Promoting new agroforestry technologies: policy lessons from on-farm research

Abstract

Successful diffusion and adoption of new agroforestry practices depend not only upon the technical performance of those practices and their ‘fit’ with farming systems, but also on the broader policy environment. Key policy factors relate to: tree germplasm supply, agricultural input supply, markets for agroforestry products, land and forest tenure systems and strategies and institutional arrangements for extension and research support. On-farm research during the technology development process provides a strategic opportunity to begin evaluating policy constraints and ways to address them. Researchers need to involve policy makers in the design and evaluation of assessments and to communicate effectively with them. Based on data and experience from on-farm research programmes in Kenya and Zambia, general policy lessons are drawn, and specific policy recommendations are made for promoting hedgerow intercropping, improved fallows, pole and timber trees, and fodder banks in the eastern and southern Africa context