Improving land management in eastern and southern Africa: a review of practices and policies

The economies of the three East African countries of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania are heavily dependent on agriculture. It is ther efore critical that so il, water and forest resources are properly managed to sustain th is important sector. One of the biggest threats to agricultural productiv ity is land degradation, especi ally erosion and reduction in soil fertility. Over the years, a number of programmes have been implemented in a bid to control soil erosion, conserve rainwater a nd promote afforest ation. Sweden, through the Swedish International Development Agen cy (Sida), has supported some of the key conservation programmes in the three countri es, focusing on development of policies, approaches and technologies. Some of the support was channelled through the Regional Soil Conservation Unit (RSCU), which evol ved into the Regional Land Management Unit (RELMA) , now part of ICRAF. This paper reviews the experi ence of RSCU/RELMA in the three countries, drawing on soil conservation and land husbandr y practices since the 1970s. It captures lessons learnt and makes recommendations for future action. Th ree Sida projects have been selected to illustrate this rich experience. These are: Uganda Soil Conservation and Agroforestry Pilot Project (USCAPP), the Soil Conservation and Agroforestry Project Arusha (SCAPA) in northern Tanzania and Kenya’s National Soil and Water Conservation Programme (NSWCP). The main focus is on policies, and approaches.

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