Research Development Division

Due to substantial progress in several areas, RDD has been able to consolidate its activities into a new structure, responsive to both the increasingly experimental focus of the external agroforestry environment and to the evolving needs of COLLPRO. The new structure consists of three interlinked and mutually supportive programmes, described later, each planned to have two joint programme coordinators appointed from the scientific staff.

ROLE AND POTENTIAL OF AGROFORESTRY AND MULTIPURPOSE TREES

ICRAF's work on the role and potential of agroforestry and multipurpose trees is aimed at synthesizing knowledge of agroforestry systems and technologies, in part through formation of an easily accessible Agroforestry Technology Register. Work in 1988 included publication of numerous case studies, reviews and summaries (see Staff Publications, page 22), as well as the organization of seminars, projects and workshops, expansion of specialized databases and other activities.

Among the major publication efforts were projects dealing with the potential of agroforestry for soil conservation, agroforestry for dryland Africa, agroforestry systems in the tropics and the role of Leucaena leucocephala in rural development.

The Second Kenya National Seminar on Agroforestry, jointly organized by ICRAF and the Kenya National Council for Science and Technology in November, attracted 100 senior technical and policy-level participants from a broad spectrum of organizations, including eight donor agencies. The seminar featured nine plenary sessions of invited papers, two poster sessions, field tours and five working groups.

The Multipurpose Tree and Shrub database was improved by the addition of information gathered from the field by students in Kenya and Costa Rica, as well as by literature searches and taxonomic contributions from the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, UK. At the same time, the database was made more accessible and flexible by restructuring the programme into MDBS in software, which allows more direct user access. Work also moved forward on the development of integrated information systems designed to consolidate past experience with agroforestry systems and technologies, including specifications for MPTs, into a logical and structured memory aid built around individual technologies. Using this system, a user can find information on a technology such as fodder banks under several cue headings, each dealing with a different aspect of the same subject. The SCUAF model for DOS-based microcomputers was also expanded to include nitrogen cycling.

Staff members gathered considerable information on agroforestry alternatives to shifting cultivation from literature searches and extended missions in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. ICRAF also joined with CAB International to hold a two-day mini-workshop on pest management in agroforestry.

FIELD EXPERIMENTATION

Field experimentation activities are designed to help scientists engaged in experimental field research, providing support and advice on efficient experimental design, evaluation and development of assessment methodologies, and data analysis. This work involves the compilation of background material for research and also trials and demonstrations of research methodologies.

As part of the effort to gather and compile background material, RDD staff completed texts for sourcebooks on MPT introduction and testing and on research methods for hedgerow intercropping. Scientists working at the ICRAF field station at Machakos, Kenya, completed a soil-sampling programme, covering all soil changes on the station since 1984, and redesigned the Field Station Report to include three parts—a general account, notes on MPTs grown on-station and fact sheets on individual demonstrations and trials.

Work continued on the Datachain project, a microcomputer software programme that helps researchers collect and manage data from field experiments using any one of a spectrum of possible designs. A major improvement introduced in 1988 enables the programme to cope with separate experimental strata, such as the tree and crop components found in many agroforestry experiments. Planned for use with the Genstat statistical package, the Datachain programme takes advantage of powerful existing software. A pre-release prototype version was distributed in 1988 for testing and review. This prototype version proved useful in helping to analyze four years of data collected by RDD researchers working on the tree/crop interface.

Work continued in 1988 on 23 demonstrations and small trials at the Machakos station, including the tree/crop interface project. Three of these reached completion or entered their final stage during the year, including a four-year, Y-shaped tree/crop interface study involving Cassia siamea, a subsurface irrigation trial and an introduction trial of Central American germplasm. In addition, work was reactivated on the methodology for studying single trees, a research area vital for understanding what happens in farmers' fields. Scientists added 12 new species to the MPT collection and initiated two Sesbania intercropping and rotational trials. Ongoing soil-conservation technology demonstrations were converted into an interlinked set of eight trials and demonstrations, including a comparison of plot size and methods of instrumentation. Staff members also completed an analysis of observations on the best methods for collecting phonological data on MPTs.

ICRAF specialists and invited visitors conducted a mini-workshop on experimental designs for agroforestry field experimentation in June. Three field days were also held at the Machakos field station—two for local farmers and one for staff at the Kenya National Dryland Farming Research Station at Katutnani. Of the 1,416 people who visited the station in 1988, approximately 33% were extension workers, 21% were farmers, 29% were students or teachers, 9% were scientists and 6% were policy makers or donors.

ICRAF launched a new project on MPT germplasm evaluation and development for the Eastern Africa AFRENA, with funding from the Ministry of Economic Cooperation (BMZ) through the Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) of the Federal Republic of Germany.

ON-FARM RESEARCH AND EXTENSION

Initiated in 1988, the on-farm research and extension programme recognizes that the process of agroforestry technology development involves a dynamic interplay between researchers, extensionists and farmers. The programme emphasizes four major activities.

Technology Design and Testing research concentrated on the detailed design of agroforestry technologies for specific sites, including MPT species selection, spacing and management. In line with this goal, an inter-divisional working group produced a set of materials and guidelines to help others design agroforestry technologies and test their performance.

ICRAF expanded collaborative activities in this area with CARE International in the Kenya Agroforestry Extension Project in western Kenya. Collaborative activities focused on developing methodologies for evaluating the technologies adopted by fanners in the field. This work included an informal adoption survey, agroforestry extension staff workshops and a formal survey of farmer-developed designs for hedgerow intercropping and tree-border planting in crop fields. This second survey covered 126 farmers in three ecological zones of Siaya District. Results were used to identify key areas for improving extension recommendations and strategies, as well as to provide researchers with more focused objectives and parameters for experimental design. The project also included the formulation and preliminary testing of methods for tree- and crop-yield assessment in farmer-established hedgerow-intercropping plots on farm sites.

On-Farm MPT Experimentation and Evaluation activities focused on evaluation of fanners' existing practices, on-station experimentation and on-farm testing and evaluation of new practices.

Work on plots at the Machakos field station included tests of repellents designed to protect early-growth Balanites aegyptiaca from goat browsing. Fanner visits to the station increased substantially during the year. Farmers near the station also received seedlings, and their planting patterns and early management methods were monitored along with seedling survival rates.

ICRAF scientists developed new approaches for on-farm agroforestry experimentation, which will incorporate ecological concepts and methods as well as single-tree investigations. Initial trials were established at the field station to test these approaches.

Project Monitoring and Evaluation concentrated on methods which can be used in development projects to monitor and evaluate agroforestry technologies being tried and adopted by farmers.

In 1988, collaboration with CARE International, FAO and the Ford Foundation through workshops and field studies generated substantial material on methodologies for monitoring agroforestry technologies and evaluating extension projects. ICRAF staff compiled an annotated bibliography of methods for monitoring and evaluating agroforestry projects from sources around the world. The bibliography covers project design and planning, technology performance evaluation and assessment of the impact of technology adoption.

Scientists reviewed two case studies on the organization and coordination of data gathered at ICRAF's Kathama research site in Machakos and the CARE project in western Kenya and assessed user-friendly computer software suitable for information management systems. ICRAF also organized a training workshop in cooperation with CARE International in Kenya on improving technology recommendations through extension research.

Extension and Development work began with an examination of agroforestry extension materials and training needs. ICRAF staff also conducted a study of legislative issues affecting agroforestry development in Kenya.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

RDD scientists contributed regularly to AFRENA planning meetings, visited AFRENA research sites, organized a major training course in the USSR with UNEP, contributed to other ICRAF training courses and supplied technical and scientific support where requested. RDD staff also devoted approximately 7% of their time to the support of outside organizations, for example by refereeing journals, attending national or international seminars, workshops and committee meetings and advisory activities. The division answered 1,170 technical and scientific enquiries through the post and handled 992 queries from visitors to headquarters.

Contributions to the scientific literature (page 22) were also substantial. Most work in this area completed in 1988 will be published in 1989.

Staff at SADCCIICRAF Agroforestry Project at Chalimbana, Zambia, weigh Leucaena leucocephala biomass produced in trials.

 Farmers in Uganda attend a baraza (meeting) to discuss common problems as part of a diagnosis and design (D & D) exercise.