Decision guides such as this one, designed to help farmers select food and feed legumes as a function of their resource endowments and market opportunities, target recommendations most likely to fit into complex farming systems. (Amede et al., 2004)

Different from industrial farms, smallholder farmers residing in densely settled highland areas must try to integrate diverse enterprises into small landholdings, requiring that attention is given to the interactions among components and to optimizing diverse returns from the production system. In AHI benchmark sites, farmers were able to identify specific technologies they needed both to increase income from specific components and to harmonize component-system interactions—and then to optimally apply and combine them once made available. Technologies chosen by single households cut across crop varieties, forages, high value trees, soil fertility management options, soil conservation technologies and integrated pest management practices, which were implemented in a step-wise approach to fit into the respective systems. Forages and high value trees were grown on soil bunds to stabilize structures and reduce soil erosion. In all sites, farmers have experimented with technologies that concentrate water and nutrients for cash crop production, making better use of farm resources—as in the case of Banana (Lushoto) and Hops (Areka). After getting experiences in the technology options, farmers were able to modify these technologies to suit their conditions. Farmers in the benchmark sites and beyond are now aware of which technology should come first and which one to follow to obtain the maximum benefits and exploit win-win situations. Discussions among farmers now reflect more complex goals and considerations focusing around "getting more for less." Popular technologies were then used to stimulate interest in addressing more complex natural resource management problems requiring medium-term investments (Phase II) and as entry points to watershed management (Phase III).

The challenge is now to address institutional constraints to wider-scale application of successful approaches. Site teams are now challenged by technology dissemination to respond to increased demand from farmers, and are experimenting with diverse approaches to decentralized seed supply. There is also pressure from politicians and research organizations for quick results, while integrated approaches to balance income generation with natural resource management requires a longer-term investment. Commitments of researchers, extension and heads of institutions to further promote partnership and system linkages in the area of participatory technology integration, effective extension and policy support are essential ingredients to expand the impacts achieved in benchmark sites.