ENB:04:11
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IFAD:
Dr. Gary Howe, Project Controller, Africa Division
of IFAD, spoke about the need to involve resource conservation
into the regular practices of poor farmers. Conservation
activities do not take place unless they offer tangible benefits
to farmers. While production must be based on the individual, the
communal framework is important. The issue is not to encourage
communal production, but to support the communal framework, as
most of the land subject to desertification is some form of
common property. The problem of desertification does not
originate from the intrinsic weakness of common property regimes,
but the fact that they have been weakened from the outside. He
added that there is a need to include all groups who use
resources, including women, the poor and marginalized ethnic
groups. He concluded by listing several strategies for
conservation: 1) anti-desertification activities must not be seen
as isolated actions, but part of the agricultural effort as a
whole; 2) activities must be principally engaged in helping
farmers to identify their own problems and find solutions; 3)
communities cannot manage lands if they do not have clear land
rights; and 4) macro-economic policies must change.