Conservation agriculture Tanzania_casestudy.pdf - Sokoine ...

introduced with complementary soil conservation measures and agroforestry. Theaim was to have long-term improvement in crop yields and land productivity.The programme has on-farm trial plots to test and develop, with farmers,conservation tillage under varying rainfall, soils, slope and use of farm machinery.In Arumeru District, farmers from three villages, Likamba, Ngorbob and Sakila,provide land for trials.Research, Community and Organizational Development AssociatesIn 2003, Research, Community and Organizational Development Associates(RECODA), with Help to Self-Help in Tanzania and Danida, introduced diversifiedcrops, reduced tilling, and cover crops in Likamba, Manyire, Nduruma and Ngorbobvillages, with support from the Tanzania Assemblies of God. At the same timeconservation agriculture was introduced to reduce soil erosion, conserve soil moistureand restore soil organic matter (RECODA 2005). The organization introduced foddercrops and is planting them along the contours— lablab, mucuna and improved pigeonpea—and breaking compacted soil with rippers. Banana leaf mulch, made fromleaves and the pseudostem, are used for livestock feed, balancing the needs of bothlivestock and the soil. Three villages, with 300 farmers, benefited from lablab, pigeonpea and mucuna seed and rippers provided by the project. The organization workswith other institutions and the government to enhance conservation agriculture.Participatory Agricultural Development and Empowerment ProjectThe Participatory Agricultural Development and Empowerment Project (PADEP) isfunded by the World Bank in collaboration with the Tanzanian government. Its focusis to ensure that farmers realize their problems and needs, use technology throughparticipatory approaches, and design crop and livestock projects that will improvetheir livelihoods. In Arumeru District, the project targeted 30 villages by the end of2005; 14 villages had already designed their projects. The farmers are organized infour groups in each village, each group with 40 family representatives.Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Developmentin Southern and Eastern AfricaConservation Agriculture and Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development(CASARD) is a regional project in East Africa, with technical support by FAO, tofacilitate and accelerate profitable conservation agriculture by small-scale farmersin Arumeru, Bukoba and Karatu Districts in Tanzania. It mainly uses farmer fieldschools, which emphasize farmer-created techniques. In Arumeru, six conservationagriculture facilitators helped 11 groups, 325 farmers (148 males and 177 females).Each group has a long-term lease on a trial plot.The groups received basic training in conservation agriculture. Five farmers weretrained to operate and maintain conservation agriculture implements. The groupsmeet weekly to work on agroecological analysis, an integral part of the farmer fieldschool. Group leadership guides the groups through daily activities, discussions anddecisions. The farmer group receives supplies and equipment from the project:Arumeru District 19