Baobab: Stories

From ICRAF (International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, Nairobi)

Live Barrier Fencing on the Desert Margin (Jan. 15, 16)

In Mali, farmers are learning to use trees as living fences to keep cattle and other grazing farm animals away from their vegetable gardens. They have found the technique is far less labour-intensive than constructing more traditional fencing. Better still, the live fence becomes a resource, a ready source of fuel for cooking, reducing pressure on natural forest resources. The vegetable gardens themselves provide additional nutrition and income during the dry season.

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Trees to Enhance Soil Fertility (Feb. 5, 6)

In western Kenya researchers have found a roadside shrub, introduced hundreds of years ago from Latin America, can be used as an effective green manure to restore nutrients -- especially nitrogen and potassium -- to depleted soils. At the same time, a Canadian researcher from the University of Guelph has discovered a rock phosphate deposit not far away that works as well as imported fertilizers to restore phosphorus to the soil. The combination gives farmers a complete soil nutrition package in their own back yard.

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Natural Vegetative Strip Technology (Mar. 18, 19)

On the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, scientists thought they had the answer to a the problem of soil erosion on mountain slopes that farmers had to use for corps. But their solution, planting bushes and trees along contour ditches, while effective when properly implemented was not adopted by farmers. It was just too hard and expensive to do. Then the farmers themselves discovered a way to adapt the methods. Now Natural Vegetative Strip technology and community land management are changing the lives of many farm families.

Working with the rural poor of Zambia to preserve forests and improve livelihoods (Jan. 8, 9)

CIDA is sponsoring a unique soil fertility program in eastern Zambia, near Chipata. Nitrogen fixing trees like sesbania and tephrosia can be grown as fallow crops to restore nitrogen to the soil. Farmers are adapting the technology, often inter-cropping the trees with their maize. The results are astounding.

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From ICLARM (International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management, Manila)

Aquacluture in the mountains of the Philippines (Jan 1, 2)

Farmers in the mountainous regions of the northern Philippines have started building small reservoirs to hold water for rice irrigation on the spectacular mountain terraces. Now they have started to use these same reservoirs to raise fish. The pilot project involves just thirty farm families, but it allows them to improve family nutrition and helps them maintain a traditional way of life.

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Integrated fish farming in the Shire valley of Malawi (Jan 29, 30)

While Lake Malawi provides fish in abundance for the families who live near its shores, for those far from the lake it is a different story. This project takes advantage of run off water from the Zomba plateau and the rainy season to fill ponds that are used to raise fish and irrigate dry season vegetable and fruit crops. The ponds are fertilized with crop wastes. This integrated system increases farm efficiency and intensity by more than 50% and improves both livelihoods and diets for the participating families

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From IWMI (International Water Management Institute, Colombo)

Conflicts of Priorities (Feb. 26, 27)

What happens when the irrigation needs of poor farmers clash with the conservation needs of one of the worlds most important wetlands? How can people feed their families without destroying the habitat for shore birds, crocodiles and elephants? A new study by IWMI hopes to find ways to eliminate the conflicts by managing the water resources better.

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From ICRISAT (Int'l Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Hyderabad)

Improving ground nuts with farmers in Malawi (Feb. 19, 20)

Farmers and researchers have developed a new high yielding variety of ground nut, especially suited to local conditions. Combined with improved cultural practices and a unique 'pyramid' distribution scheme for the seeds, families are seeing a 100% yield increase in their peanut crops with little input cost.

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Sorghum and Pearl Millet in Zimbabwe (Mar. 11, 12)

June falls within the harvesting period in the subregion. Enhancing farmers access to seed of improved sorghum and pearl millet varieties. The focus is on seed production and distribution by small-scale farmers in Zimbabwe. Grain delivery and utilization. Focus will be on harvesting, processing, storage, utilization, and delivery of sorghum and pearl millet to industry by small-scale farmers.

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From IRRI (International Rice Research Institute, los Baños)

Biological weed control (Feb. 12, 13)

A McGill University scientist is working six months of every year in the Philippines to find ways to reduce chemical herbicide use on rice crops but still control the weeds. The team has developed the first effective biological control program based on natural fungus spores that are specific to the weeds and leave the rice alone and at the same time have found an effective control for Striga, the parasitic weed that chokes corn in Africa.

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Breaking the yield barrier (Mar. 4, 5)

Not since the green revolution has there been so much excitement over a development in rice breeding. The so-called new super rice has broken the yield barrier producing up to 25% more rice than the best existing rice varieties. It is a new plant type but before it can be useful to farmers and consumers, it has to be able to survive the onslaught of pests and diseases. We will see the progress being made to increasing the resistance to stem boring caterpillars in IRRI's high-yielding new plant types. This work is being led by a Canadian researcher.

Improving technology development through gender analysis (Jan 22, 23)

One of IRRI's ground breaking research projects, funded for a decade by IDRC and CIDA was WIRFS - Women in Rice Farming Systems. It showed that by examining the role women farmers played in the rice farming system, significant social and economic gains could be realized. IRRI, is continuing this work in a special research program that develops women-sensitive rice farming technologies.

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From the CG System (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research)

Centres of Action (Mar. 25, 26)

In this final episode we review the work of the CGIAR and its centres working in Asia and Africa and spotlight the contribution Canada has made.