Conservation agriculture Tanzania_casestudy.pdf - Sokoine ...

a table summarizing institutions and projects in agricultural and environmentalconservation.Third World Congress on Conservation Agriculture—IIIWCCAThe national director of PADEP together with other officials and researchers underthe Ministry of Agriculture attended the Third World Congress on ConservationAgriculture (IIIWCCA). Since then there has been a national move to createawareness about conservation agriculture, support the establishment of a nationalpolicy supporting it, and build capacity of various key stakeholders in its technologiesin the areas of research, extension and marketing. More villages under PADEP nowmention conservation agriculture technologies as an important intervention.Four farmers and one facilitator from Karatu participated in IIIWCCA. Theyshared experiences with farmers from other parts of the world and took whatthey learned to other farmers in the villages, hence increased the demand forconservation agriculture inputs and implements.General observation about all institutions and otherstakeholdersThere is a general lack of coordination and integration among projects. Stakeholdershave not been well identified and coordinated towards a common focus to achieveagricultural, environmental and general development goals in Karatu.Many new technologies and practices are discontinued after donor support endsbecause the community is not adequately sensitized and involved. The projectsand especially the participation of local communities are usually input driven,and participation stops the moment inputs and grants cease. Beneficiaries arenot involved enough to express concerns about their lives and any options thatthey think may lead to reducing poverty, gaining food security, and conserving theenvironment. If root causes of key agricultural production constraints are not wellidentified, a draft participatory community action plan would be helpful, outliningwhat is to be done, by whom, and when, and the materials required.The limited adoption of new technologies and practices (including conservationagriculture) to a great extent is a failure of many institutions and projects to buildlocal capacities and to change the innovations to fit into the local customs andphysical conditions, and not vice versa. The importance of capacity building ina particular locality needs to be understood, and putting forward appropriateprogrammes to build that capacity can provide the basis for achieving the desiredoutput.There were also conflicting technical messages among the development agenciesworking in the same area; for example, most projects except CASARD promotedploughing. Farmers tend to prefer ploughing messages because their minds havebeen turned in that direction.Karatu District 77