Since 1987 the Zambia-ICRAF agroforestry project has been working on agroforestry solutions to address the problems of soil degradation and shortages of food, fodder, timber and fuelwood. Among the various technologies developed, improved fallows to replenish soil fertility are being adopted by farmers. The lack of an effective dissemination pathway, however, has been an obstacle for scalling up this technology. An umbrella body 'Adaptive Research and Dissemination Network (ARDN)' was formed involving a number of stakeholders. It provided a coordinating and analytical mechanism for participatory evaluation of promising technologies on farms and served as a catalyst for their widespread dissemination in eastern Zambia. The project has also examined the effectiveness of different dissemination pathways, namely the government agricultural extension service, farmer-trainers and the traditional leaders for scaling up of agroforestry technologies.
Publication year
2004
Authors
Kabwe, G.; Katanga, R.; Mafongoya P L; Grundy I M; Phiri D M; Kwesiga, F.R.
Language
English
Keywords
extension activities, fallow, information dissemination, technology transfer
Geographic
Zambia
