In the hilly Kyantobi village in Kabale district, southwestern
Uganda, the problems of high population density, severe environmental
degradation within the fragile and highly bio-diverse environment, and
few alternative economic opportunities have become acute. Productivity
is low and economic alternatives other than subsistence farming are limited.
Devastating soil erosion, landslides and floods exacerbated these problems
after the particularly intense El Nino rains of 1998. Productive gardens
of vegetables and potatoes were covered with sand and stones or the topsoil
washed away. Paths, fields, walls, houses, and trees were obliterated.
Consequently the community faced a year of hunger.
Village residents, seeing that their precarious livelihoods were threatened,
decided to approach the Agroforestry Research and Development Project
jointly implemented by the Forestry Resources Research Institute and
International Center for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) with funding
from USAID/Uganda. In order to address these environmental problems,
a memorandum of understanding was developed in 1999 between the project
staff and the Bubaare sub-county government. It was agreed that the
project staff would help with training and provision of agroforestry
materials for soil conservation, while local leaders would provide the
key elements for success: planning, community mobilization, and conflict
resolution. Exposed to technologies through visits to on-farm and on-station
trials, farmers identified contour hedges as the most appropriate innovation
for alleviating soil erosion problems.
Empowered to plan and implement soil conservation through an initial
participatory mapping exercise, farmers have become involved. To date,
200 households participate actively in agroforestry and 16 nurseries,
each producing 3,000 to 4,000 seedlings per season, have been established.
From each nursery, about 2000 seedlings are planted per season. The
farmers planted hedges to retain soil. The hedges are also now being
used to provide high-quality fodder, stakes for climbing beans and fuelwood.
Hedges have been more effective in retaining soil compared to untreated
terraces. In terms of water conservation, contour hedges have been observed
to reduce runoff by about 70%.
Crop performance has also greatly improved with farmers testifying
about the increased yields on previously degraded land. Maize yields
have almost doubled on plots where agroforestry interventions have been
implemented. Furthermore, farmers have been keen to incorporate other
technologies such as boundary planting of trees for pole and timber
production, rotational wood lots for soil fertility and fuelwood and
stake production, and fruit trees for home consumption. In the process,
farmers are diversifying their production systems. An economic evaluation
conducted on some of these technologies showed attractive net benefits
and high returns to labor that are far above the normal wage rate. This
is a demonstration of the effectiveness of a series of agroforestry
technologies in restoring soil fertility, reducing soil erosion, and
supplying farmers with wood and non-wood products. The sub-county now
has plans to make Kyantobi a farmer-training site, where residents will
conduct training for a fee. With minimal inputs to ensure sustainability
at the local level, the project is successfully replicating this dissemination
approach in two other watersheds in the Kigezi Highlands.
Community Agroforestry
In the hilly Kyantobi village in Kabale district, southwestern Uganda, the problems of high population density, severe environmental degradation within the fragile and highly bio-diverse environment, and few alternative economic opportunities have become acute. Productivity is low and economic alternatives other than subsistence farming are limited. Devastating soil erosion, landslides and floods exacerbated these problems after the particularly intense El Nino rains of 1998. Productive gardens of vegetables and potatoes were covered with sand and stones or the topsoil washed away. Paths, fields, walls, houses, and trees were obliterated. Consequently the community faced a year of hunger.
