Conclusion
This course aimed to give you a picture of what kind of constrains can exist in an extension project of conservation agriculture in a Sub-Saharan context. The learned lesson from this case study, the BV Lac Project in Madagascar, points at some important aspects that have to be investigated before, while, and after an implementation of Conservation Agriculture.
Out of the 3 000 farmers that were monitored and trained by the project, only 600 farmers had effectively adopted Conservation Agriculture after the first five year period. There are many explanations why the Malagasy farmers did not apply CA methods in the extent that the project owner had expected. However, there one theory is that there are two main reasons:
The farmers in the Alaotra Lake region are used to have a short-term perspective when planning their farming activities. The results of CA technologies do not show immediately, especially not in low input farming systems. To see the results the farmers need to be patient and plan their farms activities on a basis of several years. It is important to keep in mind that adoption of CA requires a significant change of mind-set in both the farming practicing and the ways of plan the farm activities.
As it took much time for the farmers to learn the CA technologies, the duration of the projects was not enough. In the BV Lac project the activities were carried out in periods of three to five years. This did not permit the farmers to become independent users. Even if this project was exceptional long, the farmers would have needed several years with guidance to be able adopt the whole package of CA methods.
There are no ready-made answers on how to carry out an extension project. But since the main obstacles often are social or even psychological it is first important to adapt the technologies to farmers demand, possibilities and the local context, and thus take in to account the social, political, and even religious constraints.
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