NGOs

Agromisa Foundation

Agromisa’s publications are very practical: I immediately put Propagating and Planting Trees to use in creating a small household nursery, where I am growing trees to restore barren lands in the palm groves outside of Marrakech, Morocco. /GJM

Agromisa is a Dutch non-profit organization, established in 1934, which is affiliated with the Agricultural University of Wageningen in the Netherlands. Agromisa provides information and advice on small-scale sustainable agriculture and related topics in order to support and strengthen self reliance of the underprivileged rural population of the South. Agromisa’s role is a supportive one, which implies that it does not carry out or finance projects. Agromisa is able to provide services free-of-charge or at low cost because most of its co-workers contribute their time and effort without receiving payment.

Agromisa produces the Agrodok Series, containing 29 low-priced, practical manuals on small-scale and sustainable agriculture in the tropics, aimed at extension workers, teachers and other people in direct contact with local farmers. Titles of special interest to agroforesters and ethnobotanists include Fruit Growing in the Tropics, Vegetable Gardens in the Tropics, Preservation of Fruits and Vegetables, Agroforestry (revised edition expected in October 1999), and Propagating and Planting Trees. This last title, published in 1998 with the collaboration of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), discusses several techniques for propagating trees, including natural regeneration, direct seeding and replanting of wild seedlings.

Through the ‘Question and Answer Service’, advice is given free-of-charge in answer to questions sent to Agromisa. This service provides information on a broad range of subjects, including crop husbandry and horticulture, crop pests and diseases, soil science and soil fertility, prevention and control of erosion, forestry and agroforestry, health, nutrition, processing of agricultural products, and agricultural economics. Agromisa requests that users of this service state their problem as clearly as possible, giving detailed information on: (1) local environment: climate, soil, crops, livestock, and other factors; (2) locally available resources: land, labor, tools, finance, knowledge and others; ·(3) information and remedies already tried; (4) symptoms and features in case of pests and diseases; and (5) socio-economic conditions, target group involved and so on. If advice is requested on behalf of an organization, users should also state the organization’s aim, target group and main activities, and the purpose for which the information is required.

© Ms. Marijke Kuipers, Director;
or Ms. Marg Leijdens, Agrodok Coordinator;
or Mr. Nico Mentink, Advice Coordinator
[for Question and Answer Service],
AGROMISA, Postbus 41,
6700 AA Wageningen,
The Netherlands;
Tel. +31.317.412217,
Fax +31.317.419178,
E-mail agromisa@wxs.nl
Website http://www.tool.nl/~agromisa/

‘Farm nurseries are used successfully in many areas: in West Kenya about a third of households traditionally raise their own seedlings. They are usually built on the homestead or on privately owned land.

A nursery should be simple to lay out and require very little in the way of materials and maintenance. The simplest form of nursery consists of a few seedlings in makeshift containers such as old tins, pots or bowls placed in the shade of a tree. If you plan to have a larger nursery it is necessary to think about the location, design and construction of it…

It is a good idea to make a sketch before starting. Figure 11 shows a drawing for the design of a fairly large farm nursery. However, the principles for layout remain the same for a small nursery. The size of the nursery will depend on the number of seedlings to be raised. The nursery beds (for seeds, seedlings’ pots and cuttings) are used to raise planting material, either in soil or in pots. The type(s) of beds you make depend on the propagation method you have chosen. Beds need to be about 1 metre wide and can vary in length. The size and shape of the beds must enable watering and weeding to be done without stepping on them. Paths are laid out between the beds (40 - 60 cm wide). In order to make sure the plants are exposed evenly to the sun the beds should be constructed in an east-west orientation, if the slope of the ground permits this. In this way the seedlings in the middle of a bed will receive as much sun as those at the edges.’

Schreppers, H., P. Paap and E. Schinkel. 1998. Propagating and Planting Trees. Agrodok 19. Wageningen, Agromisa and Techical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation.

Example of nursery layout

a. prevailing wind direction b. windbreak c. shed for tools and supplies d. potting area e. space for mixing soil f. compost heap g. water supply h. seedling bed, in which seedlings from the seedbeds are planted i. seedbed, in which seeds are sown j. cutting or pot bed, where cuttings are planted or pots are put

Apoyo para el Campesino-Indígena del Oriente Boliviano

There are many NGOs in Bolivia working to enhance local livelihoods and the environment. On a recent visit, I was impressed by the impact that they are having. /RRBL

Apoyo Para el Campesino-Indígena del Oriente Boliviano (APCOB, Support for Indigenous Farmers of Eastern Bolivia) is a non-profit organization established in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in 1980. It provides support for the indigenous peoples of the Bolivian lowlands, especially through the protection and consolidation of their territories and defense of their cultural, social and political rights. APCOB works to improve local livelihoods through participatory natural resource management in collaboration with indigenous peoples in three microregions: (1) Chiquitanos in the Concepción and Lomerío areas of Ñuflo de Chávez Province; (2) Izoceño Guaranís in the Izozog zone of Cordillera Province; and (3) Ayorea communities in Chiquitos and Ñuflo de Chávez Province. APCOB specializes in agroforestry and communal forest management, and conducts research on agriculture and silviculture.

In all of these areas, APCOB emphasizes the importance of development that contributes to the self-validation and strengthening of the peoples’ culture, the improvement of women’s position in society, and the training of indigenous project partners for the self-management of their natural resources and the projects themselves. It also seeks to strengthen community organizations by improving links between the villages in the region, allowing the sharing of experiences.

APCOB produces printed and audio-visual materials that document its activities and research results.

© Ms. Graciela Zolezzi, Deputy Director, Apoyo para el Campesino-Indígena del Oriente Boliviano, Casilla de Correo 4213, Santa Cruz, Bolivia;
Tel. +591.3.539954 or 542119,
Fax +591.3.542120,
E-mail apcob@bibosi.scz.entelnet.bo,
Website http://www.latinwide.com/apcob/

‘The APCOB team, which has been working for more than ten years among Izoceño people on productivity and social organization, started an agroforestry project a year ago with modest funds…
We carried out various community and inter-community workshops to identify the different problems in agricultural fields and the possible functions that trees could fulfill in these plots. Drawings and group dynamics with community members were used as part of the participatory planning process. Once the communities identified agroforestry arrangements of interest to them, we located communal or household parcels on which to establish demonstration plots. The design of these plots and their implementation was carried out in a shared way: community members brought their preferences and knowledge of the place and the agroforestry advisors brought technical concepts and suggestions. The plots function as a site where all the community members can learn agroforestry techniques… At the same time, the plots have a motivational role and, through constant monitoring by local people and the technical team, they generate data for validation and future extension.’

Van Montfort, J. and R. Sardi. 1995. Agroforestería participativa en el Chaco izoceño. Procampo 65:26-28.

Association for Temperate Agroforestry

The Association for Temperate Agroforestry (AFTA) is a private, nonprofit organization formed in 1991. The goal of AFTA is to advance the knowledge and application of agroforestry as an integrated land use system to simultaneously meet economic, social and environmental needs. The Association focuses on temperate agroforestry, with an emphasis on North America. The objectives of AFTA are to: (1) help coordinate basic and applied agroforestry research; (2) promote the development of on-farm agroforestry demonstration projects; (3) disseminate technical information for training and extension use; and (4) increase communication about temperate agroforestry between universities, public agencies, extension advisors, private organizations and practitioners.

AFTA seeks to catalyze technical innovation and adoption of agroforestry in the temperate zone through a variety of research and educational activities. These include (1) the publication of a quarterly newsletter, The Temperate Agroforester; (2) co-sponsorship of the biennial North American Agroforestry Conference series (begun in 1989); (3) preparation of reports on agroforestry development and policy; and (4) serving as a liaison with regional agroforestry groups. Anyone interested in temperate agroforestry is invited to become a member. Membership support enables AFTA to pursue its scientific and educational programs.

AFTA sponsors an Internet news group on temperate agroforestry, and encourages members to post notices to other colleagues in the news group about upcoming meetings, new books, websites, and other items related to agroforestry. It is also a place to post technical questions about agroforestry practices and requests for information which will be answered by other group members.

© Mr. Miles Merwin, Association for Temperate Agroforestry, School of Natural Resources, 203 A.B.N.R. Building, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211,USA;
E-mail mlm1@teleport.com,
Website http://www.missouri.edu/~afta/