The drylands of the world have for long been recognized as requiring special attention. They occupy at least 20 million square kilometres of the developing world and support, often in an impoverished state, nearly half a billion pastoralists and small farmers, who attempt to wrest a livelihood from these fragile environments.
The many issues involved in drylands development were examined by the FAO Drylands Development Working Group, and a number of key aspects, which are summarized in this document, were identified. This exercise drew upon a number of earlier initiatives by FAO, of which two in particular deserve mention. In 1987 a drylands development paper was prepared for the FAO Committee on Agriculture, and in 1989 an International Cooperative Programme Framework for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development was launched by FAO. The publication of this work is timely, as the United Nations Conference for the Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro during 1992 gave high priority to the development of these areas.
The task of coordinating the preparation of this document was delegated to the Farm Management and Production Economics Service in FAO. The actual drafting of this document was undertaken by Messrs. D. J. Pratt and G. Knowles, who faced the challenge of synthesizing the rich and diverse experience of drylands development in different parts of the world.
This document makes available to developing nations a synthesis of the key aspects of strategies for sustainable development of dryland areas. This summary is intended to be used as a checklist when assessing the adequacy of existing strategies, or during the formulation of new strategies. It should be recognized, however, that piecemeal, uncoordinated development actions have little chance of alleviating poverty and controlling natural resource degradation in these areas. The sustainable development of the drylands demands, instead, concerted and systematic effort along the lines advocated in this document.
H de Haen
Assistant Director General
Agriculture Department
The objectives of this document are to bring to bear on the drylands of the world the attention and the inputs needed to replace increasing degradation and deprivation with more sustainable and secure forms of land and resource utilization. The drylands, defined as those areas with fewer than 120 growing days per year, extend over at /east 20 million square kilometres and are inhabited by a population which approaches 500 million.
This summary of the key aspects of a strategy is derived from the policy paper 'Improving Productivity of Dryland Areas' presented to the FAO Committee on Agriculture during 1987, and is a further step in elaborating the 'Long-Term Strategy for the Food and Agriculture Sector' presented at the FAO Conference during 1989.
This document is intended to guide national bodies in the assessment and revision of strategies for the sustainable development of drylands. Only at the national and sub-national levels can strategies be formulated which are appropriate to local circumstances and that focus inputs and actions in an effective way to safeguard natural resources and help alleviate poverty.
This approach emphasizes institutional reform before technological solutions. The evidence shows that, in most instances, technology alone cannot control dryland degradation - improved management and institutions are essential features of successful dryland development.
The key aspects, or components, of improved drylands development strategies are as follows:
Preconditions for Development
Organization and Targeting of Development
Food Production and Range Resource Management
These key aspects are not listed in order of priority but according to extent of applicability. For instance, range management may appear low on the list, considering that less than 10 per cent of the drylands are cropped. However, a large part of rangelands is extremely arid, and no more than 10 per cent of the total dryland population are pastoralists. It is for national authorities to establish priorities among these elements, whilst bearing in mind that all aspects on the above list are potentially important and that a systematic approach is essential.
A central precondition for development is the assignment of a high priority to drylands improvement, in keeping with the prevalence of poverty and the extent of natural resource degradation in these areas. The opportunity cost of the redeployment of resources, in terms of the other zones and sectors that thereby receive less attention, must be weighed against the cost of not taking action - of increasing food aid, declining productivity, desert encroachment and even social and political unrest.
The most costly precondition for drylands development is undoubtedly the provision of the rural infrastructure which is required to ensure the delivery of the necessary inputs and services. Even with cost-effective designs, substantial external support may be needed for the establishment of this infrastructure. The relief of population pressure on natural resources is the remaining precondition for the development of most drylands, which should be considered in the context of national plans for other zones and sectors. If action to reduce population pressure on dryland resources is not taken now, the ultimate cost will be much higher and the effectiveness of other development inputs will be limited and shortlived.
The key aspects relating to the organization and targeting of development do not necessarily require heavy investment, although an overall expansion of the drylands development effort may well require additional resources. The general principles which should guide agricultural development in favourable areas also apply to development efforts in the drylands such as focusing on the needs Of specific areas and communities, operating a unified extension service, ensuring community participation, giving research a farming systems perspective and designing incremental and flexible development programmes - and may even save money. Moreover, governments should not underestimate how much can be accomplished by the effective leadership and motivation of existing institutions.
Improved development planning, starting with a national strategy for drylands development and focusing thereafter on specific zones and communities, is essential. Adequate time must be allowed for securing effective participation of local communities in the planning process. Sound planning also requires improved information and early warning systems. Another key aspect of a strategy is ensuring appropriate tenure - particularly adequate security - for small-holders and pastoralists. The strengthening of dryland agricultural research, with a farming systems research and development approach, is a final aspect of the organization and targeting of dryland development activities. The costs of these elements will depend on the overall time frame and scope of the drylands development strategy.
More specific inputs to food production and range resource management require, for full effectiveness, prior action in the fields already noted. First priority needs to be given to inputs that arrest land degradation and improve food security. This implies more than the better organization of food aid and the strengthening of drought strategies. It also calls for adaptive research and extension related to livestock, range and crops, including agroforestry, which combine efficiency of water use with other attributes needed for present and future food security, such as soil and water conservation and the provision of fuel and fodder.
Improvement in pastoral areas requires a long-term perspective and coordinated, phased inputs. There is little scope for introducing more productive grazing techniques until an effective grazing management system has been established with local pastoralists; and such new techniques may be of little value in the absence of complimentary marketing and veterinary services. Long-term research and development plans are needed which take into account the certainty, but unpredictability, of both good seasons and droughts. Mobility has been a fundamental necessity for survive/ in many range/ends, and thus sedentarization requires careful planning if it is not to accentuate deprivation and land degradation.
The responsibility for action rests mainly with national authorities, though active community participation should be sought in planning, managing and implementing development actions. In formulating and implementing dry/ends development strategies, authorities need to ensure complementarity with development strategies for other zones and sectors. Recognizing the need for balanced development, plans for non-dry/and areas and nonagricultural sectors should take into account the inhabitants of the drylands; and, finally, it is maintained that the drylands warrant substantially more attention than they have normally received in the past.
The present document reflects concern for the pressures being placed on the drylands of the world—and particularly for the resulting human and environmental degradation — and a felt need for a framework to prioritize and coordinate action by national and international authorities. The characteristics of the drylands are described more fully in the Annex, but in principle they are considered to be those lands with less than 120 growing days per year.
A succession of reviews of needs, issues and development experience in the drylands has been produced over the past 20 years. FAO has contributed to this process from the outset, by participating in the formulation of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere programme and later in UNEP's desertification conference ( 1 977), and by organizing the 1974 consultations and subsequent programme on the Ecological Management of Arid and Semi-Arid Rangelands (EMASAR). More recently, following reviews of development experience by the World Bank and others, FAO placed before its Committee on Agriculture (COAG) during 1987 a policy paper on 'Improving Productivity of Dryland Areas'. This COAG paper is reasonably comprehensive and was taken as the starting point for this examination of dryland development experience.
The present document recognizes the constraints and development actions identified in the COAG paper, and identifies 12 key aspects of strategies, grouped in three categories, for the sustainable development of drylands. With the exception of identifying several preconditions for development, priorities are not indicated among the key aspects since their relative importance will depend on country circumstances and ongoing programmes. Instead of prejudging priorities, it is considered more useful to indicate the who and how of actions. Also, the proposed action areas are discussed in terms of their relevance to international agencies, regional bodies, national authorities and local entities.
Although the document builds upon the COAG paper, it is also one step in the elaboration of the 'Long-Term Strategy for the Food and Agriculture Sector' which was considered at the FAO Conference during 1989. This Conference document recognized the different issues and needs of high and low potential lands. In as much as low potential lands are predominantly drylands, the present document addresses the needs of the low potential lands. The emphasis is placed on the agricultural sector, but with concern also for identifying points of contact and inter-dependencies with other sectors.