Policies For Sustainable Land Management in the East African Highlands

This document presents the proceedings of the international conference held at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, April 24-26, 2002. The theme of the conference was .Policies for Sustainable Land Management in the East African Highlands., which was convened to bring together researchers, policy makers, development practitioners, donors and others to review, discuss and synthesize the findings and policy implications of policy research related to sustainable land management in the East African highlands. The conference also aimed at increasing awareness of policy makers and other stakeholders of the impacts of policies, programs and other factors on land management, agricultural productivity, poverty and food security; to discuss promising strategies to promote more sustainable land management, increased agricultural productivity, and reduced poverty and food insecurity; and to consider priorities for policy action and future research. More than 110 participants attended the conference, including Honorable Belay Ejigu, Vice Minister of Agriculture, Ethiopia; Honorable Dr. W. Kisamba-Mugerwa, Minister of Agriculture, Uganda; and Honorable Madame Grace Akello, Minister of Gender, Labor and Social Development (Entandikwa), Uganda. This proceedings summary includes welcoming and opening addresses, the background and objectives of the research and the conference, summaries of 25 papers, discussants. comments, a synthesis of findings of the papers and discussions, the program, and a list of participants. For the past four years, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) have been involved in a collaborative research project on .Policies for Sustainable Land Management in Mixed Crop-Livestock Systems in the Highlands of East Africa.. The governments of Switzerland, Germany, Norway, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy and Japan and members of the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR) are providing financial support to IFPRI and ILRI to undertake this research. Many organizations and their representatives from the region and outside are collaborating partners in this research. These include Mekelle University, the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization, Ethiopian regional bureaus of agriculture and planning, Makerere University, the National Agricultural Research Organization of Uganda, the Agricultural Policy Secretariat of Uganda, the Agricultural University of Norway, the Centre for Development Research of the University of Bonn, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Purdue University, and the University of Manchester. The conference was cosponsored by IFPRI, ILRI, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), the East and Central Africa Programme for Agricultural Policy Analysis (ECAPAPA), the African Highlands Initiative (AHI), the Soil, Water and Nutrient Management (SWNM) Program of the CGIAR, and the Regional Land Management Unit (RELMA) of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. Many staff of ILRI and IFPRI organized the conference and managed logistical details. On behalf of ILRI and IFPRI, we are grateful to all the donors and partners for their support in the research. We are also grateful to all the cosponsors of the conference and all individuals who worked tirelessly to make the conference a success. Our particular appreciation goes to the many officials, community leaders and farmers who graciously and patiently participated in the research and responded to our numerous questions.