This methodological guide was initially developed and used in Latin America and the Caribbean-LAC (Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Dominican Republic), and was later improved during adaptation and use in eastern African (Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia) through a South-South exchange of expertise and experiences. The aim of the methodological guide is to constitute an initial step in the empowerment of local communities to develop a local soil quality monitoring and decision-making system for better management of soil resources. This approach uses consensus building to develop practical solutions to soil management constraints identified, as well as to monitor the impact of management strategies implemented to address these constraints. The particular focus on local and technical indicators of agroecosystem change is useful for providing farmers with early warnings about unobservable changes in soil properties before they lead to more serious and visible forms of soil degradation. The methodological approach presented here constitutes one tool to incorporate local demands and perceptions of soil management constraints as an essential input to relevant research for development activities. The participatory process followed was effective in facilitating farmer consensus; for example, about which soil related constraints were most important and what potential soil management options could be used. Development of local capacities for consensus building constitute a critical step prior to collective action by farming communities resulting in the adoption of integrated soil fertility management strategies at the farm and landscape scale.
This report is concerned with the ‘who?’ ‘what?’ and ‘how?’ of pro-poor extension. It builds on the analytical framework proposed in the Inception Report of the same study (Christoplos, Farrington and Kidd, 2001), taking it forward by fleshing out the...
This book examines how agricultural innovation arises in four African countries – Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda – through the lens of agribusiness, public policies, and specific value chains for food staples, high value products, and livestock. Determinants of innovation...
During May 2010 the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) hosted two exciting events related to knowledge management (KM): The Knowledge Share Fair for Latin America and the Caribbean, funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations...
The potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) has a high potential to raise smallholder income and improve food security in Eastern Africa. Improving the quality of seed potatoes can contribute to increasing its productivity. Few seed potatoes are currently sourced from specialized...
This report is concerned with the ‘who?’ ‘what?’ and ‘how?’ of pro-poor extension. It builds on the
analytical framework proposed in the Inception Report of the same study (Christoplos, Farrington
and Kidd, 2001), taking it forward by fleshing...