Agroforestry Extension Resources

Resources A080-089

A082 Sustainable Agriculture Extension Manual

International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), 2000

IIRR have produced a very comprehensive and well illustrated manual. Although it focuses on agriculture, and agroforestry is not specifically covered, it is valuable for its coverage of many techniques that they have in common, in particular the social/participatory aspects of extension work. The IIRR blurb states "written in clear, easy-to- understand language, the manual is illustrated with numerous line drawings. The manual will be indispensable for extension agents, non-government organizations, field technicians and all involved in designing and promoting sustainable agriculture in Eastern and Southern Africa". It should be applicable more widely.

• The whole manual is available online at: http://www.iirr.org/book.htm
• Also available in hardcopy in English and Swahili: http://www.iirr.org/publications.htm

CONTENTS: (as described by IIRR)

The manual falls into 10 parts. The first four focus on the social processes and issues involved in sustainable agriculture.
Part 1 describes how organizations might promote the development, testing and sharing of farm technologies by groups of farmers, and gives examples of cases where such approaches have proved successful.
Part 2 outlines some approaches to improving credit and marketing by farmers' groups.
Part 3 describes methods of planning land use and strengthening users' rights, while
Part 4 addresses the issue of gender.
Part 5 then turns to the physical technologies for soil and water conservation, many of which have been developed and promoted through the approaches described in Part 1.
Part 6 describes ways of conserving and enhancing soil fertility using various types of organic matter.
Part 7 details some technologies relating to cropping systems. This section, in particular, makes no attempt to cover all the many crops and cropping systems used in Eastern and Southern Africa; rather, the examples have been chosen to illustrate some of the principles involved in planning and implementing cropping systems in a sustainable agriculture context. Parts 8 and 9 address livestock issues:
Part 8 focuses on approaches to livestock extension, while
Part 9 provides some livestock management technologies.
Part 10 contains lists of resources and sources of further information, including profiles of the 60 people who contributed to the publication through the workshop (described below), a list of resource organizations with relevant expertise and experience in the field, and references and training materials on sustainable agriculture.