We should note that research from Africa seems to suggest a greater capacity for cooperation there
than in India (Critchley, 1990).



 Recommendations

 Our research has several implications for its primary clients, SWC programme officials, policy
 makers and researchers. In general, the main lessons from farmers' indigenous practices are as
 follows:

 1. Farmers' objectives should be clearly understood so that SWC programmes can be designed
 that they will accept rather than reject.

 2. SWC programmes should minimize expenditures that farmers would be willing to make on
 their own. They should provide enabling conditions to increase SWC investment in a cost-
 effective manner.

 3. Profitability is a major constraint to adoption, so cheaper technologies need to be developed.
 Divergences between private and social benefits of SWC should be identified to guide
 policies and indicate circumstances in which subsidies are justified.

How these general points translate into specific recommendations for the three primary client
groups is the subject of this last section.


Soil and Water Conservation Programme Authorities

The objective of SWC officials should be to design and implement programmes with maximum
cost effectiveness. This requires that their efforts be accepted by farmers. Accordingly,
programme officials must examine what types of SWC investments farmers make on their own,
and how they have responded to programme initiatives.

Programmes should be planned and implemented in full participation with farmers in order to
identify in advance what the farmers will accept and what they will not. Likewise, arrangements
should be made with farmers to carry out the work on their own land to ensure that they are
satisfied with it and to save money.

SWC officials must make a basic choice between designing SWC practices around contour lines
(the recommended method) or around boundary lines (farmers' preferred method). They must
understand the reasons why farmers have rejected contour bunds, and they must not simply
impose a contour-based system or it will not be maintained. They can offer education about the
efficiency of recommended practices in conserving soil, but they must not provide special
incentives such as free seeds and fertilizer to adopters of recommended practices. This may
induce farmers to adopt contour bunds without any intention of maintaining them.

Alternatively, programme officials should support indigenous technologies based on boundary


GATEKEEPER SERIES NO. SA34