Matches in SemOpenAlex for { <https://semopenalex.org/work/W340305896> ?p ?o ?g. }
- W340305896 abstract "Keywords: soil nutrient balances, soil fertility degradation, East Africa , participatory innovation, experiential learning, farmer field schools, smallholder agriculture Maintaining and improving soil fertility is crucial for Africa to attain the Millennium Development Goals. Fertile soil and balanced soil nutrient management are major foundations for sustainable food production, contribute to a sound management of natural resources and assist in controlling environmental degradation such as erosion, loss of biodiversity, pollution of water sources and acidification. This thesis describes the development of an inter-disciplinary diagnostic tool to assess impacts of farm management practices on nutrient balances and the use of the tool in participative research and innovation approaches in East Africa over a ten-year period from 1995 to 2005. The structured conceptual framework and related NUTMON approach facilitate a comprehensive description and analysis of management practices in complex smallholder farming systems. The approach has been successfully applied in a variety of projects addressing soil fertility degradation in Africa and Asia . A wide audience from both the research and development communities have been exposed to the approach. The integration of biophysical, financial and livelihood aspects in the analyses proved essential to assist effective decision making by farm households. The quantitative analysis based on farmers’ own data and observations, complements other participative tools and contributed to learning and innovation processes within households. The various projects which implemented the approach showed that negative soil nutrient balances and high incidence of poverty prevail in most of the farming systems in East Africa . However, huge variations between geographical areas and individual farms were observed. Farmers often successfully integrated technical innovations in existing farm management systems, whereby combinations of application of organic manure and fertilizers appeared to be the most effective strategy. The research has shown that, once smallholders are equipped with knowledge and the capacity to learn, are empowered in organizations and connected to markets and the private sector, they can substantially improve their rural livelihoods. Therefore a focus on participatory experiential learning approaches and farmer organizations that result in new arrangements in innovation systems needs to be mainstreamed in rural development projects. Experiences show that the sustainability of group learning processes increases considerably when the groups engage successfully in commercial activities at the same time. Innovations in soil fertility management were most successful and had the greatest impact on livelihoods in areas with both high agricultural potential and access to large urban markets. Investments in soil management or other technologies can be realised more easily by smallholders when they have opportunities to generate cash through commercial sales and value-addition, or when they have access to non-farm income. In more marginal areas most investments in inputs and technologies were financially unattractive or risky. In these areas priority needs be given to creating a more conducive environment for smallholders to do business and explore alternatives to food crop production." @default.
- W340305896 created "2016-06-24" @default.
- W340305896 creator A5063725517 @default.
- W340305896 date "2007-01-01" @default.
- W340305896 modified "2023-09-23" @default.
- W340305896 title "Practice makes perfect: participatory innovation in soil fertility management to improve rural livelihoods in East Africa" @default.
- W340305896 cites W1036830999 @default.
- W340305896 cites W117320731 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1485480994 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1487883552 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1488162564 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1488574179 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1492754837 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1493996476 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1494204225 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1510669172 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1512420250 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1515053261 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1516638673 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1519408284 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1519966989 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1520446361 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1530815221 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1531663608 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1532697747 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1536031856 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1544387432 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1547071036 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1550731294 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1551562977 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1552970690 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1557879749 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1564097698 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1565542754 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1567824452 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1594489791 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1599794437 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1601625902 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1602309474 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1865869322 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1901538496 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1919139669 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1953260240 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1972838518 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1973220937 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1976547527 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1976811441 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1979109170 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1979242398 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1989428629 @default.
- W340305896 cites W1993083207 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2001956047 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2007134603 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2007524123 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2009905779 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2026047931 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2027584597 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2028965327 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2029858258 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2032899120 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2034275243 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2035328611 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2036123899 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2043306206 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2045820644 @default.
- W340305896 cites W204742834 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2052585246 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2054334727 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2056838300 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2060368252 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2061961173 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2066494913 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2072012412 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2076242197 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2089166711 @default.
- W340305896 cites W208933884 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2089750070 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2095442201 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2096030958 @default.
- W340305896 cites W21000844 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2101201092 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2103399988 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2104226344 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2110695580 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2114141064 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2122066520 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2127211896 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2129696021 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2132716210 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2133545884 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2136732896 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2137951376 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2139331062 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2141448566 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2142076790 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2142645829 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2142731973 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2147655264 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2147954848 @default.
- W340305896 cites W2148220479 @default.