National Agricultural Extension Representatives

The timeliness and quality of land preparation are critical to rice production. NERICA varieties are no exception. Good soil tillagepractices generally enhance ef cient fertilizer-use, soil porosity and aeration and then have positive impacts during germination, seedling emergence and stand establishment stages of plant growth,in addition to weed control.

This manual provides an overview of technical response options to water scarcity. It focuses onwhat individual farmers can do at the eld level, with a brief discussion on response options at theirrigation system level. The manual is meant as a support document for training on water manage-ment in rice production. It combines scienti c background information (with many literature refer- ences for further reading) with practical suggestions for implementation. The target audience is people involved in agricultural extension or training with an advanced education in agriculture or water management, who wish to introduce sound watermanagement practices to rice farmers (such as staffof agricultural colleges and universities, scientists,irrigation operators, and extension officers).

In order to successfully disseminate agroforestry technologies, various hurdles that currently limit the scaling-up process must be tackled. The lack of tree seed, seedling and other planting materials (tree germplasm) is a major constraint to the scaling up of agroforestry innovations. Sustainable production of high-quality germplasm for a wide range of agroforestry species is the basis of a successful scaling-up process. Institutional and organizational procedures that are adequate and conducive to large-scale production and distribution of agroforestry seed are also needed.

The timeliness and quality of land preparation are critical to ricenproduction. NERICA varieties are no exception. Good soil tillage practices generally enhance efficient fertilizer-use, soil porosity and aeration and then have positive impacts during germination, seedling emergence and stand establishment stages of plant growth, in addition to weed control.

This manual provides an overview of technical response options to water scarcity. It focuses on what individual farmers can do at the field level, with a brief discussion on response options at the irrigation system level. The manual is meant as a support document for training on water management in rice production. It combines scientific background information (with many literature references for further reading) with practical suggestions for implementation. The target audience is people involved in agricultural extension or training with an advanced education in agriculture or water management, who wish to introduce sound water management practices to rice farmers (such as staff of agricultural colleges and universities, scientists, irrigation operators, and extension officers).

This manual has been written with the intention of providing technicians and extension workers with practical guidelines on the implementation of water harvesting schemes. However it will also be of interest to a wider audience, such as rural development specialists and planners.

Solar-powered irrigation systems (SPIS) are a clean technology option for irrigation, allowing the use solar energy for water pumping, replacing fossil fuels as energy source, and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from irrigated agriculture. The sustainability of SPIS greatly depends on how water resources are managed.

The potential of forage legumes to increase the productivity of crop–livestock systems has been studied by ILCA under different ecological and management conditions. In the Ethiopian highlands, species within the Vicia, Trifolium and Medicago genera show promise. Among these the Vicia genus stands out with its relatively high dry-matter yields, high N content, and consistently high residual effects which make it very attractive for intercropping. In the subhumid zone of West Africa, Stylosanthes species show good potential, especially if the danger from anthracnose can be eliminated. Of the various legume–cereal technologies tested, the cut-and- carry method, intercropping, sequential cropping and alley farming are most likely to be adopted by farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.

Of the more than one billion global poor, 75 percent live in rural areas and most of these people depend on agriculture to survive. Enhancing farmers’ and agricultural workers’ livelihoods is thus key to addressing global poverty. While there are many problems, poor farmers regularly identify the most important as: 1) access to credit, 2) access to better market prices and 3) access to credible, relevant information.

The aspect of information access has received increasing attention, especially in terms of the potential role of Information Communication Technology (ICT) to connect farmers with the information they need. ICT has already been shown to have the capacity to dramatically expand communication and improve access to information (and facilitate monetary transfers). However, the question more recently has been, how can the promise of ICT be realistically harnessed to help the world’s rural poor?

Launched in 2006, the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project aims
to mitigate drought and other constraints to maize production in sub-Saharan Africa, increasing maize yields by at least one ton per hectare under moderate drought and with a 20 to 30% increase over farmers’ current yields, bene ting 30-40 million people in 13 African countries.1 The project brings together men and women farmers, research institutions, extension specialists, seed producers, farmer community organizations, and non-government organizations. It is jointly implemented by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), in close collaboration with national agricultural research systems in participating nations. Millions of farmers in the region are already bene ting from the outputs of this partnership, which includes support and training for African seed producers and promoting vibrant, competitive seed markets.