Smallholder Dry Areas Resource Management Project

Smallholder Dry Areas Resource Management Project


The project area is dry, with poor soil fertility, and was particularly stricken by the drought of 1991/92. Many households lost livestock. Because the land is under intensive and continuous cropping, productivity is declining sharply. Farmers now struggle to increase production even in good years.

Male migration had left a high proportion of women coping alone with farming and household chores. The area is chronically food-deficient, and malnutrition is widespread. About 60 per cent of households were unable to meet their food requirements from agricultural production alone. Some earned cash through other activities, but many were dependent on assistance from either their families or the government through food aid.

The project was designed to promote sustainable rural incomes for poor farmers in the most marginal and drought-prone areas, and also enhance food security. Preservation of the environment through better resource management was also a key objective. The project provided:

• support for communities in planning and managing equitable land use for the protection of natural resources
• participatory and demand-driven extension and research for agricultural development
• improved seeds, livestock for ploughing and funds for credit
• development of small-scale irrigation systems

Source: IFAD