal) and human-induced (external), and the formulation and piloting of
appropriate holistic solutions. The wider objective (Goal) of the DMP-Global Environment Facility (GEF) project is
to conserve and restore biodiversity in the desert margins through sustainable utilization. Its specific objective
(Purpose) is to develop and implement strategies for conservation, restoration and sustainable use of dryland
biodiversity (to enhance ecosystem function and resilience).
The activities DMP-GEF Phase II focus on implementation of best-bet technologies already identified through the
characterization of benchmark sites in Phase I. This is in line with the recommendations of DMP Steering
Committee of April 2005 held in South Africa to plan for activities of DMP-GEF Phase II. At this Steering
Committee, a number of best-bet technologies were identified for East and Southern Africa (ESA), and West and
Central Africa (WCA). For ESA and WCA, the best-bet technologies identified for up and out scaling are as
follows:
East and Southern Africa
• Rangeland/livestock management options
• Restoration of degraded lands
• Improved land, nutrient and water management & crop/livestock interactions
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