Challenges and new opportunities in resource management research for semi-arid West Africa
1997
Hanak-Freud, Ellen | Van Duivenbooden, N. | Cissé, L. | Bationo, André
Drawing on a review of past themes and results of resource management research and the constraints to adoption, this paper proposes future themes and approaches to increase the effectiveness of research output. Limited adoption of the main resukts, including yield-augmenting crop packages, soil amendements, and soil conservation techniques, is due in part to constraints in the overall economic environment, but also to the fact that recommendations were either too high-cost or technically infeasible in the context of the region's smallholder agricultural systems. The key themes for future research are : reducing the cost of mineral fertilization, increasing plant nutrient and water uptake, increasing the capacity of systems to apply organic matter through closer integration of animal husbandry, and exploring the possibilities for small-scale supplemental irrigation. Multidisciplinary approaches, including socio-economic analysis, must play an increasing role. Efforts to increase the reliability of the recommendation domains can be enhanced by application of new techniques in modelling, geo-statitics and spatialization. Exploiting the existing base of experimental work in the region wil permit quicker progress at lower cost. Although there is a clear role for agricultural policy in fostering an enabling environment, orientation of research toward market-oriented development will increase the chances of success. (Résumé d'auteur)
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