Best-fit and best-bet land-use planning for

sustainable natural and agricultural resource

management in inland valleys in West Africa

∞Planification de l'utilisation des bas-fonds pour la gestion

durable des ressources naturelles et agricoles en

Afrique de l'Ouest

Jonne Rodenburg – Agronomist, Africa Rice Center

Inland Valley - environments

IVs: Seasonally flooded wetlands

comprising valley bottoms (fluxial)

and hydromorphic fringes (phreatic)

but excluding river flood plains

Inland Valley - environments

Inland Valley - development

Central-drain system Interceptor-canal system

Head-bund system Contour-bund system

Inland Valley – ecosystem services & users

Ecosystem services:

• Biodiversity

• Water storage

• Flood and erosion control

• Nutrient retention

• Stabilization of micro-climate

Uses:

• Agriculture – rice, vegetables, …

• Clay and sand for crafts, construction

• Forest, wildlife, fisheries, forage

resources

• Cultural heritage, recreation, tourism

Inland Valley – sustainable rice production

• 190 M ha IVs in Africa

• Current: 2% IVs used for rice

• 2035: 13% IV area needed for rice

production using GAP

• 87% IV area for other ecosystem

services – biodiversity

conservation

• Systematic, participatory

approaches needed for selection

and improvement of IVs and

production practices with the

highest —agricultural— potential

and lowest —degradation— risk

Capitalizing the inland valley potential for food and

nutrition security for smallholder farmers in West Africa

(CIPA)

∞Capitalisation du potentiel des bas-fonds pour la sécurité

alimentaire et nutritionnelle pour les petits agriculteurs

d'Afrique de l'Ouest

CIPA Project – donor, partners, objectives

• Time: 1 June 2017 – 31 May 2021

• Donor: IFAD

• Partners:

o AfricaRice

o CNRA – Côte d’Ivoire

o SRI – Ghana

o Wageningen University

• Goal: Contribute to enhanced food and

nutrition security, poverty alleviation and

climate resiliency of local communities in

Africa

• Objective: Ensure sustainable and productive

use of IVs for rice-based production systems

CIPA project – outcomes

• Better targeted investments in IV

development by local communities,

national governments and donors

• Optimized resource use to improve

climate resiliency adopted by IV

communities

• Increased rice yields in IV systems

• Enhanced market opportunities,

linkages between IV actors

• Increased annual household incomes

of IV users

• Natural resources preserved

• Rural development professionals

trained

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M u l t i - s t a k e ho l d e r c o n s u l t a t i o n s

Participatory land-use planning

Enhancing efficient land-use

Best-fit technologies

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Participatory land-use planning

Enhancing efficient land-use

Best-fit technologies

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M u l t i - s t a k e ho l d e r c o n s u l t a t i o n s

Participatory land-use planning

Enhancing efficient land-use

Training curricula

Best-fit technologies

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R&D methodologies for IVs

R e g i o n a l ( W A ) p o l i c i e s

L o c a l p o l i c y g u i d e l i n e s

N a t i o n a l I V m a p s & p o l i c i e s

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M u l t i - s t a k e ho l d e r c o n s u l t a t i o n s

Participatory land-use planning

Enhancing efficient land-use

Training curricula

Best-fit technologies

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R&D methodologies for IVs

R e g i o n a l ( W A ) p o l i c i e s

L o c a l p o l i c y g u i d e l i n e s

N a t i o n a l I V m a p s & p o l i c i e s

Component 1: Identify and assess IV potential for rice-

based systems development at the national level

• Geospatial database with socio-

economic and biophysical

characteristics of selected IVs

• Parameters that determine IV

development potential

• Maps of IVs with high potential for

development – low risk for

biodiversity degradation

Methods: GIS/RS, digital elevation

modeling, Random Forest

procedures, surveys

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M u l t i - s t a k e ho l d e r c o n s u l t a t i o n s

Participatory land-use planning

Enhancing efficient land-use

Training curricula

Best-fit technologies

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R&D methodologies for IVs

R e g i o n a l ( W A ) p o l i c i e s

L o c a l p o l i c y g u i d e l i n e s

N a t i o n a l I V m a p s & p o l i c i e s

Component 2: Facilitate collective decision-making and

priority setting, to co-design and plan IV resource use

• Decision-making guide on IV selection

for informed compromise between

ecosystem services

• Promote collective decision-making,

priority setting re land- and water-use

planning

Methods: surveys, Working Wetland

Potential, Experimental Ecosystem

Accounting framework, MSPs, expert

consultations, land-use modeling, land-use

scenario analysis

• Establish alternative IV uses to reduce production and climate

risks, optimize resource use and climate resilience

• Evaluate and improve locally-adapted, alternative resource

use and integrated management options

Methods: surveys, land-use scenarios analysis, MSPs,

participatory technology testing

Component 2: Facilitate collective decision-making and

priority setting, to co-design and plan IV resource use

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I n l a n d v a l l e y m a p p i n gS e l e c t i n g h i g h p o t e n t i a l I V s

M u l t i - s t a k e ho l d e r c o n s u l t a t i o n s

Participatory land-use planning

Enhancing efficient land-use

Training curricula

Best-fit technologies

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R&D methodologies for IVs

R e g i o n a l ( W A ) p o l i c i e s

L o c a l p o l i c y g u i d e l i n e s

N a t i o n a l I V m a p s & p o l i c i e s

Component 3: Project communication, coordination,

scaling-out activities and monitoring and evaluation

• Stimulate collective decision-

making, priority setting processes

• Promote selective use of IVs for

agricultural development, among

policy- makers

• Package and promote scalable

technologies, approaches

Methods: MSPs, value chain analyses,

national and regional consultations,

video production, policy briefings

Component 3: Project communication, coordination,

scaling-out activities and monitoring and evaluation

• Develop curricula for vocational training of future service

providers to assist IV stakeholders

• M&E of project progress, impact

Methods: data analyses, stakeholder interviews, agronomic and

socio-economic baseline surveys, web-based Mlax M&E

system

Thank you

Merci