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Case studies > Agricultural Technologies

Working Group: Agricultural Technologies

Options	Affect on labour / energy	Targets?	Impact on livelihoods	Barriers	Miscellaneous
Conservation Agriculture - hand hoe farmers (very poor)
Basin Planting (case: Siavonga, Zambia	The basins have the purpose of being a water harvesting device; they are made by hand hoe during the dry season before the rains start; this way the labour is spread and shifted to a time where labour is available. The labour amount for making the potholes is similar to digging the field for conv. Land preparationCompost, trash or fertilizer is incorporated;	The poorest of the poor are the ones who don't have access to draught animal power (DAP) for land preparation, hence they are the target group for the basin system	More drought resistance due to the water harvesting effect of the basins; hence - higher and more stable yields	Small farmers and vulnerable household members need strong incentive to make the basins if they have not been exposed to the basin system before;	Should not be 'labelled' as system for the poorest of the poor as then not even the poor farmers want to adopt itThe basins can be made in portions each year; existing basins can be 'maintained' with little labour requirement
Soil cover - Using crop residues (Karatu, Tanzania)	Soil cover and crop residues which are left on the field suppress weeds - reduce labour demand for weeding	The poorest of the poor sometimes use this approach as a 'coping mechanism'; suppress weeds	Increases water retention capacity of soils and maintains soil moisture, hence helps to improve yields in dry years.	Conflicts with free ranging livestock is a probability; Conflicts with standard extension messages of maintaining a clean seedbed (land preparation) and a clean field during cropping cycle (weeding throughout)	Community leaders should be involved in acknowledging and accepting this way of farming (with soil cover) In garden farming soil cover reduces requirement for watering (irrigation)
Soil cover - Using dolicos lab lab and mucuna as cover crops (Karatu / Tanzania)	It requires an additional activity to intercrop the cover crop but results in big labour savings by almost eliminating weeding; the cover crops are leguminous crops that fix N, hence natural fertilization of soil and improving soil fertility happens without additional labour input	Cover crops have been very attractive to vulnerable households;Need technical assistance and training plus assistance in getting access to crops in the beginning	The leguminous do fix N from air in the soils, hence natural fertilizationDolicos lab lab is a cash crop as middle men from Kenya are buing the lab lab bean harvest	Conflicts with fee grazing livestock but cover crops do produce fodderAvailability of cover crops seeds Change of perception of 'dirty fields'	South to South cooperation is encouraged as this system of incorporating various cover crops has been developed by farmers in Brazil
Light weight hand hoes for planting	lighter hoes are less energy demanding;	hand hoes are available but specific lighter hand hoes are sometimes rare			light hoes should be part of emergency interventions together with the standard hevy hoe
Hand Jab Planter (hand tool to plant into soil cover) - is widely in use in Brazil and Paraquay	Reduces labour / energy demand after a period of learning hoe to best use it Requires only one person for planting instead of three (digging hole, planting, closing hoe)	A hand labour tool like the hand hoe is suitable for small farmers. Can be used by women and older children.	Can be produced locally; Is an investment opportunity for local making plus for specializing in being hand jab planter service provider	Cost is approx $ 10 is currently made in CARMATEC / Arusha or imported from BrazilRepair and maintenancecultural acceptance?	South to South cooperation and technology transfer is encouraged
Conservation Agriculture - Introduce draught animals and DAP technologies to reduce hand labour
Ripper (another type of tool, is a substitute for the plough) Babati / Tanzania	Done before onset of rains (spreading labour similar to basin system) with 2 animals,cuts furrow rather than soil inversion, faster than ploughing	poorest households don't have access to draught animals but it might b e easier for them to find one or two rather than four oxen; it helps people to stabilize	Is available locally as it is adjusted from the mouldboard plough	Difficult to use when too much soil cover and crop residues are on the fieldTraining of oxen required	also available with planter attachment to combine ripping and planting
Knife rollerto chop the cover crop for land preparation - eliminates slashing by pangaKaratu Tanzania example	only one or two animals required	see aboveonly available in selected pilot sites e.g. Karatu	Time savings allows people to work for others	Accessibility of fodder availability vet care	can be made locally currently onlyavailable in pilot sites
No-tillage direct planter Karatu / Tanzania	Planting through soil cover, eliminates land preparation; two animals instead of four	see above	time saving allows farmer to diversify or work for others	Not available locally, expensive	South to south transfer and communication required (Brazil, Paraguay - Africa)
Livestock
Restocking of small animals such as rabbits and Guinea Fowl	diversifying livelihoods they can cultivate less	most vulnerable need quick return,specifically for orphans, elderly headed households	income generating activities, food source, can act like a savings account to mitigate risks	care of animals, this increases with the size of the animal	options for types of animals e.g. rabbits, Guinea Fowl; chicken, goats
Donkeys	use for transport water harvesting, firewood, marketing	specifically targeted to women farmers as donkeys have relatively low status			are not slaughtered for funerals; are normally not eaten Cows / oxen
Using Less Labour intentsive crops
Cassava Cuttings distribution e.g. Oxfam / Malawi	Casava is a root crop, can be harvested as required for food,	normally considered a women's cropfood crop
Millet	weeding of millet is labour intensive	protein rich plant, very nutritious	sold to make beer as income generating activity
Traditionally under utilized crops that are labour saving e.g. Uganda Theta NGO	those crops should be made available if they have labour saving features; should be included in seed banks and see fairs	local indigenous farmers may use locally known seed sources ;		must be adapted to local conditions and climates
Fishing
Project to provide start up cost for HH to purchase fish that they then dry and sell (and buy more fish to sell...)	Attractive to households with minimal labour eg. Old women plus orphan headed households	grand parent and orphan households	Source of income	Competition to buy fresh fish (context specific)	Any intervention with fishing communities should have a specific programme on HIV/AIDS prevention and mitigation as fishing communities have high HIV prevalence rates

For all: extension support must be consistent General Principles A package of different types of interventions done at the same time will ensure that different types of people affected by HIV/AIDS can be reached, eg. New animal technology that uses two cows instead of four for those with some animals still left. A mix of interventions also ensures that peoples immediate needs are satisfied while they wait for the benefits of longer term strategies. Eg. Intervention in Siayavonga in Zambia. The specific agric technology must be appropriate to the agro-climatic environment. It must also be labour saving or spreading, decrease risks, be able to be used by different members of the household (including children) and use less energy. Issues The group didn't discuss land tenure but this is obviously an over arching issue that must be addressed or at least considered, especially with regard to scaling interventions up or out. Laws and practices to define this are context specific, often related to gender and can affect peoples abilities/desire to make long term investments in their land. FAO will try an intervention using basin planting in Lesotho and Zambia in the near future. "Farmer to farmer" interactions have worked well as a way of getting farmers to adopt new technologies in many contexts. In Zambia scaling up some conservation farming activities has been successful through extension services. It is sometimes difficult to bridge the technical side of organisations/aid work (within agencies and local governments) with the community development aspects. Both are very important. Sometimes agencies have tried to introduce new technologies without paying proper attention to the process, i.e., how they are introduced. Conversely, development approaches need to have something to offer communities in terms of knowledge and/or technology.

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