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Desire for Greener Land compiles options for Sustainable Land Management (SLM) in drylands. It is a result of the integrated research project DESIRE (Desertification Mitigation and Remediation of Land - A Global Approach for Local Solutions). Lasting five years (2007–2012) and funded within the EU’s Sixth Framework Programme, DESIRE brought together the expertise of 26 international research institutes and non-governmental organisations. The DESIRE project aimed to establish promising alternative land use and management strategies in 17 degradation and desertification sites around the world, relying on close collaboration between scientists and local stakeholder groups. The study sites provided a global laboratory in which researchers could apply, test, and identify new and innovative approaches to combatting desertification. The resulting SLM strategies are local- to regional-scale interventions designed to increase productivity, preserve natural resource bases, and improve people’s livelihoods. These were documented and mapped using the internationally recognised WOCAT (World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies) methodological framework, which formed an integral part of the DESIRE project. The DESIRE approach offers an integrated multidisciplinary way of working together from the beginning to the end of a project; it enables scientists, local stakeholders and policy makers to jointly find solutions to desertification. This book describes the DESIRE approach and WOCAT methodology for a range of audiences, from local agricultural advisors to scientists and policymakers. Links are provided to manuals and online materials, enabling application of the various tools and methods in similar projects. The book also includes an analysis of the current context of degradation and SLM in the study sites, in addition to analysis of the SLM technologies and approaches trialled in the DESIRE project. Thirty SLM technologies, eight SLM approaches, and several degradation and SLM maps from all the DESIRE study sites are compiled in a concise and well-illustrated format, following the style of this volume’s forerunner where the land is greener (WOCAT 2007). Finally, conclusions and policy points are presented on behalf of decision makers, the private sector, civil society, donors, and the research community. These are intended to support people’s efforts to invest wisely in the sustainable management of land – enabling greener drylands to become a reality, not just a desire.

The learning alliance worked with 25 direct partner agencies and through their networks influenced 116 additional organizations. It contributed to change in organizations working with 33,000 rural families (approximately 175,000 people) in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador. Rural enterprise development practices and knowledge management have improved as shown by increased effectiveness in existing projects and strategic new projects. These shifts contribute to a more efficient innovation system in favor of rural enterprise development through shared information, joint capacity building programs and large-scale, collaborative projects. For research partners, learning alliances have enabled development of stronger networks.

This report describes the conceptual approach of the CO2FIX V 3.1 model, as well as its implementation and numerous examples. This stand level simulation model is a tool which quantifies the C stocks and fluxes in the forest biomass, the soil organic matter and the wood products chain. Included are also a bioenergy module, a financial module and a carbon accounting module. The model is applicable to many different situations: afforestation projects, agroforestry systems, and selective logging systems. The model is freely available from the web, together with numerous examples. The model has many users. The two earlier versions of the model have been downloaded already almost 2000 times

The African pastoral farming system consists of livestock and drylands crop-based production that supports an agricultural population of 38 million people of whom 13.4 million in sub-Saharan Africa are extremely poor. Human population growth has resulted in low per capita livestock and land resources, and while the farming system has options to develop agriculture, further demographic expansion will exacerbate degradation and inequality. While there is potential for agricultural development, e.g. through intensification and greater market orientation, such development needs to take into account pastoral peoples’ access rights to resources and minimize trade-offs with current land and water users. Effective drought management, a key to the success of pastoralism, relies on multiple resource management strategies and community interactions. Therefore, there is a need for policies that strengthen the resilience of agriculture and pastoralists livelihoods through, e.g. support to livestock mobility, agricultural insurance, sustainable land and water management as well as monetary and legal support for effective implementation. Interventions that strengthen opportunities for a future outside agriculture, such as education and job creation, are needed for those living in chronic poverty.

Even though drought tolerant maize (DTM) varieties have proven yield stabilization benefits, the adoptions remains low. In this research, we explore the risk spectrum that male and female smallholder farmers face in agriculture and the gendered barriers and drivers to adoption of drought tolerant maize varieties. The study appraises how communities in four district in Uganda are responding to observed changes and managing agricultural risks. The study uses exploratory qualitative research methods including participatory rural appraisal tools and focus group discussions with men’s and women’s groups separately. We observed that in Dokolo, but also in Iganga and Masindi districts, households operate in relative isolation, which on the one hand, harnesses them against risks but on the other hand makes them more vulnerable for the negative effects of personal risk, production risks, price risk and general poverty. Secondly, we observed that women can have less agency in comparison to men in that they have less land control and voice in agricultural decision- making processes; consequently, women can be more vulnerable to agricultural risk compared to men, in this respect. We elicited that many households optimize labor in the portfolio of different income generating activities to spread risk and smooth income and production. In Dokolo, Iganga and Masindi districts, we identified that health risk, production risk, (grain) price risk and financial risk (general poverty) are the most urgent risks that affect households productive choices. Narrowing down to DTM adoption, we noted that motivation (affordability considerations) combined with capability (knowledge on yield performance) constitute the largest barrier to adoption in all districts. In Dokolo we note capacity (knowledge of varieties) and opportunity (access to agro-dealers) as additional barriers. We also observed that due to low(ering) soil fertility, uptake of hybrid DTM should go together with fertilizer. Lastly we observed that these barriers may be more ...

This working paper explores a generic method that can be used to benchmark nitrogen (N) input requirements for crop production and the efficiency by which inputs are used. Two types of N benchmarks are introduced: one for short-term and another for long-term assessments. We explain the underlying assumptions, data requirements and types of applications. Both benchmarking methods are especially suitable for regional, national or global analyses. The proposed methodology is illustrated for cereal production (maize, wheat, rice, millet and sorghum) in ten countries in sub-Saharan Africa, under current and optimal nutrient management, for today and towards 2050. We show that agronomic nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) can be two to four times larger than currently observed in on-farm trials for the long- term benchmark. Potential improvements in N input requirements are related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emission mitigation potentials, using scenarios that include population increase and dietary change, potential yield increase and avoided land reclamation. Here, we show that when following the current trajectory of yield trends while maintaining the low current nitrogen-use efficiency, GHG emissions from cereal production will be three times larger than sustainable intensification of cereals in sub-Saharan Africa. The proposed N benchmarking method is most useful for regional or larger scale analyses and less useful for field assessments. Nonetheless, this might fill a gap in higher scale analyses, especially for estimating potential improvements in NUE and reducing GHG emissions. This working paper presents work in progress. In the future, we will test the proposed methodology on different case studies to evaluate its potential and finetune its operation.