Innovative Soil Fertility Management by Stakeholder Engagement in the Chókwè Irrigation Scheme (Mozambique)†

Abstract

Appropriate soil fertility management plays an important role in irrigated systems and can contribute to reducing the yield gap. To that end, abiotic, biotic, management and socio-economic factors need to be considered and participatory approaches need to be implemented to ensure the sustainability of the interventions. Our objective is to analyse a participatory process conducted in the Chókwè Irrigation Scheme (Mozambique) to trigger agronomic innovation in soil fertility management. Through a method combining interviews with 31 farmers, soil sampling and the organization of communities of practice we studied actual agrarian practices and farmers' knowledge about soil fertility management as well as the social and physical context. This information was the basis for selecting an association in order to promote the innovation process. A participatory planning of the innovation test was conducted. The whole process was evaluated by farmers. Adoption of the majority of the practices is limited mainly by factors related to the socio-economic status of farmers and not to the lack of knowledge. Farmers did not highly value the participatory process itself, but valued the learning-by-doing process and the collaboration with researchers. We consider that the approach increased collective learning and this process triggered the innovation dynamics. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.