Conference Announcement February 19-21, 2007 Location: Institut d’Economie Rural, Sotuba B.P. 262, Bamako, Republic of Mali Speeding Technological Innovation in Rural farming communities of the Sahel of Africa: Soil and Water Conservation and Management (SWC&M) 1. Introduction As the population of Africa continues to grow, policy makers, scientists, extension agents and farmers are faced with major challenges to increase agricultural output to improve economic prosperity and secure food sufficiency for everyone. The focus will be on smallholders’ farmers, because for them water scarcity or poor rainwater management often leads to crop failure, economic hardship and food insecurity.
(Photographer: Richard Kablan) The Soil Management Collaborative Support Program (SM CRSP), a program of the U.S. Agency for International Development implemented by the University of Hawaii (UH) and l’Institut d’Economie Rural (IER), is organizing this conference to provide a platform to share experiences on how smallholder farmers can minimize the impact of drought common in the Sahel and how they may respond adequately to water scarcity in rainfed agriculture through soil moisture management and to provide a forum in which industry such as CMDT, policy makers, scientists, extensions agents, farmers and everyone with an interest in agriculture can meet, talk, build relationships and exchange ideas. The conference will consider direct and indirect effects of agricultural practices on components of the water balance. The question is how to promote and increase the adoption of technologies such the Amenagement en Courbes de Niveau (ACN) developed to optimize soil moisture, which is a key parameter for reducing drought and increasing productivity in rainfed agriculture. Other technologies that have positive impacts on the overall social environment and agricultural production systems of the Sahel will be presented and discussed. Moderator: Dr. Abou Berthé, Program Officer, Farming System Research and Natural Resource Management, Mali For more information please contact: Abou Berthé: abou.berthe@ier.ml , Tel: +223 6463574 Mamadou Doumbia: madou.doumbia@ier.ml, Tel : +223 6739623 Russell Yost: rsyost@hawaii.edu , Tel: +1 808 9567066 Richard Kablan : rak@hawaii.edu, Tel : +1 808 956-6883  Return to news
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