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

West and Central Africa
• Pomme de Sahel/tree seedling production
• African Market Gardens
• Soil fertility and water management/fertilizer micro-dosing
• Other technologies for up-scaling are mis en defens, land rehabilitation using indigenous species and live fences.
The best-bet technologies being implemented in the DMP participating countries mainly address testing and
implementing technologies/strategies for conservation, restoration and sustainable use of degraded agro-ecosystems
(Output 2) and testing and promotion of sustainable alternative livelihood options (Output 4). Other technologies
being implemented address capacity building (Output 3) and participation of stakeholders (Output 7). The list of the
technologies being implemented in the DMP participating countries and their main features are summarized in Table
1. Technologies that address the problem of land degradation include management of degraded land using delphino
plow, half-moons and seeding of woody and herbaceous plants, management of protected areas (“mis en defens”),
improvement of rangeland productivity, rehabilitation of degraded lands through tree planting such as Acacia
senegal and eucalyptus, and local level monitoring (LLM), a tool for farmers to collect information on land use
indicators. For sustainable livelihood options, a number of technologies being implemented in many countries in
West and Central Africa include promotion of Pomme de Sahel, promotion of African Market Gardens, and planting
of gum arabic. Use of soil/water/nutrient models for dryland crops, fruit trees, bee keeping and honey production are
being promoted in Kenya as alternative livelihood options while processing of Mopane worms is the main
technology that addresses alternative livelihood options in Zimbabwe. The Forum for Integrated Resource
Management (FIRM) approach, together with LLM for improved decision making by livestock farmers is being
implemented in Namibia and FIRM only in Botswana to empower local community in managing their natural
resources. To create awareness and build capacity of the youth, environmental education is being organized for
schools in the DMP project sites and surroundings in South Africa. Many of the technologies being implemented are
already showing impact in the project sites and many exhibit great potential in arresting land degradation and in
turning desert of barrenness into oasis of fruitfulness. Land degradation control and conservation of the biodiversity
of the desert margins ecosystems is the way forward to combat desertification. These best-bet technologies therefore
target enhancing the resilience of ecosystems to stress and disturbances, and also aim at providing options to farmers
to improve their livelihood and escape poverty, which is a major cause of ecosystem degradation.
Some major constraints in up-scaling the best-bet technologies include the high cost of implementation and
dissemination on a large scale, for example, control of land degradation using water harvesting techniques for trees
and pasture production, and rehabilitation of degraded lands using delphino plow. There is also the problem of
rangelands being reclaimed from grazing by livestock in view of the fact that they are communally owned. Tree
planting technologies also face the risk of erratic and low rainfall, which may affect the growth and establishment of
trees.
Up-scaling of the various technologies in this report has enjoyed very strong participation of an array of stakeholders
(farmers, community based organizations, non-governmental organizations, government ministries and extension
services, and research institutions). The involvement of these stakeholders is an asset for the sustainability of these
technologies. In many countries, there are other projects involved in the implementation of the technologies, which
portends well for their sustainability. High level visits to DMP sites have been reported in some countries, for
example, Mali where the Prime Minister visited African Market Gardens sites in Gao (North of Mali) and
recommended large scale dissemination of the technology.
This report presents the best-bet technologies being implemented in nine DMP countries. For each technology, the
basis of its success, its implementation, up-scaling of the technology, contribution to the overall DMP project goal
and objectives, and projected potential impact have been given.
Best-bet technologies in East and Southern Africa
A. South Africa
1. The context
Rangeland degradation due to overgrazing by large and small stock is a serious problem in arid and semi-arid
regions, especially during drought and high-risk periods. Poor vegetation cover and low production and less
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