Learning lessons from the rural poor

Conventional technology transfer approaches, in which scientists develop technologies on research stations and extension workers pass them on to farmers, have produced disappointing results.

Much that is proposed to smallholder farmers, especially in Africa, is too costly, does not suit their farming conditions, or is in some other way unacceptable to them.

In general, traditional systems of production have tended to be ignored or overlooked by researchers, technicians and policymakers.

IFAD’s first policy paper on soil and water conservation in sub-Saharan Africa in 1986, strongly emphasized the potential and importance of learning from small farmers and their traditional techniques. There is growing recognition of the potential and value of such techniques that can successfully be used as a starting point for new development initiatives.

IFAD research grants, for example, have helped develop improved soil-and-water conservation techniques and approaches, building on indigenous technologies, to combat the threat of desertification.

One of the important lessons IFAD has learned is that land-use technologies built on local practices have a more positive impact on the environment than do standardized, high-input technologies. They have a greater chance of success because they better match farmers’ priorities and available resources. As well, they can be easily adapted to suit diverse local conditions that are often subject to change.

The most appropriate technologies for local farmers are relatively cheap and don’t require intensive labour. They are grounded in the environmental knowledge and skills of the farmers themselves and lead to increased yields or, where appropriate, improvements in stable, minimum guaranteed yield.

As part of the process of change, an important feature of more recent research programmes is that scientists, field agents and farmers learn to communicate with one another as equals. This leads to a complete reversal of roles: scientists and field agents begin to listen and learn from farmers, stimulating local processes of innovation by joint experimentation and enabling farmers to exchange information among themselves about their experiences and learning.

Rural people possess a wealth of knowledge about how to farm under local conditions and this knowledge can be strengthened by appropriate action-research-learning approaches that link local practices with external knowledge. In Africa, for instance, the creativity of farmers is a resource just waiting to be tapped. With support from IFAD, farmers in Burkina Faso have ‘sculpted’ scalloped patterns of half-moons into the slopes of their land to catch and retain rainwater. In Niger, farmers developed a technique – the so called tassa – that combines the core benefits of innovation: immediate results, simplicity, ability to be integrated into existing cropping systems. This technique was improved with IFAD’s support.

The IFAD exhibit shows cases of a number of successful innovations in environmentally sustainable technologies, building on local knowledge and land-use practices. These include half-moons, tassa and improved tassas, as well as agroforestry.

Half-moons

In Burkina Faso, farmers carve half-moon shaped micro-catchments in checkerboard fashion along the slopes of their land, situated in such a way as to capture and retain rainwater. Half-moons are used to:

• rehabilitate degraded land for crop cultivation and fodder production
• conserve water and fertile soil
• improve soil fertility, with the addition of compost
• expand cultivated areas
• improve the infiltration and stock of water in the soil.

Tassa

Tassa is a traditional technique for rehabilitating degraded soils by digging planting pits to capture rainfall run-off. The pits are dug in the dry season in crusted, barren land, and seeds are placed in them and sometimes fertilized with manure. The manure becomes a breeding ground for termites, which bore through the hard-baked soil, producing a network of tunnels that fill with water when the rains come.

Improved tassas

Farmers in Burkina Faso found that larger pits and the systematic addition of inorganic fertilizers and manure has led to improved yields. The innovation concentrates water nutrients and helps to promote termite activity during the dry season, increasing the possibility for better water infiltration. Use of loose soil to build a ridge around part of the hole helps retain water.

Agroforestry

Agroforestry is a traditional land-use system that combines trees with crops and animal production.

It has considerable economic and environmental benefits. Trees provide timber and firewood, as well as non-timber products such as fodder, fruits, leaves, gum and medicines. Trees also help restore soil fertility and protect against desertification.

Agroforestry techniques based on traditional knowledge include:

• Living fences
• Fodder banks
• Windbreaks