Sustainable ag Africa

Sustainable agriculture extension manual for Eastern and Southern Africa

Sustainable agriculture covers a wide range of topics: soil and water conservation, using organic matter to maintain soil fertility, pest management, cropping systems, livestock management, and many others.

For agriculture to be sustainable, it must take into account not only the physical environment (soils, climate, ecosystem), but also local social and economic conditions. Efforts to promote sustainable farming often use community-based research and extension approaches.

This manual covers all these three aspects of sustainable agriculture: the physical, socio-economic and organizational dimensions. Drawing on the experiences of numerous development and research agencies throughout Eastern and Southern Africa, the manual includes sections on technology development and extension, credit and marketing, land use, gender, soil and water conservation, soil fertility, cropping systems, livestock extension, and livestock technologies. Appendices list resource organizations and references and training materials where readers can find further information.

Written in clear, easy-to-understand language, the manual is illustrated with numerous line drawings.

The manual will be indispensable for extension agents, non-government organizations, field technicians, and all involved in designing and promoting sustainable agriculture in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Part 1: Technology development and extension

Participatory agricultural extension
Group extension
Using farmers’ knowledge about soil types
Participatory technology development
On-farm technology testing
Farmer visits

Part 2: Credit and marketing

Credit for farm activities
Livestock micro-credit
Marketing produce as a group

Part 3: Land use

Strengthening user rights
Participatory land-use planning
Integrated land-use design

Part 4: Gender

Gender and development
Gender and development in Kenya
Access to and control over resources and benefits in Zambia

Part 5: Soil and water conservation

Conserving soil and water
Marking contour lines
Gully reclamation
Contour tree-planting
The water-harvesting innovations of Phiri Maseko, Zimbabwe
Soil and water conservation by Shalawe Mwangi, Kenya
The keyline water-harvesting system
Smallholder drip irrigation

Part 6: Soil fertility

Minimum tillage
Deep soil preparation (double digging)
Nine-maize hole
Composting
Mulching
Green manuring
Inoculating legume seeds
Cattle-manure ash
Using urine–manure slurry as fertilizer
Manure tea
Shifting kraals to improve soil fertility

Part 7: Cropping systems

Multiple cropping
The Machobane farming system in Lesotho
Controlling crop pests and diseases
Storing vegetable seeds

Part 8: Livestock extension

Community-based veterinary services
Keeping male animals for breeding

Part 9: Livestock technologies

Zero-grazing
Planting Napier grass for fodder
Tethering
Poultry manure as a cattle-feed supplement
Leucaena tea as a feed supplement
Bee-keeping

Part 10: Appendices

Participants’ profiles
Resource organizations
Reference and training materials

241 pp. paperback Published 1998 by the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, Nairobi, Kenya. ISBN 0-942717-91-0.

Available from CTA

Available from IIRR Africa

Role of Paul Mundy: Writeshop manager, editing, desktop publishing