DESERT MARGINS PROGRAMDESERT MARGINS PROGRAM

GEFGEF

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

High

Low

Non-degraded

DMP member countries

DMP potential countries

Land degradation severity in desert margins of SSA

0 1000 km

N

Very arid

Arid

Semi-arid

Semi-humid

Humid

Agro-ecological zones of the desert margins of WA

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000Year

200

300

400

500

600

Mill

et g

rain

yie

ld (

kg h

a-1 )

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000Year

2

4

6

8

10

Pop

ulat

ion

(1 1

06 )

0

100

200

300

Mill

et p

rodu

ctio

n (k

g pe

r ca

pita

)

M ille t production

Population

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000Year

0.4

0.8

1.2

1.6

2.0

Tot

al m

illet

gra

in p

rodu

ctio

n (

1 10

6 M

T)

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000Year

1

2

3

4

5

6

Are

a cr

oppe

d w

ith m

illet

(1

106

ha)

Population increase

Need for increasing the production

Increase in cropped area

Decrease or suppression of the fallow cycle(traditional way of restoring soil fertility)Cropping of marginal land

• Decreasing yields• Land degradation• Increasing competition between crop and livestock for common natural resource base

An unbalanced system, a downward spiral

Demographic control

Intensification of Agriculture

Climate change and

climate fluctuation

Climate change and

climate fluctuation

The yield gap and the limitations that cause it

Potential

yield (Experimentat

ion)

Actual yield

Yield gap

Biophysical limitations• Soil fertility• Water• Variety, etc

Which inputs are lacking?Socio economic and policy limitations• Knowledge• Credit• Availability

Why inputs are not used?

Major constraints to sustainable

agricultural production and

biodiversity conservation

Environmental constraints

Infertile erosion prone soils

Limited and unpredictable rainfall

Inadequate irrigation

Reduction of suitable land for agricultural

purposes

Pests and diseases

Technological constraints

Inappropriate technology transfer

Weak research-extension-farmer linkages

Inappropriate and inadequate technological

packaging, as well as limited technological

awareness

Limited involvement of universities in

research and extension education and lack

of adequate trained personnel

Policy constraints

Incentives to increase agricultural production are not harmonized and sustained

Inappropriate land tenure systems that limit access to land and security of tenure

Inadequate policy to support sustainable agricultural farming systems

Policy constraints ( Cont’d)

Exclusion of the corporate sector from agricultural farming systems

Inefficient financial support to implement technology

Weak logistics to extend technologies e.g. roads, telephones and tools

Socio-cultural constraints• Indigenous technical knowledge is not taken into account

Some farmers are not convinced of the added

value of technology

Technology conflicts with local knowledge

and time-tested traditional practices

Gender barriers to technology adoption

Economic constraintsInadequate access to markets for agricultural produce

Low market competitiveness for agricultural produce

Insufficient funding for agricultural research

Economic constraints (CONT’d)

Limited access to farm inputs and credit

High cost of fertilizers inputs and other soil-condition ameliorating methods

Competition/conflicts between agriculture and livestock enterprise on limited land resources

Institutional constraintsInadequate integration of research and development activities

Lack of coordination among and between agricultural research institutions (IARCs and NARS)

Inadequate promotion of sustainable agricultural farming systems

Nutrient mining

• Burkina Faso: - 95 000 T of N

- 28 000 T of P2O5

- 79 000 T of K2O

(equivalent to US $ 160 million)

• Mali: 40% of farmers agricultural revenue comes from nutrient mining

Desert Margins Program

Wider Objectives (Goal) To arrest land degradation and conserve and

restore biodiversity in the Desert Margins through sustainable utilization of biodiversity

Specific Objectives (Purpose) To develop and implement strategies for

conservation, restoration and sustainable use of dry land biodiversity (to enhance ecosystem function and resilience)

Expected Outputs

1. Improved understanding of ecosystem status and dynamics with regard to loss of biodiversity

2. Strategies for conservation, restoration and sustainable use of degraded agro ecosystems developed and implemented

3. NRM Capacity of stakeholders and target populations enhanced

4 Sound policy intervention/guidelines for sustainable resource use formulated, adopted and implemented

5 Participatory natural resources management methods are implemented

6 The target populations are involved at each stage of the project’s cycle

Expected Outputs (contd.)

 

7. Participation Build capacity of stakeholders to participate fully

6. Up scaling Develop strategies for replication Institutional capacity building of government institutions/farmers in up scaling

Wider testing at project site

5. Policy guidelines/ legislation

Review and draft new guidelines Test new guidelines / policies Adopt Nation-wide guidelines/ policies

4. Sustainable alternative livelihoods

Inventory Tested / Adapted / Adopted Adoption and pilot testing in selected villages

3. Capacity building In participatory approaches to land and biodiversity management

  In up scaling

2. Rehabilitation of land use

   Testing implementation scenes

Adoption and pilot testing in selected villages

1. Monitoring and evaluation (status and dynamics)

Data gathering-         Consultation-         Synthesis-         Compiling existing approaches

   

  1 2 3 4

5 6

Project Activities by year

Costs and Financing (Million US $)

GEF: Project : Phase 1 (2 years) $4,987,134

Phase 2 (2 years) $5,617,044 Phase 3 (2 years) $5,365,822

PDF A : $ 25,000 PDF B : $ 340,000

Subtotal GEF $16,335,000

Total project cost $49,507,307 (GEF + Co-Fi +

Govt in Kind)

Steering CommitteeSecond Level

DMP C.U.

ASARECA SACCAR CORAF

First Level

Third Level

B.F Mali Niger Senegal KenyaBots Nam S.A Zimb

Governance Structure of DMP

ICRISAT Board

Conclusions

• Biodiversity conservation and sustainable use in the Desert Margins will require:

1. Promotion of sustainable livelihoods

Diversification of sources of income

Promoting sustainable harvesting

Exploring innovative sustainable uses of

biodiversity for generating income

Developing markets for products with

added values

Benefit-sharing including bioprospecting

Lessons learned from traditional sustainable

management

Integrated management approaches

Watershed management

Trans-boundary considerations

Sustainable natural resource management

Water harvesting

Soil conservation

2. Availability of sound management practices

Management practices (cont’d)

Land tenure/property rights issues

Community based activities

Empowerment

Public awareness, education/training,

international experience

Participatory adaptive management

Participatory crop/tree improvement

Management practices (cont’d)

Law enforcement and policy implementation

Decentralization

Community participation

Negotiating skills/conflict resolution

International & regional networking

Thank You