Towards Identifying Context-Specific Soil and Water Conservation Practices and Water Harvesting Systems for the Sanannah Belt of Nothern Nigeria: A Matrix of Options

Abstract

In the savannah belt of Northern Nigeria, ICARDA is supporting the CASP Programme (Climate Change Adaptation and Agribusiness Support of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nigeria) in identifying and implementing location-specific, effective and innovative soil and water conservation (SWC) and water harvesting (WH) adaptation techniques. The final goal is mainstreaming climate change adaptation measures, through a landscape rehabilitation approach focused on sustainable land management. As part of this collaborative work, ICARDA has developed a community-based participatory approach to screen and identify sets of potential SWC/WH options matching the community needs, and to bring them to the communities for their consideration, discussion, and possible adoption, in the frame of the broader participatory planning process established by CASP. This report summarizes the results of the screening and identification phase, which ended-up with the formulation of “matrix of options” for each of the targeted communities. The identification process was based on the results of a diagnostic survey of the current adoption of SWC/WH practices by farmers in the CASP sites, particularly on the assessment of the effectiveness of these practices.