The challenge of improved natural resource management practices adoption in African agriculture:

1
The challenge of improved natural resource
management practices adoption in African
agriculture
Chris Barrett Frank Place Abdillahi Aboud Doug
Brown

• A social science perspective

July 3, 2000 ICRAF - Nairobi
2
Introduction and Background

• Significant demand and supply-side pressure for
  sustainable agricultural intensification
• Low rates of smallholder adoption of existing,
  sustainable NRM practices
• Objective synthesize social science findings
  related to sustainable NRM adoption

3
Present Situation

• Declining agricultural productivity per capita
  
• Down 16 in 30 years
• Past 20 years little change in crop
• productivity, steady fall in livestock

4

• Declining ag productivity is both cause and
  consequence of NR degradation
• Soil degradation (erosion, nutrient loss,
  compaction, waterlogging)
• Gross mineral fertilizer use low (1.8 MMT) and
  declining despite area expansion.
• Water availability limited (3.3 irrigated) and
  very little expansion of irrigation, with quality
  degrading.
• Deforestation and cover loss fuels soil and water
  availability problems

5
African Agriculture in Historical Perspective

• Traditional systems too often viewed as backward,
  inefficient or unproductive.
• Past emphasis on diversity and resilience often
  yielded methods evolutionarily well adapted to
  local conditions so as to both conserve
  equilibrium biomass (CEB) and generate crop and
  livestock output

6
Stylized nonlinear agroecology dynamics concepts
of equilibrium and resilience
7
Available NRM options

• 3 basic sorts
• Traditional practices (e.g., intercropping)
• Adapt traditional practices to changed conditions
  (e.g., improved fallows)
• Introduction of truly new practices (e.g.,
  high-value non-indigenous trees)
• Need to integrate modern science and traditional
  knowledge systems

8
Understanding adoption patterns of improved NRM

• Boserupian intensification not automatic in
  extent, timing or irreversibility
• Facilitating the transition is increasingly
  important.
• Ecological context (what is appropriate/effective
  for a given site?)
• Socioeconomic context (what is attractive to a
  given farmer, community or policymaker?)

9
Understanding adoption patterns of improved NRM

• Ecological context
• Considerable microvariability
• Agronomic barriers (e.g., nematodes, shade)
• Nonagronomic impediments (e.g., wildlife)
• Results
• Only a subset of practices work in a setting
• Need participatory on-farm research to identify
  local needs and constraints

10
Understanding adoption patterns of improved NRM

• Key characteristics of any investment
• 1. Temporal preferences and uncertainty
• 2. Sunk costs
• 3. Lumpiness
• 4. Subtle but crucial quality differences
• 5. Must fit the broader portfolio
• 6. Affect social status

11
Socioeconomic ContextObjectives and Preferences

• - material consumption
• - time preferences
• - risk preferences
• - nonseparable labor supply, consumption and
  production choices
• - status, conformity, independence, aesthetics,
  stewardship

12
Socioeconomic ContextObjectives and Preferences

• Policy implications
• - identify objectives through participatory
  methods
• - leadership important, especially in raising
  awareness of value of ecosystem services

13
Socioeconomic ContextLearning and Knowledge

• Discovery/evaluation/trial
• Farmers learn from
• awareness of threat
• formal channels
• own experimentation
• learning from others
• indigenous knowledge

14
Socioeconomic ContextLearning and Knowledge

• Policy implications
• integrate indigenous, scientific knowledge
• well-funded, service-oriented extension, perhaps
  through NGOs
• general rural education

15
Socioeconomic ContextEconomic Importance of the
Natural Resource Base

• The households stake in good NRM depends on
• agricultures importance to its livelihood
• extent of externalities (cross-sectional or
  dynamic)
• scale

16
Socioeconomic ContextEconomic Importance of the
Natural Resource Base

• Policy Implications
• ag/rural policy crucial
• external econ of scale favor cooperation
• govt most important when nonfarm income or
  externalities large
• regulatory controls and taxes rarely effective

17
Socioeconomic ContextWillingness to Invest
Long-Term

• Capture full benefits of improved NRM when
• have secure transfer/ usufructure rights (gender,
  immigrants)
• good physical security
• modest price/yield risk
• bequest motives strong

18
Socioeconomic ContextWillingness to Invest
Long-Term

• Policy implications
• security and stability essential
• no uniquely preferable tenurial regime
• price stabilization
• promoting stewardship ethic

19
Socioeconomic ContextCapacity to Invest

• Constraints to investment
• sunk costs/lumpiness
• liquidity
• labor availability
• land availability

20
Socioeconomic ContextCapacity to Invest

• Policy implications
• necessity of improved factor markets
• improved phys/institl infrastructure
• facilitate coop formation
• competition policy
• microfinance, public works projects

21
Socioeconomic ContextEconomic Incentives

• Market/nonmarket incentives to invest
• good market access
• higher product prices
• lower input prices
• reliability
• technology/productivity
• high informal tax rates

22
Socioeconomic ContextEconomic Incentives

• Policy implications
• basic agricultural and rural development is
  fundamental to NRM
• prudent macro policy
• public goods provision agr. research and market
  infrastructure

23
Socioeconomic ContextSupporting Institutional
Environment

• Institutions (rules)
• clear rules of access and accountability
  internalize externalities
• local organizations key but not universally
  effective

24
Socioeconomic ContextSupporting Institutional
Environment

• Policy implications
• promote/support local organizations where they
  exist
• government must be prepared to step in where
  communities are not cohesive

25
Research Implications

• Topics
• farmer/policymaker learning processes
• develop better methods to assist learning
• diagnostic tools, best bet menus, simulation
  models based on solid empirical work
• substitutability/complementarity between modern
  and traditional practices
• role of nonfarm activities in NRM

26
Research Implications

• Methods
• dynamics and longitudinal research
• adoption vs. place in adopter sequence
• spatial dimensions, scaling up and GIS
• compact summary of multiple variables
• estimate distances to adoption to provide more
  precise policy guidance

27
Conclusions

• (1) Improved NRM central to sustainable
  agricultural intensification, itself a necessary
  condition to economic growth, poverty alleviation
  and envt conservation
• (2) Inherent complementarity between indigenous
  and scientific methods. Need participatory
  approaches.
• (3) Combat structural exclusion by promoting
  reliable access by all to competitive markets.