Communicating soil and water research findings for effective land management in Eastern Africa

Abstract

Limited use of proven soil and water management options has led to declining trends in agricultural productivity and increasing degradation of the natural resource base in East Africa. Many factors are responsible for this scenario but this presentation is focussing on the lack of effective mechanisms for communicating research findings to end users as an important factor affecting agricultural production in the region. Indeed, there has been a lot of criticism from different quarters questioning the rationale of investing in agricultural research if the results are not reaching end users. To respond to these criticisms there is a growing emphasis by researcher and development partners to embrace participatory approaches which involve all stakeholders in a bid to enhance the use of generated knowledge. It is said that knowledge is the fourth factor of production besides labor, capital and land and is only successful if it is oriented at and linked to the stakeholders’ shared goals. This can be achieved if stakeholders are involved in the whole process of the knowledge generation process; more so for soil and water management research given the high risks, investment costs and labor involved in adopting soil and water management technologies. To minimize these risks, existing and new knowledge in soil and water management should be available to end users at the right time and in the correct form to ensure optimum impact. Better informed users of generated soil and water management knowledge will be more productive and hence contribute effectively in reducing poverty and ensuring environmental conservation