Selecting sites to prove the concept of IAR4D in the Lake Kivu Pilot Learning Site

Selecting sites is an essential step in enabling the assessment of the impact of Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D) in the Lake Kivu Pilot Learning Site. This paper reports on the process of identifying distinct administrative territories (sites) in which to establish innovation platforms and to monitor similar communities that are experiencing alternative agricultural research for development interventions. We show how the research design for the Sub- Saharan Africa Challenge Programme (SSACP) has been modified to take into account the key conditioning factors of the LKPLS without relinquishing robustness. A key change is the explicit incorporation of accessibility to multiple markets. Candidate sites were stratified according to the national political context, followed by good and poor accessibility to markets and finally according to security considerations and agro-ecology. Randomisation was carried out at all levels, although the need for paired counterfactual sites required the diagnosis of conditioning factors at the site level. Potential sites were characterised in terms of existing or recent agricultural research initiatives, as well as local factors that would have a direct effect on the success of interventions seeking to improve productivity, ameliorate the degradation of natural resources and enhance incomes through better links to markets. Fourteen sites were selected during the initial phase, and a further ten sites were added one year afterwards due to the need for more innovation platforms to test IAR4D. The site selection was successful in pairing action and counterfactual sites in terms of the baseline socioeconomic conditions of farming households. The unavoidable proximity of action and counterfactual sites, however, allows the possibility of spill-over effects and could reduce the measurable impact of IAR4D

The Effect of Land Use Systems on Soil Properties; A case study from Rwanda

Land use change has a significant impact on the ecosystem. In this paper the effects of land use change on the physicochemical properties of the soil in Rulindo District, Rwanda have been studied. Three different land use types were selected; forestland, cattle farmland and cultivated land. A randomised complete block research design was used to carry out this research. Nine soil samples were collected and then analysed. The distributed samples were analysed in the Soil Laboratory of University of Rwanda-Busogo campus, while the undisturbed samples were analysed in-situ. Eight physicochemical properties were measured: pH, Organic Matter (OM), available nitrogen, available phosphorus, exchangeable potassium, soil bulk density, moisture content and porosity. The results showed that changing land use from forest or farm to cultivated land reduced the organic matter, available nitrogen, soil moisture and porosity while bulk density and pH were significantly increasing. On the other hand, the exchangeable potassium and exchangeable phosphorus did not change significantly for the both land use changes. Hence, the reduction of forestland and farmland are highly sensible to erosion and will decline soil fertility. The paper proposed few steps and recommendations to be the base for a new sustainable land use management in Rwanda