Aid on Spreadsheets

Development and adoption of multifunctional perennial farming systems - towards increased sustainability and resilience

This research project aims to study perennial agricultural systems as a multifunctional solution to the coupled socio-ecological challenges facing African smallholders. It examines perenniality as an agricultural trait that could help increase the resilience of smallholder farmers, namely by strengthening their adaptive capacity to climate change, improving soil conditions, and reducing agricultural inputs. The proposed project makes uses of the latest developments in perennial crop breeding and is based on comparative on-farm experimentations of different perennial systems and crops – with a strong focus on perennial sorghum, rice, and pigeon peas – under varying social and environmental conditions in Uganda. Concretely, the project will study (1) the soil carbon sequestration potential of different perennial crops and perennial systems; (2) the livelihood implications of those crops and systems, and (3) the socio-ecological conditions facilitating and/or counteracting their adoption. The project starts from an explicitly transdisciplinary entry point, bringing together social and natural scientists, and adopting a strong participatory approach to involved smallholders. Employed methods will include soil carbon content analysis, interviews, focus groups, narrative walks , policy analysis and a mapping of the formal and informal institutional landscape. Involved partners are LUCSUS, Makerere University, NARO, and the Land Institute.

Project ID

SE-0-SE-29-2016-06300-285-31182

Activity status

2 - Implementation

Aid type

D02 - Other technical assistance

% to Uganda

100.00

Organisations

Funding

Sweden

Extending

The Swedish Research Council

Implementing

Lunds universitet

CRS code	%
Agricultural research (31182)	100.0