Abstract:

The overall objective of the study was to enhance adoption of sustainable land
management practices using the innovation platform (IP) approach. To this effect, an IP
was initiated in Bugobero sub-county, Manafa district, to address the soil erosion
challenge while another was initiated in Nakitoma sub-county, Nakasongola district, to
address the degradation of savanna woodlands.
The Nakitoma innovation platform identified the use of ISSB energy saving cook stoves
and establishment of bioenergy woodlots as potential sustainable land management
(SLM) practices to address the challenge of deforestation in the savannah woodlands of
Nakasongola District. The IP established six Melia volkensii bio-energy demonstration to promote adoption of woodlots for sustainable management of savanna woodlands. The IP expressed preference for Melia volkensii because it is a drought resistant, termite
resistant and relatively fast growing tree species. The Nakitoma IP also distributed 200 ISSB cook stoves to nine farmer groups through an experimental protocol. ISSB stove performance was found to be 28 MJ/capita energy consumption compared to56MJ/capita with three stone stove after running a Kitchen Performance Test (KPT). Whereas daily fuel use was 2.8kg/capita (˜ 4.6 kg/household) compared to 8.5kg/capita with three stone stove. This indicates that ISSB stove can reduce fuel wood consumption by 67% if replaced with a three stone stove. In Bugobero sub-county, a 9-member IP committee has been established. Training of the 9 members of the IP committee, 15 local leaders and 300 farmers has been conducted. A total of 4,000 meters of contour bands were established in the Khabungu microcatchment in Bugobero Sub County. Approximate 1000 seedlings of Gravaria and about 6000 of Calliandra have been planted along the contour bands to stabilize as well as provide additional benefits such as fodder and timber. Guidelines for formulating bylaws to ensure maintenance of established erosion control structures have been developed. Baseline data has collected on household-level and relevant stakeholder characteristics and databases developed.
Important to note is that we did not establish the effectiveness of IPs for soil erosion
control in the eastern highlands and reforestation in the central rangelands because the
project was terminated prematurely before conducting the endline survey.
Some of the key recommendations for improving the use of the innovation platform
approach in enhancing adoption of sustainable land management included:
? Writing research for development projects needs to take a stakeholder
consultative approach in order to establish facts including technologies or practices, values, rules or by-laws (especially the un-documented ones) in the
targeted areas of operation.
? Soliciting for local political support is a prerequisite for establishing an effective
innovation platform.
? Working within already existing platforms including community based
organization, farmers and resource user groups is a more favorable or effective
approach than starting from scratch or forming a completely new platform.
? Studying the community activity calendars is vital during planning and
implementation of project activities. Deliberate plans should be put in place to
obtain, study and seriously consider them before implementing activities.