Challenges of Adoption and Adaptation of Land and Water Management Options in Smallholder Agriculture: Synthesis of Lessons and Experiences

Abstract

Conservation and management of land and water resources for sustainable intensification of agriculture and poverty reduction in many developing regions has remained one of the most challenging policy issues for a long time. The increasing degradation of agroecosystems gradually deprives the poor of key productive resources and affects communities whose livelihoods heavily rely on utilization of these resources. Degradation of land and water resources gradually diminishes the capacity of individual farmers and communities to undertake critical investments needed to reverse the situation. This in turn reduces opportunities for addressing nutritional and other necessities and depletes the ability to buffer shocks, thereby increasing vulnerability of livelihoods. The potential nexus between worsening poverty and degradation of natural resources also raises fundamental questions on strategies for poverty reduction, equitable distribution of income and intergenerational equity