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

Table 13. Summary of achievements by technology in Mali in 2005
Major intervention
1. African Market Gardens
using drip irrigation
2. The dissemination of
Pomme du Sahel (Ziziphus
Mauritania)
3. Rehabilitation of
degraded lands;
Eucalyptus plantation
DMP achievements in
2005
• Twelve women and
men’s associations trained
in the use of drip irrigation
system in farmers’ gardens
• 240 households, 8
farmers
groups/associations and
500 women benefited from
the technology
• 200 producers planted
improved cultivars of
Ziziphus mauritania
• 30 farms and 10 villages
are involved in this
activity
• Establishment of
nurseries
• Distribution of seed and
young plants to partners
Targets
• Partners trained in
grafting techniques
• Significant increase in
the income of producers
• Contributed to the
restoration of biodiversity
• Soil fertility has
improved;
• The income of rural
communities has increased
rehabilitation of degraded
land
• Fuel wood has increased;
carbon sequestration has
improved
Partners’ input
• Field days organized for
producers and extension
agents
• Training in agroforestry
with ICRAF on grafting
techniques
• Various training and
workshops organized
Conclusion
Major conclusions drawn from the implementation of best-bet technologies in the nine DMP
countries are:
• Combating land degradation and conserving biodiversity in the Desert Margins of sub-Saharan Africa requires
diversification of production and cropping systems. Hence, technologies that provide alternative livelihood
options to the local communities are essential to the success of land degradation control measures.
• Technologies which have obvious and immediate benefits to communities are more readily accepted and adopted.
This is illustrated by the reported increased income generation from technologies such as African Market Gardens
in Mali and Senegal, beekeeping and honey production in Kenya, fodder conservation for sedentary livestock
herds in Kenya, processing of Mopane worms in Zimbabwe and Pomme de Sahel in Burkina Faso, Mali and
Senegal.
• Many hectares of degraded lands and rangelands have been reclaimed through various land degradation control
technologies in countries such as Burkina Faso, Niger, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
• Land ownership is critical to farmers’ investment in land degradation control and better rangeland management
strategies. Policy advocacy in DMP Phase 3 will be necessary to promote land ownership by rural communities
hoping that this will lead to greater adoption of some of the best-bet technologies that address land degradation
control.
• Many stakeholders (farmers, women, technicians) have been trained during the implementation of the best-bet
technologies in all the countries. Training provided include grafting techniques, use of drip irrigation for African
Market Gardens, community based monitoring and assessment of rangelands, use of LLM and FIRM.
• Community-based natural resources management is key to sustainable resource use and derivation of benefits by
the local community. A good example to illustrate this is community reserves’ mis en defens in Senegal, which is
being managed by the local community and about $4000 was realized as extra income from the sale of forest
products and other resources from the reserves.
• Sustainability of some of the technologies especially tree planting and reseeding of rangelands depends heavily on
rainfall, which is often erratic in many DMP countries.
• High cost of scaling up some of the technologies, especially those that concern rehabilitation of degraded lands is
a major constraint to large-scale dissemination of these technologies. For example rehabilitation of degraded lands
using delphino plow in Burkina Faso cost $95 per hectare, which is far beyond what a local community can
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