Development of Irrigated Farms on the Mirage Flats Project

In view of the irrigation proposed in South Dakota, people have asked for information which will help them formulate sound policies and procedures for such development. The purpose of this bulletin is to analyze the planning and settlement of Mirage Flats Project in northwestern Nebraska, which has an average annual rainfall of about 20 inches. This project was selected for study because it represented an experiment in predevelopment of land by the Government. That is, the Bureau of Reclamation constructed the dam and the distribution system necessary to bring the water to the high point of each farm, and the Soil Conservation Service leveled land, constructed farm irrigation ditches and structures for each farm

TVA Land Acquisition Experience Applied to Dams in the Missouri Basin

It is the purpose of this study to (1) analyze the concepts and procedures used in acquiring private land under the right of eminent domain, (2) analyze and compare TV A land acquisition, land management, and relocation procedures with those used by Federal agencies in the Missouri Basin, and (3) determine the extent to which methods used by TVA may aid in resolving problems found in the Missouri Basin

Economics of Federal Irrigation Projects in the Missouri Basin

A greatly expanded Federal program for irrigation development is planned for the Missouri Basin. Under the Flood Control Act of 1944, nearly 5 million acres were proposed for irrigation; and in addition, about half a million acres under irrigation were to receive supplemental water. Nearly one-half of the new irrigation planned was to be located in North and South Dakota. The Missouri-Souris Unit in North Dakota of more than a million acres and the Oahe Unit in South Dakota of three-quarter million acres are the two largest under consideration. Both units are receiving further study to determine the suitability of the soils for irrigation. The irrigation facilities in the Missouri The irrigation facilities in the Missouri Basin would be built and financed largely by the Federal Government. Consequently, certain questions concerning evaluation, accounting of costs, allocations of costs to various purposes, repayments by beneficiaries and similar questions are of public interest. No less important are factors such as the suitability of soils for irrigation, adequacy of water supplies, repayment capacity and related farm problems. However, much less information has been available to the public on some of the over-all economic aspects of the proposed development, and these are the concern of this report. While it is recognized that there are important benefits from irrigation, these are not taken up here because they have been discussed in other reports. (See more in text

Identifying and addressing the support needs of family caregivers of people with motor neurone disease using the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool

Family caregivers of people with motor neurone disease (MND) experience adverse health outcomes as a result of their caregiving experience. This may be alleviated if their support needs are identified and addressed in a systematic and timely manner. The objective of the present study was to assess the feasibility and relevance of the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) in home-based care during the period of caregiving from the perspectives of the family caregivers of people with MND and their service providers. The study was conducted during 2014 in Western Australia. Some 30 family caregivers and 4 care advisors participated in trialling the CSNAT intervention, which involved two visits from care advisors (6–8 weeks apart) to identify and address support needs. The feedback from family caregivers was obtained via telephone interviews and that of care advisors via a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 24 caregivers completed the study (80% completion rate) and identified the highest support priorities as “knowing what to expect in the future,” “knowing who to contact if concerned,” and “equipment to help care.” The majority found that this assessment process adequately addressed their needs and gave them a sense of validation, reassurance, and empowerment. Care advisors advocated the CSNAT approach as an improvement over standard practice, allowing them to more clearly assess needs, to offer a more structured follow-up, and to focus on the caregiver and family. The CSNAT approach for identifying and addressing family caregivers' support needs was found to be relevant and feasible by MND family caregivers and care advisors. The tool provided a formal structure to facilitate discussions with family caregivers and thus enable needs to be addressed. Such discussions can also inform an evidence base for the ongoing development of services, ensuring that new and improved services are designed to meet the explicit needs of the family caregivers of people with a motor neurone disease

Assessing research impact on poverty: the importance of farmers’ perspectives

P. Kristjanson and P.K. Thornton are ILRI authorsIn this paper we provide evidence to show that farmers' perspectives on poverty processes and outcomes are critical in the early stages of evaluating impact of agricultural research on poverty. We summarize lessons learned from farmer impact assessment workshops held in five African locations, covering three agro-ecological zones and five different agroforestry and livestock technologies arising from collaborative national–international agricultural research. Poverty alleviation is a process that needs to be understood before impact can be measured. Workshops such as those we describe can help researchers to identify farmers' different ways of managing and using a technology and likely effects, unanticipated impacts, major impacts to pursue in more quantitative studies, the primary links between agricultural technology and poverty, and key conditioning factors affecting adoption and impact that can be used to stratify samples in more formal analyses. Farmer workshops inform other qualitative and quantitative impact assessment methods. We discuss the linkage of farmer-derived information with GIS-based approaches that allow more complete specification of recommendation domains and broader-scale measurement of impact

Dual Purpose Cowpea for West Africa

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. ) is grown as an intercrop with cereals in some 9M ha of West Africa, mostly in the dry savanna. Though grain yields are low (circa 500 kg/ha), it is a nutritious food and dry season fodder. The haulms (leaves and stems) are cut and stored after grain harvest. It aids soil fertility by fixing soil N and returning N via manure from ruminants fed with haulms. Up to the early 1990s, research had focused on developing high grain yielding varieties. Recognition of farmers\u27 appreciation of multiple uses, in particular the fodder value and the increasing importance of crop residues as feed resources in much of West Africa where expansion of agricultural land and intensification mean reduced availability of land for planted forages, led to joint research by ILRI and IITA from 1994 onwards, resulting in identification of dual purpose varieties - with the potential to provide both good grain yields and quality fodder under farmer conditions

Global summary of baseline household survey results

This report summarises the results of a baseline household-level survey, designed by the CCAFS team and implemented in late 2010/early 2011 in 3 regions: East Africa, West Africa and South Asia. This survey was designed with the intent of developing simple, comparable cross-site household level indicators, for which changes can be evaluated over time, of food security, households assets, agricultural production diversity, agricultural sales diversity, changes being made in farming practices for adaptation, innovation, and/or to help reduce emissions or store greenhouse gases (mitigation), and gender indicators (e.g. men’s versus women’s reception of weather-related information). A standardised survey, guidelines and training materials were implemented across 12 countries in West Africa (Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Ghana), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Tanzania), and South Asia (India, Nepal and Bangladesh). Thus we have a total of 15 core sites covering 108 villages and 2095 households. This summary report gives an overview of the farming practices, and asset, livelihoods and food security status of rural households in these sites. It describes what changes farmers have been making in recent years with respect to crop management, livestock practices, use of inputs and other agricultural practices. We explore what kinds of weather/climate and associated information these households are receiving, how and by whom. This information provides important baseline information, as these households will be revisited in 5-10 years’ time in order to evaluate the changes in these indicators. This will give us important information as to if, how, and which households are adapting to a changing climate while improving their food security status

CCAFS Gender Strategy

This Gender Strategy is intended to strengthen CCAFS’ development impact through the integration of gender issues into research in keeping with commitments in the CGIAR Strategy and Results Framework to ensure that rural women benefit from its contribution to poverty reduction, enhanced environmental resilience, improved food security, human health and nutrition. CCAFS plans to situate its gender strategy within a broader strategy addressing social inclusion for different social groups while bearing in mind that women are central to agriculture in developing countries. This Strategy was prepared following CGIAR Guidelines for CRP Gender Strategy1 that focus on showing how the CRP will address issues of gender in its research (as distinct from gender in the workplace which will be handled separately). Accordingly, the document is organized into seven sections that together provide an explanation of how the CRP will address gender issues relevant to its research outputs, activities and outcomes and against which the CRP will report in future, as part of the CGIAR annual monitoring process

Institutional innovations in African smallholder carbon projects

This paper synthesizes the insights of six African agricultural carbon project case studies and identifies institutional innovations among these projects that are contributing to long-term project success while maximizing benefits and minimizing risk for participating farmers. We review project organization and management, the structure and role of community groups within the projects, costs and benefits for managers and farmers, strategies to manage risks to farmers, and efforts to support women’s participation. Projects have developed organizational systems for financial management, agricultural extension, and carbon monitoring. All of these were managed by project management entities, with farmers implementing practices and supporting monitoring systems. Most projects engaged farmers in small groups and larger clusters of groups, which enabled broad participation, efficient contracting, timely communication, provision of extension services, benefit-sharing, and gender-focused activities. Direct carbon payments to farmers were low. Consequently projects needed to manage expectations around benefits carefully, support more efficient systems of aggregation and ensure non-cash benefits for farmers. Managing power dynamics within and among farmer groups was a significant challenge to ensuring equitable decision-making and participation. Mechanisms for settling conflict over land and benefits were also critical. We present action research questions that emerged from the first phase of this work and discuss the future of the initiative. Case studies about each agriculture carbon project from which our analysis is drawn can be downloaded along with the main report

Lessons in theory of change: experiences from CCAFS

CGIAR is moving to a different model of doing science, and this needs to be well thought out and understood by centres, CRP researchers and partners. The focus can no longer be on research deliverables such as reports, trainings, crop varieties and decision support tools. We have learnt that the production of these deliverables doesn’t automatically lead to impact in terms of the wellbeing of smallholder famers, the end users of our research.This series of Climate Change and Social Learning (CCSL) briefs will focus on lessons learnt from the ongoing CCAFS experience with TOC. The objective is to share experiences in real time, and generate discussion that will help CCAFS and others improve their TOC, impact pathways and M+E