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6
tours to reduce erosion during heavy rains. The intention was that other villagers should adapt this approach by following the examples of these demonstration
farmers.
AWF used the label ‘conservation agriculture’ for this farming approach. It is,
however, more in line with mainstream agricultural modernization primarily aiming at increasing yields through adding external inputs. AWF introduced this
approach as a way to reduce the pressure on the forests and to increase agricultural
productivity, in order to reduce forest dependence. This differs substantially from
FAO’s established version of conservation agriculture aimed at more environmentally friendly conditions on the fields through reducing soil disturbance, maintaining soil cover and practising crop rotation.
The maize hybrids promoted by the REDD project came from Pannar and
DuPont Pioneer (both owned by the American corporation DuPont), while the
open pollinated varieties are bred and produced by Tanzanian research stations.
The agricultural component of this project was to a large extent consistent with the
green revolution approach that has been tried for several decades in Tanzania and
still dominates within the state and among aid donors.
As with the other project components, the agricultural component was characterized by weak administration, too few extension workers, and too little funding
to carry out the project according to the aims. There was also scepticism among the
villagers, because the introduced package would increase their vulnerability. This is
a relatively dry area with unpredictable rainfall leading to frequent crop failure.
With the project strategy of modernization, smallholders would in dry years not
only lose their crop, but also lose the funds invested to buy seeds, pesticides and
fertilizers. They therefore risked being seriously indebted.
In political ecology, there is a considerable scholarship demonstrating how
local communities in rural Africa may resist top-down conservation efforts (e.g.
Cavanagh and Benjaminsen 2015). In Kondoa, we have seen how resistance from
the very beginning has been exercised in terms of continuation of the use of forest
resources in ways that had become prohibited. Kondoa actually has a history of
restrictions on local resource use going back to colonial times. The two forest
reserves were established in 1941 and 1954, and restrictions on forest use have varied considerably since then. Some forest use is harmless, such as collection of dry
firewood. Other uses may have more serious consequences, including large-scale
logging for building materials and charcoal production. Resistance to conservation
in this area sometimes takes place by setting the forest on fire in one part of it, and
when forest guards arrive to extinguish the fire, a new fire could be set in another
part of the forest. Violent attacks on forest guards have also taken place. At the end
of 2015, an election for a new district council was held, and the forest governance
that had been established by the project became a central issue. Most representatives who were elected were critical of the REDD project. During later visits, we
have observed that, to a large extent, the forest management, which the project
established, has stopped working. An explicit intention of the REDD project was
participation by the villagers in forest management, but this was never really implemented. Instead, the national government has taken over forest management
through its Tanzania Forest Services Agency.
Chapter 6 · Climate Mitigation Choices: Reducing Deforestation ...
6
tours to reduce erosion during heavy rains. The intention was that other villagers should adapt this approach by following the examples of these demonstration
farmers.
AWF used the label ‘conservation agriculture’ for this farming approach. It is,
however, more in line with mainstream agricultural modernization primarily aiming at increasing yields through adding external inputs. AWF introduced this
approach as a way to reduce the pressure on the forests and to increase agricultural
productivity, in order to reduce forest dependence. This differs substantially from
FAO’s established version of conservation agriculture aimed at more environmentally friendly conditions on the fields through reducing soil disturbance, maintaining soil cover and practising crop rotation.
The maize hybrids promoted by the REDD project came from Pannar and
DuPont Pioneer (both owned by the American corporation DuPont), while the
open pollinated varieties are bred and produced by Tanzanian research stations.
The agricultural component of this project was to a large extent consistent with the
green revolution approach that has been tried for several decades in Tanzania and
still dominates within the state and among aid donors.
As with the other project components, the agricultural component was characterized by weak administration, too few extension workers, and too little funding
to carry out the project according to the aims. There was also scepticism among the
villagers, because the introduced package would increase their vulnerability. This is
a relatively dry area with unpredictable rainfall leading to frequent crop failure.
With the project strategy of modernization, smallholders would in dry years not
only lose their crop, but also lose the funds invested to buy seeds, pesticides and
fertilizers. They therefore risked being seriously indebted.
In political ecology, there is a considerable scholarship demonstrating how
local communities in rural Africa may resist top-down conservation efforts (e.g.
Cavanagh and Benjaminsen 2015). In Kondoa, we have seen how resistance from
the very beginning has been exercised in terms of continuation of the use of forest
resources in ways that had become prohibited. Kondoa actually has a history of
restrictions on local resource use going back to colonial times. The two forest
reserves were established in 1941 and 1954, and restrictions on forest use have varied considerably since then. Some forest use is harmless, such as collection of dry
firewood. Other uses may have more serious consequences, including large-scale
logging for building materials and charcoal production. Resistance to conservation
in this area sometimes takes place by setting the forest on fire in one part of it, and
when forest guards arrive to extinguish the fire, a new fire could be set in another
part of the forest. Violent attacks on forest guards have also taken place. At the end
of 2015, an election for a new district council was held, and the forest governance
that had been established by the project became a central issue. Most representatives who were elected were critical of the REDD project. During later visits, we
have observed that, to a large extent, the forest management, which the project
established, has stopped working. An explicit intention of the REDD project was
participation by the villagers in forest management, but this was never really implemented. Instead, the national government has taken over forest management
through its Tanzania Forest Services Agency.
Chapter 6 · Climate Mitigation Choices: Reducing Deforestation ...