Conservation agriculture Tanzania_casestudy.pdf - Sokoine ...

Traditional methods of soil conservationAchievements: Traditional methods of conserving soil include putting crop residuealong contours, using bench terraces, constructing diversion canals, and plantingeuphorbia trees and sisal around homesteads or plot boundaries. Intercroppingmaize with beans or pigeon pea, and contour bunds in most coffee estates have a longhistory dating back to the 1940s. Contour bunds were introduced on wheat farms inthe north in the 1940s, but today only a few remain intact (Meindertsman and Kessler1997). In addition, local bylaws strongly enforced by traditional leaders ensured thatall community members adhered to acceptable environmental conservation practices.Bylaws included cultivating along contours in all sloping areas and outlawinguncontrolled tree felling, especially in watershed and sacred areas (traditional areaspreserved for prayer or for offering sacrifices). All the bylaws are still applicable butthey are not strictly enforced nor is the community aware of them.Gap and challenges: Many interventions introduced in the area have overlookedindigenous knowledge and practices and this to some extent has led to the failureof many innovations. Low community participation in the whole process ofbund construction led to the feeling that this work was the responsibility of thecolonial government. Many rural development projects initiated by governmentto improve environmental conservation undermined building the capacity of thelocal communities, ignored established participatory bylaws and did not enforcethem, and undermined traditional leadership and authority to influence grassrootscommunities to participate in the project activities.Project interventions in Karatu with natural resource managementcomponentsRegional Integrated Development Programme (1980–1984)Achievements: The Regional Integrated Development Programme (RIDEP)was a national agricultural project aimed at improving agricultural productivitythrough soil and water conservation. Project activities included constructingcontours, managing natural resources through tree planting, and constructing andmaintaining roads. Many trees were planted and bunds constructed. Tree nurserieswere established containing trees selected by extension officers. Seedlings weredistributed freely to various stakeholders after the onset of rains. Rural roads wereconstructed and maintained, making access to remote rural areas easier.Gaps and challenges: The project used a purely top-down approach. Seedlingsremained unplanted because farmers were not involved in selecting favoured speciesand there was no sense of ownership as management was under the project, hencethe community paid little attention to the planted trees. Roads were not maintainedafter the project phased out.Mazingira Bora KaratuAchievements: Mazingira Bora Karatu (MBK) literally means ‘a better environmentin Karatu’. It is a non-governmental organization (NGO), established in the 1980s by72 Ringo et al.