Adoption Drivers and Constraints of Resource Conservation Technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa

For successful technology dissemination it is important to understand adoption drivers and constraints, also of so-called “best practices”. More information is especially required on adoption failures and lessons learnt. A discussion led by IWMI and FAO under facilitation of the German Humboldt University, Berlin, resulted in a set of Technology information sheets (listed below), which complement existing databases, like the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT), with further decision support on the selection of likely appropriate technologies based on criteria of relevance for their adoption. These are foremost socio-economic ones, less biophysical. The here presented sheets are still drafts and we welcome any suggestions for improvements as well as additional sheets.

An overview chapter on the topic discussing adoption factors related to soil and water conservation, rangeland restoration and rainwater harvesting can be read online or downloaded as pdf file (307 KB)

[Citation: Drechsel, P., Olaleye, A., Adeoti, A., Thiombiano, L., Barry, B. and Vohland, K. 2005. Adoption Driver and Constraints of Resource Conservation Technologies in sub-Saharan Africa. http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/africa/west_africa/projects/Adoption Technology/Technology_Adoption-article.htm (low) http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/africa/west_africa/projects/Adoption Technology/AdoptionConstraints-Overview.pdf (full)]

Overview of technologies

Rainwater Harvesting	Rangeland Conservation	Soil & Water Conservation
Caag	Debushing patch creation	Bag garden
Chololo pits	Controlling Rhigozum trichotomum	Catalonian terracing
Conservation tillage	Organic blocks	Cover crops
Demi-lune	Replanting local species	Delving
Earthen pans	Reseeding cultivation	Enarenado
Fanya juu	Revitec®	Fodder legumes
Flood diversion	Tractor cultivation	Green manure
Gawan	Tumbukiza pits	Green mulches
Haffir		Improved fallow
Infiltration ditches		Intercropping with animal traction
Jessour	References mentioned in the technology sheets	Life fences
Konso bench		Meskat
Matuta		Mulched furrows
Negarim		Ngoro pits
Plastic lined tanks		No till farming
Road runoff		Phosphat rocks
Sand storage dam, ground-weir		Portulacaria afra cuttings
Tera		Ridges
Vallerani system		Stone bunds / improved stone terracing
Zai/Tassa		Stone rows
		Tulongeni

 

We are grateful to all those who contributed the first technology descriptions and/or further revised them. In no particular order: Moïse Sonou, Dagmar Kunze, Abdul Kamara, Lamourdia Thiombiano, Klaus Kellner, Marc Andreini, Charles Quansah, Stephan N. Ngigi, Daniel Yawson, Dougbedji Fatondji, Katrin Vohland, Michael O. Faborode, Michael Tsiagbey Raymond Darku, Robert Zougmoré, Bancy Mati, Boubacar Barry, Botle Mapeshoane, Dorothee Kolbe, George J. Ley, Ludwig Ellenberg, Obafemi O. Ajibola, Ferko Bednar, Serigne Mansour Tall, Reuben K. Muni, Mariam Akhtar-Schuster, Anthony Mills, Hartmut Koehler, Karen Hahn-Hadjali, Ayo A. Omitogun, E. C. Timpong-Jones, F. K. Fianu, Habiba Sumani, Jacob W. Tumbulto, Andrew Bradford and Pay Drechsel.