DESERT MARGINS PROGRAM
GEF
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Land degradation severity in desert margins of SSA
High
Low
Non-degraded
DMP member countries
DMP potential countries
Agro-ecological zones of the desert margins of WA
Very arid
Arid
Semi-arid
Semi-humid
Humid
N
0
1000 km
10
300
2.0
Population (1 106 )
8
200
6
100
4
2
1960
Millet production (kg per capita)
Population
Total millet grain production (1 106 MT)
Millet production
600
1980
Year
1990
1.2
0.8
0.4
0
1970
1.6
2000
1960
1970
1980
Year
1990
2000
Area cropped with millet (1 106 ha)
Millet grain yield (kg ha-1 )
6
500
400
300
200
5
4
3
2
1
1960
1970
1980
Year
1990
2000
1960
1970
1980
Year
1990
2000
An unbalanced system, a downward spiral
Population increase
Climate
change and
climate
fluctuation
Need for increasing the production
Demographic control
Intensification of
Agriculture
Increase in cropped area
• Decreasing yields
• Land degradation
• Increasing competition
between crop and livestock
for common natural resource
base
Decrease or suppression
of the fallow cycle
(traditional way of
restoring soil fertility)
Cropping of marginal
land
Potential
yield
Biophysical limitations
• Soil fertility
• Water
• Variety, etc
(Experimentation
)
Which inputs are
lacking?
Yield
gap
Actual
yield
Socio economic and
policy limitations
• Knowledge
• Credit
• Availability
Why inputs are not
The yield gap and the
limitations that
used?
cause it
Major constraints to sustainable agricultural
production and biodiversity conservation
Environmental constraints
 Infertile erosion prone soils
 Limited and unpredictable rainfall
 Inadequate irrigation
 Reduction of suitable land for agricultural
purposes
 Pests and diseases
Technological constraints
 Inappropriate technology transfer
 Weak research-extension-farmer linkages
 Inappropriate and inadequate
technological packaging, as well as limited
technological awareness
 Limited involvement of universities in
research and extension education and lack
of adequate trained personnel
Policy constraints
 Incentives to increase agricultural production
are not harmonized and sustained
 Inappropriate land tenure systems that limit
access to land and security of tenure
 Inadequate policy to support sustainable
agricultural farming systems
Policy constraints ( Cont’d)
 Exclusion of the corporate sector from
agricultural farming systems
 Inefficient financial support to implement
technology
 Weak logistics to extend technologies e.g.
roads, telephones and tools
Socio-cultural constraints
• Indigenous technical knowledge is not taken
into account
 Some farmers are not convinced of the added
value of technology
 Technology conflicts with local knowledge
and time-tested traditional practices
 Gender barriers to technology adoption
Economic constraints
Inadequate access to markets for
agricultural produce
Low market competitiveness for agricultural
produce
Insufficient funding for agricultural research
Economic constraints (CONT’d)
Limited access to farm inputs and credit
High cost of fertilizers inputs and other soilcondition ameliorating methods
Competition/conflicts between agriculture
and livestock enterprise on limited land
resources
Institutional constraints
Inadequate integration of research and
development activities
Lack of coordination among and between
agricultural research institutions (IARCs and
NARS)
Inadequate promotion of sustainable
agricultural farming systems
Nutrient mining
• Burkina Faso:
- 95 000 T of N
- 28 000 T of P2O5
- 79 000 T of K2O
(equivalent to US $ 160 million)
• Mali: 40% of farmers agricultural revenue
comes from nutrient mining
Desert Margins Program
Wider Objectives (Goal)
 To arrest land degradation and conserve and
restore biodiversity in the Desert Margins through
sustainable utilization of biodiversity
Specific Objectives (Purpose)
 To develop and implement strategies for
conservation, restoration and sustainable use of
dry land biodiversity (to enhance ecosystem
function and resilience)
Expected Outputs
1. Improved understanding of ecosystem
status and dynamics with regard to loss of
biodiversity
2. Strategies for conservation, restoration and
sustainable use of degraded agro
ecosystems developed and implemented
3. NRM Capacity of stakeholders and target
populations enhanced
Expected Outputs (contd.)
4 Sound policy intervention/guidelines
for sustainable resource use formulated,
adopted and implemented
5 Participatory natural resources
management methods are implemented
6 The target populations are involved at
each stage of the project’s cycle
Project Activities by
year
7. Participation
Build capacity of stakeholders to participate fully
6. Up scaling
Develop strategies for replication
Institutional capacity building of
government institutions/farmers in up
scaling
Wider testing at
project site
5. Policy guidelines/
legislation
Review and draft new guidelines
Test new guidelines / policies
Adopt Nationwide guidelines/
policies
4. Sustainable alternative
livelihoods
Inventory
3. Capacity building
In participatory approaches to land
and biodiversity management
Tested / Adapted / Adopted
2. Rehabilitation of land
use
1. Monitoring and
evaluation (status and
dynamics)
Adoption and pilot testing in selected
villages
In up scaling
Testing implementation scenes
-
Adoption and
pilot testing in
selected villages
Data gathering
Consultation
Synthesis
Compiling existing approaches
1
2
3
4
5
6
Costs and Financing
(Million US $)
GEF:
Project : Phase 1 (2 years) $4,987,134
Phase 2 (2 years) $5,617,044
Phase 3 (2 years) $5,365,822
PDF A :
PDF B :
Subtotal GEF
Total project cost
$
$
25,000
340,000
$16,335,000
$49,507,307 (GEF +
Co-Fi + Govt in Kind)
Third
Level
ICRISAT Board
Second
Level
Steering Committee
DMP C.U.
CORAF
First
Level
B.F
Mali
Niger
SACCAR
Senegal
Bots
Nam
S.A
Governance Structure of DMP
ASARECA
Zimb
Kenya
Conclusions
• Biodiversity conservation and sustainable
use in the Desert Margins will require:
1. Promotion of sustainable livelihoods
Diversification of sources of income
Promoting sustainable harvesting
Exploring innovative sustainable uses of
biodiversity for generating income
Developing markets for products with
added values
Benefit-sharing including bioprospecting
2. Availability of sound management practices
Lessons learned from traditional sustainable
management
Integrated management approaches
Watershed management
Trans-boundary considerations
Sustainable natural resource management
Water harvesting
Soil conservation
Management practices (cont’d)
Land tenure/property rights issues
Community based activities
Empowerment
Public awareness, education/training,
international experience
Participatory adaptive management
Participatory crop/tree improvement
Management practices (cont’d)
Law enforcement and policy
implementation
Decentralization
Community participation
Negotiating skills/conflict resolution
International & regional networking
Thank You