Pasture improvement technologies based on an on-farm study in Uganda

This report synthesizes the research work conducted by the World Agroforestry Centre in developing, customising, and testing recommendat ions for tree selection and management in the Demonstrations Sites located in DRC Zambia and Tanzania , to promote the adoption of sustainable agroforestry practices under the Lake Tanganyika Regional Integrated Management and Development Programme (LTRIMDP). Using a novel approach combining local and scientific k nowledge concerning trees and ecosystem services, the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) created an innovati ve toolkit suited to the different sites in the Lake Tanganyika Basin to support the desi gn of agroforestry interventions to reduce soil erosion and sedimentation and improve livelihoods. The ‘Useful Trees for the Lake Tanganyika Basin Toolkit’ encompasses a number of simple electronic tools with information customised from ground-truthing participatory fieldwor k and several workshops conducted in each of the three countries over the period 20 10 to 2012, combined with scientific and technical knowledge. The Toolkit is designed to help ext ension agents, natural resource managers and users within the different catchment areas make decisions about selecting and managing suitabl e trees for planting or assisting natural regeneration. Decisions are guided by matching community needs and site conditions with specific local trees (nativ e and exotic) that provide a wide ra nge of key products and environmental services. The Toolkit is a tangible product that t he LTRIMDP is keen to leave with local communities through trained extension agents and comm unity leaders, to foster successf ul tree planting interventions, tailored according to different farm ers’ preferences and farm conditions around the Lake Basin. Having successfully tested the different tools with a total of 130 individual farmers, the World Agroforestry Centre refined the Toolkit and the associated User Guide and produced a series of customized Field Manuals on Tree Selection and Management for each country, in English for Zambia and Tanzania, and in French for the DRC component. The Field Manual and Toolkit are to be disseminated to local agricultural, forestry and environmental extension services and community l eaders, and is expected to serve as an important local reference guide beyond the life span of the programme and to con tribute to scaling out sustainable agroforestry interventions that r educe sedimentation in the Lake T anganyika whilst providing socio- economic benefits to the local communities around the Basin

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