Stone lines or stone bunds can slow down runoff, increase water infiltration and form the basis for improved production in semi-arid areas.   By using the contours of low slopes water harvesting is improved and crops are possible in low rainfall years.

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Introduction to Sustainable Land Management (SLM) practices which have a proven track record in Africa. They can help control land degradation and improve production for small scale farmers, despite the challenges of climate change.

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Strip tillage keeps crop stubble and helps to conserve soil moisture by tilling only those parts of the fields where the seed and fertiliser is placed. By using a two-wheel tractor with a specially designed attachment box, the seed and fertiliser are placed in the soil at the same time as tilling.

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With bed planting, rapidly rotating blades first till the soil. The soil is then reshaped into long beds that alternate with furrows. This technique significantly reduces the amount of water needed for irrigating wheat and is increasingly applied throughout South Asia.

Note: This podcast contains some content referring to mineral fertilizer and pesticides

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Food production in women’s fields could easily increase by 30% if we paid attention to gender when dealing with these four areas: demand for training and advice; extension methods and content; access to land, inputs and credit; and access to markets. This video targets research and development organisations, as well as agricultural service providers.

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In the semi-arid savannas where rainfall is limited and highly unpredictable, retaining more water in the soil can make the difference between a poor and a good harvest. You can slow down the runoff water by establishing contour bunds. Contour bunds are permanent ridges of earth that follow positions located at the same altitude. For over 20 years, farmers in Burkina Faso and Mali have made contour bunds in their fields on rolling land with less than a 5% slope.

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In the coastal savanna of West Africa, farmers explain how a mucuna cover crop helped to revive their highly degraded soil, and suppress the noxious weeds Striga and Imperata. They show how to grow it to benefit your maize and cassava, and why discussing land tenure in your community really matters.

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Farmers face great difficulties with drying their seeds because seed absorbs moisture from the soil. As a result, seed quality deteriorates, and no-one can expect good yields by using poor quality seed. In this video you can see how farmers of Maria village solved this problem. Now they are no longer worried about drying seed, even during the rainy season.

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A youth association in Northern Ghana shows how self-determination and commitment backed by appropriate financial and business development services has helped members to generate additional income and sustain their group.

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During weekly visits, and supported by their extension agent, a farmer field school in Tanzania learns how to test different sorghum varieties for striga resistance and evaluate how each one performs under different practices.

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