FO:GCP/RAS/133/JPN   FAO/GOVERNMENT COOPERATIVE PROGRAMME ASIA-PACIFIC AGROFORESTRY NETWORK ASIA AND THE PACIFIC REGION PROJECT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS   Terminal Report BANGLADESH, CHINA, INDIA, INDONESIA, LAOS, NEPAL, PAKISTAN, THE PHILIPPINES, SRI LANKA, THAILAND, VIET NAM PROJECT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Report prepared for the participating governments by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Rome, 1998

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

The Food and Agriculture Organization is greatly indebted to all those who assisted in the implementation of the project by providing information, advice and facilities.

Table of Contents

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 PROJECT BACKGROUND

1.2 OUTLINE OF OFFICIAL ARRANGEMENTS

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

2. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

2.1 NETWORKS

2.2 INFORMATION EXCHANGE

2.3 TRAINING

2.4 FIELD ACTIVITIES

3. RECOMMENDATIONS

3.1 NETWORKS TO SUPPORT TCDC

3.2 NETWORK SUSTAINABILITY

3.3 APAN PHASE II FOLLOW-UP

3.4 NATIONAL APAN SECRETARIAT AT FORDA

3.5 NATIONAL NETWORKS

3.6 COLLABORATION AND JOINT ACTIVITIES

3.7 USER-FRIENDLY PUBLICATIONS

3.8 FARMER-MANAGED DEMONSTRATION PLOTS

3.9 NETWORK MANAGEMENT

Appendix 1: PROJECT STAFF

Appendix 2: STUDY TOURS

Appendix 3: MAJOR ITEMS OF EQUIPMENT PROVIDED

Appendix 4: DOCUMENTS PREPARED DURING THE PROJECT

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

APAN - Asia-Pacific Agroforestry Network

APANAC - Asia-Pacific Agroforestry Network Advisory Committee

APO - Associate Professional Officer

CMU - Chiang Mai University

FARM - Farmer-centred Agricultural Resource Management

FORDA - Forestry Research and Development Agency

FTPP - Forest, Trees and People Programme

ICRAF - International Centre for Research on Agroforestry

IIRR - International Institute for Rural Reconstruction

MFI - Mag-uugmad Foundation Inc.

NAS - National APAN Secretariat

NAWG - National Agroforestry Working Group

NGO - Non-governmental Organization

PRA - Participatory Rural Appraisal

RAP - Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

RWEDP - Regional Wood Energy Development Programme

TCDC - Technical Co-operation among Developing Countries

UPLB - University of the Philippines at Los Ba�os

USDA - United States Department of Agriculture

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 PROJECT BACKGROUND

As a result of increases in population density, land pressures, market forces and intensive cultivation, many of the extensive agroforestry systems in the Asia-Pacific Region have been severely affected by shortened fallow periods. This has led to a serious loss of productivity, as well as soil and watershed degradation. During the past two decades, in an attempt to remedy these negative trends, various agroforestry initiatives in research, extension and training have been launched.

The genesis of the Asia-Pacific Agroforestry Network (APAN) can be traced to the Nineteenth FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific in 1988. The Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry present at the conference endorsed the development of a regional initiative in agroforestry to address three sets of pressing problems: marginal lands and marginal people, shifting cultivation and sustainable development. FAO was asked to formulate a Project Document to support the establishment of a regional agroforestry network.

1.2 OUTLINE OF OFFICIAL ARRANGEMENTS

The original Project Document was approved for funding on 19 March 1990 by the Government of Japan, and signed by the Government of Indonesia, the host country, on 18 July 1990. Following endorsements by two other member countries, Thailand and Sri Lanka, the project was declared operational by FAO on 3 September 1990. The Project Document was also endorsed by Viet Nam, Laos, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the Philippines.

The original title of the project was Agroforestry Systems Research and Development in the Asia and Pacific Region (GCP/RAS/133/JPN), with an approved budget of $US 500 000 and a scheduled duration of 20 months. The project began in April 1991 with the appointment of the Regional Coordinator. On 2 May 1991, the project secretariat was formally inaugurated at the Forestry Research and Development Agency (FORDA) in Bogor, Indonesia. The ten original member countries were: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam. All countries designated national focal points and coordinators to collaborate on the project. At the first Project Advisory Committee meeting in November 1991, the name of Asia-Pacific Agroforestry Network was adopted.

In August 1992, a Project Evaluation Mission conducted a review of APAN Phase I. Based on its recommendations, the APAN Secretariat formulated the Project Document for the second phase. In November 1992, the Government of Japan approved a Trust Fund contribution of $US 1 400 000 for APAN Phase II, which covered a four-year period (April 1993-March 1997) and retained the project symbol of GCP/RAS/133/JPN. The Phase II Project Document was subsequently signed by Indonesia, Viet Nam, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and China.

There was a four-month funding gap, from December 1992 to March 1993, between Phases I and II. To support project staff and operations during this period, FAO provided $US 89 000 from the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) for the bridging project TCP/RAS/2357 "Support to Regional Agroforestry". The Government of Japan also approved the use of accrued Trust Fund interest of $US 49 552. The total contribution of the Government of Japan was $US 1 987 458.

In September 1993, the UNDP/FAO/UNIDO Farmer-centred Agricultural Resource Management (FARM) programme was launched with seven interrelated sub-programmes. APAN was invited to implement the FARM agroforestry sub-programme (RAS/93/064) with approved funding of $US 1.9 million over a five-year period to September 1998. The eight FARM countries were already part of APAN, with the exception of China, which became the eleventh APAN member country through FARM. In 1995, the FARM programme was "retuned" by UNDP and the sub-programmes and their budget entities were terminated in April 1996.

From October 1993 to March 1996, APAN utilized slightly more than $US 1 million from RAS/93/064 to complement the GCP/RAS/133/JPN budget, particularly to support national and field-level activities, often in close collaboration with other FARM sub-programmes.

Regional events were co-funded by international partner organizations, who contributed a total of almost $US 300 000 to support participant travel and local costs. FORDA provided significant in-kind and financial support, estimated at approximately $US 220 000. The project terminated in March 1997 with the successful handing-over of the APAN Secretariat to FORDA, who will provide facilities, staff and operating budget to develop future network activities with partner and client groups in Indonesia, as well as to maintain information exchange with other APAN member countries.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

The long-term development objective was to assist member countries to achieve sustainable production within traditional farming systems and to raise the socio-economic status of smallholder farm households through the improvement and adoption of environmentally sound and economically viable agroforestry practices, activities and programmes. Based on the experiences and lessons learned from the first phase, the APAN Phase II immediate objectives were refined as follows:

- to strengthen the established regional network of focal institutions and individuals active in agroforestry research, development and training in member countries;

- to document, synthesize, exchange and disseminate information on known successful, stable and productive agroforestry systems on a regular basis among network members by distributing APAN publications and by organizing expert consultations, workshops and field visits on specific agroforestry themes;

- to improve the opportunities, materials and quality of agroforestry training for participants from member countries, at regional and national level; and

- to link with and support innovative and ongoing field-level agroforestry activities (e.g., demonstration areas, FARM field sites, innovative farmer practices) in participating APAN countries.

2. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

2.1 NETWORKS

2.1.1 Networking approach

In 1990-91, FAO conducted a study covering 135 networks supported by FAO within the framework of Technical Co-operation among Developing Countries (TCDC). It was found that networks demonstrated the greatest effectiveness in the area of information dissemination. The study noted that, network development being a long-term endeavour requiring continuing support and nurturing, at least ten years of external support were usually needed before a network could become sustainable and self-reliant. This could be gradually achieved by developing appropriate resource mobilization and cost-recovery mechanisms once networks had demonstrated their ability to deliver useful services and products.

APAN supported the development of regional and national networks by promoting TCDC activities, in particular, appropriate, cost-effective exchanges of experience and information among successful cases in member countries. It did this by developing training-of-trainers and participatory approaches at the regional level and by providing follow-up support for activities at the national and grassroots levels. It also acquired knowledge of opportunities for resource mobilization and of human resources and institutions to be drawn upon within and outside the region and sought ways to forge inter-sectoral linkages and develop joint agroforestry activities.

Since 1991, the annual APAN Advisory Committee (APANAC) meetings have been hosted on a rotating basis by Indonesia, Nepal, Viet Nam, Sri Lanka, Laos and China. These meetings have proved to be important mechanisms for the participatory planning of regional and national network activities. They have strengthened the commitment of APAN national coordinators and other partners and increased the participation of national coordinators in evaluating the progress and problems of network activities.

For regional network activities such as training workshops and expert consultations, collaboration and co-funding arrangements were developed with 19 international organizations, including the International Centre for Research on Agroforestry (ICRAF), the Regional Community Forestry Training Centre, the Regional Wood Energy Development Programme (RWEDP), FARM, the Ford Foundation, the International Development Research Centre, the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) and the US Forest Service.

APAN's involvement with the FARM programme enhanced its capacity to support national and grassroots activities. FARM funds were also utilized to engage an information and training specialist, who served at APAN from July 1994 to March 1996. In 1994-95, FARM resources were channelled to support a wide range of activities: the FAO/IIRR information kit workshop; country-level workshops and training courses; the production of local training and extension materials; study tours for farmers and field workers; the establishment of agroforestry demonstration sites; and the identification and documentation of farmer-managed "centres of excellence".

Financial support from APAN averaged about $US 20 000 per member country in 1994 and $US 10 000 in 1995 (when a FARM budget slowdown was imposed by UNDP). The FARM "retuning" in April 1996 terminated the separate sub-programmes. As a result, APAN support for national-level activities in 1996 was scaled down to $US 3 000 per country.

At the national and grassroots levels, APAN helped to develop, test and support various mechanisms to establish and sustain agroforestry networks. These included the National APAN Secretariats (NASs), established by national coordinators to plan, coordinate and implement network activities, and the National Agroforestry Working Groups (NAWGs), informal forums bringing together individuals and institutions from a variety of sectors to share information and develop joint agroforestry activities. APAN partially supported some NAWG meetings, such as the one held in Thailand in December 1995 to formulate a national agroforestry policy framework.

APAN also helped to develop grassroots networks, such as the Nusa Tenggara Upland Development Consortium, an informal network comprising over 150 members from Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), government agencies and training institutions working with farmers in eastern Indonesia on upland development and agroforestry problems. The Consortium and APAN worked together on agroforestry and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) curriculum development, community-based resource management, media development and other collaborative activities.

By the end of the project APAN had become a network with strong and productive linkages with farmer groups, governments, NGOs, the academic world, the private sector and international organizations, whose national coordinators were capable of mobilizing resources for activities benefiting participating farmers. Member country governments had increased support for national and field-level collaborative activities, while the network itself had demonstrated an ability to develop and deliver a wide range of timely high-quality information and training services. It had shown itself to be forward-looking in addressing network sustainability issues and in testing resource mobilization and cost-recovery mechanisms.

2.1.2 Network sustainability

At the end of Phase II, APAN member countries felt that a donor-supported third phase was necessary to prepare the network for the transition into a self-reliant entity, envisioned as the APAN Foundation. More than 18 months before the end of Phase II, APAN initiated the formulation process for a third phase, entitled APAN 21. The approach used was highly participatory, involving the efforts and inputs of the national coordinators and other partners. The project created a small Task Force and presented the APAN 21 concept paper for discussion during the APANAC V meeting in Laos in November 1995. This led to the production of a draft Project Document, which was improved and finalized by the Task Force during two working sessions: in the Philippines (February 1996) and Bogor (March 1996).

The draft APAN 21 Project Document was submitted to FAO Headquarters in March 1996. After several revisions, it was officially cleared by FAO in December 1996 and submitted to potential donors. Letters of endorsement for the APAN 21 programme have been received from five member countries: the Philippines, China, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Laos and Nepal.

FORDA has made a commitment to institutionalize the APAN Secretariat following the completion of Phase II. A seminar was held on 24 February 1997 with representatives of interested organizations to explore future collaboration pathways. The project equipment, library, and remaining stock of publications and office supplies have been transferred to the new National APAN Secretariat at FORDA.

Contingency plans have been made to continue national networks and some activities in the absence of immediate funding for APAN 21. National coordinators and partners have developed a number of resource mobilization and cost-recovery mechanisms to generate funds from government agencies, ongoing projects or donor sources to support national networks. APAN helped Laos, Viet Nam, China and Sri Lanka to draft proposals for national agroforestry projects, and encouraged member countries to develop and test their own mechanisms to raise funds. A proposal was also formulated by the University of the Philippines at Los Ba�os (UPLB), APAN and ICRAF to support agroforestry education in Southeast Asia.

Following an informal policy dialogue between the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council and APAN, the Bangladesh NAWG initiated two collaborative programmes in 1996. The first programme designed and implemented a training workshop for sub-professionals of the Forest Department, under the pilot agroforestry project funded by the Ford Foundation, while the second conducted contract research, with funding from the Swiss Development Corporation, on the growth and yield of trees grown on cropland and soil fertility under cropland agroforestry systems.

For this collaborative work, the NAWG received a "service charge" of 20% of the total costs, approximately $US 5 500 in 1996. The group also entered into a contract with the US-based Congressional Information Service, Inc., which will lead to a 15% royalty fee for the electronic publication of selected NAWG publications. In the future, the NAWG plans to charge fees for its technical publications to partially recover printing costs, as well as a nominal annual membership fee.

The commitment and efforts of the national coordinators will sustain APAN networks and activities in most member countries. However, the available national resources are insufficient to support regional networking activities, with the exception of continuing information exchange.

2.2 INFORMATION EXCHANGE

A number of information exchange mechanisms were employed by the project, including the production and distribution of APAN publications, the development of local training and extension materials, the organization of regional expert consultations, support for country-level workshops and the maintenance of a technical library.

Since 1992, the project has produced and distributed 13 issues of APANews, the network newsletter. APANews proved to be an important vehicle for information dissemination among network members, who frequently contributed articles and news items on current agroforestry developments within the region. The newsletter was produced in-house, with APAN Associate Professional Officers (APOs) and the national consultant serving in turn as general editor, and the Regional Coordinator providing technical and editorial inputs. A reader survey was conducted in 1995/96, and provided mostly favourable feedback on the newsletter content and style. Based on survey responses, the mailing list was revised. Circulation reached approximately 3 000 copies per issue, with more than 1 200 copies being distributed by the National Coordinators in their respective countries.

National agroforestry newsletters were produced in Bangladesh, China and Viet Nam, in English and national languages, with support from the project.

Four field documents and 21 technical reports on agroforestry and project activities were produced, printed and distributed by the project, demonstrating the high level of network commitment and ownership. National coordinators, other contributors, and APAN and Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) staff undertook the revision and editing work without additional budget allocations. RAP also covered the printing and distribution costs.

In total, almost 15 000 copies of APAN publications were printed, more than 95% of which were distributed on the basis of requests from APAN members. The project also co-published or obtained stocks of relevant publications with collaborating organizations such as ICRAF, RWEDP, Winrock International, IIRR, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Forest Service, and several APAN national partners. A total of almost 5 000 copies of these other publications was sent to APAN, 80% of which was distributed on request. The remaining stock of publications will be transferred to the new National APAN Secretariat at FORDA for future distribution.

With funding and technical assistance from the project, the National APAN Secretariats also made significant efforts in the development of local training and extension materials, many in national languages.

To promote information-sharing on specific agroforestry themes, the project jointly organized four regional consultations. These focused on agroforestry and community forestry curriculum development in Asia-Pacific (Chiang Mai University - CMU), forestry research, education and development in Asia, Africa and Latin America (ICRAF, Nairobi), production of an upland resource management information kit for Southeast Asia, (IIRR, Silang, the Philippines) and agroforestry education in Southeast Asia (ICRAF/APAN). A total of nearly 170 men and women participated in these consultations, which produced valuable follow-up activities at the national level.

In 1994, participants from six countries joined a two-week consultative workshop organized by FAO and IIRR to produce an information kit on "Resource Management for Upland Areas in Southeast Asia". In 1995-96, the Royal Forest Department produced an information kit in Thai on agroforestry extension, which was printed with support from the FAO Forest, Trees and People Programme (FTPP). In 1996-97, similar kits were prepared in Laos, Indonesia, and the Pacific Islands. Parts of the original kit were translated and adapted in China, Viet Nam and the Philippines. Through this process, information was compiled and used widely by local extension staff and farmers, demonstrating that regional activity can provide the basis for launching follow-on activities at country level.

During APAN Phase II, the project supported 14 country-level workshops held in six member countries: Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Nepal, the Philippines and Thailand. More than 650 participants were involved in these workshops, which addressed national agroforestry priorities such as agroforestry on degraded lands, social forestry approaches, agroforestry development, policy, research needs and monitoring and evaluation.

The APAN Secretariat provides an agroforestry technical library, with more than 1 800 volumes of agroforestry-related publications, mostly covering countries and topics in the Asia-Pacific Region. Frequent library users include Indonesian forestry students, agroforestry researchers and extension staff.

Under the APAN Phase II information objective, the accomplishments greatly exceeded the targets, owing to the work of APAN Secretariat staff on publications and the initiatives taken by National Coordinators to organize the workshops, usually by mobilizing significant levels of national resources. The experience to date suggests that information products must be user-friendly in terms of content, language, style and medium if they are to be seen as useful. Hence, much of the scientific and research information available needs to be transformed, translated and adapted before it is suitable for extension and farmer users. Another important insight gained is that the process of information exchange is as important as the product. The information kit workshop is a prime example of how participants learn from being part of a participatory, interdisciplinary process. They go on to replicate this process in their own settings to produce relevant, user-friendly information products as well as to strengthen networking linkages.

2.3 TRAINING

Between 1992 and 1995, the project substantially exceeded its training targets by organizing a total of eight regional training courses and workshops for about 330 participants, in collaboration with 19 other organizations. The specific agroforestry training themes emerged from APANAC meetings and other forums. APAN regional training courses and workshops focused on: the training-of-trainers in agroforestry and community forestry; sustainable land use systems and agroforestry research; agroforestry technologies, extension and marketing; fuelwood production in agroforestry extension; and agroforestry investment, production and marketing linkages. The regional training events were hosted by partner organizations in Indonesia, Thailand, China, Viet Nam and India. Participants and resource persons came from government agencies, NGOs, universities, the private sector and international organizations.

One of the most important results of regional training activities was the way in which the training-of-trainers approach helped strengthen national-level capabilities to organize and carry out follow-up training sessions based on newly acquired skills and materials. With APAN technical and financial support, National Coordinators and other partners, including NGOs, organized and implemented 15 in-country training events in eight member countries. Subjects covered included cropland agroforestry, agroforestry extension, multipurpose tree species for agroforestry systems, social forestry for forest dwellers and concession staff, Participatory Rural Appraisal and Rapid Rural Appraisal, gender issues in agroforestry development and training-of-trainers. A total of over 430 participants - including farmers, government and NGO field staff, village extension volunteers, local government officials, trainers and researchers - benefited from in-country training programmes.

The successful training-of-trainers approach was most evident in the follow-up to the Regional Training Workshop for Technical and Extension Level Agroforestry Trainers in Asia-Pacific, held in November 1993 in Khon Kaen, Thailand. Some of the training materials produced were translated or adapted by participants from China, Laos, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Using the knowledge and materials acquired from the workshop, participants conducted highly effective training workshops in their own countries.

Throughout the region, NGOs and government agencies increasingly supported the use of farmer trainers in agroforestry programmes. Innovative farmers established their own training centres, which proved to be highly effective in transferring practical agroforestry knowledge and skills to other farmers, youths, and forestry and agricultural extension workers. Some developed the capacity to become international training centres, hosting farmers and field workers from other countries.

APAN collaborated closely with two centres established by farmers: Mag-uugmad Foundation, Inc. (MFI) and Karya Nyata Farmer Training Centre. MFI works with farmers in Cebu, the Philippines, on upland development, agroforestry and soil and water conservation. In October 1992, it hosted the Regional Expert Consultation on Farmer to Farmer Adaptive Agroforestry Research, in collaboration with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the Philippines, APAN, FTPP and RWEDP.

The Karya Nyata Foundation was established in 1991. Since then, over 6 000 farmers, youths and field workers have been trained at the centre, which has hosted more than 35 000 visitors from all over Indonesia as well as other countries, notably from Africa and Southeast Asia, under the South-South cooperation programme supported by the Government of Indonesia.

Under the training objective, the project also supported initiatives in agroforestry curriculum development. As a follow-up to the Regional Expert Consultation on Agroforestry and Community Forestry Curriculum Development in Asia-Pacific, APAN provided a consultant to assist CMU to develop a multipurpose tree species syllabus for a new agroforestry option offered under the international Masters programme in agricultural systems. APAN also provided technical support to agroforestry curriculum development for farmers and field workers in Nusa Tenggara, eastern Indonesia.

In November 1994, ICRAF and APAN hosted the Roundtable Discussions on Agroforestry Education in Southeast Asia in Bogor. A framework for inter-university cooperation was produced to strengthen agroforestry education and curriculum development within the region.

2.4 FIELD ACTIVITIES

The fourth project objective was to link with and support innovative and ongoing field-level agroforestry activities, including demonstration areas, pilot projects and innovative farmer practices in APAN member countries. Collaborations with the Mag-uugmad and Karya Nyata farmer training centres are examples of the linkages that APAN established with innovative farmer groups.

Based on requests from member countries, APAN provided technical and financial support for the establishment and maintenance of agroforestry demonstration sites. In Indonesia, APAN has collaborated with FORDA, its host agency, and other groups since 1991 to establish four demonstration sites: two in West Java (Parung Panjang and Babakan Madang), one in South Kalimantan (Mangkaok, Banjar Baru), and one in North Sumatra (Sipintu Angin). Working with farmers at these sites, continual monitoring was conducted and several participatory evaluation tools were developed, field-tested and documented. In addition to those in Indonesia, demonstration plots were established, with support from APAN and FARM, in six other member countries: Bangladesh, China, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.

Although a variety of approaches was employed to set up demonstration plots, including collaboration with NGOs, the most successful were on-farm demonstrations where farmers were fully involved in selecting the agroforestry practices and species to test on their own lands. In Thailand, this approach was used successfully to establish several on-farm demonstrations in the north and northeast parts of the country. APAN support was limited to supplementing the farmers' resources to establish and maintain the on-farm demonstrations before the crops became fully productive. These demonstration farms were then featured in APAN-supported farmer study tours and exchange visits in Thailand. A similar approach was employed in Bangladesh, where the APAN demonstration sites were integrated into an ongoing farm and village forestry project implemented by NGOs and farmers in North Bengal.

By contrast, demonstration sites that were built from the ground up or located on government lands required much larger financial and labour inputs for establishment and maintenance. While these sites may showcase good agroforestry technologies, they do not lend themselves readily to farmer adoption, thus reducing their primary value as demonstration plots.

During APAN Phase II, many activities were carried out to identify successful farmer agroforestry practices and enhance their demonstration value. A survey of farming systems was conducted in Viet Nam to identify the most successful farming systems in different agro-ecological areas. Some 33 existing indigenous agroforestry systems in 33 different provinces in Thailand were identified for study and economic analyses, to be adopted as sites for farmers' visits and extension activities. During 1994 in Laos, farmers' indigenous agroforestry practices were assessed and documented in 16 selected villages throughout the country, with financial support from FAO and technical support from APAN.

In collaboration with the FARM programme in Indonesia, sites in Rembang and Cinagara were selected as "centres of excellence" for demonstration purposes and farmer cross visits. China was very active with agroforestry demonstration activities. A total of 100 ha of Paulownia-based agroforestry demonstrations in Wuyishan city of Fujian province was established, with partial support from APAN. The Liuminying Ecofarm near Beijing was also chosen as a demonstration "centre of excellence" in agroforestry. Since 1993, these two demonstration areas have been visited by over 50 000 farmers, officials, scientists, extensionists and technicians.

With APAN support, numerous farmer study tours were facilitated by national coordinators, farmers and other partners to increase the demonstration value of successful farmer-managed agroforestry activities. A total of almost 200 farmers in seven member countries participated in these farmer-to-farmer visits.

Identifying and selecting successful farmer-managed agroforestry farms for demonstration activities, rather than establishing demonstration plots in isolation, proved to be the most effective approach. Likewise, farmer-to-farmer visits were found to be a very effective way to transfer agroforestry technologies. Farmers who participated in APAN exchange visits gained new ideas, inspiration, knowledge and germplasm from other farmers, which they were then able to apply and test back in their own fields.

3. RECOMMENDATIONS

3.1 NETWORKS TO SUPPORT TCDC

As human and financial resources continue to grow and prosper in the Asia-Pacific Region, TCDC will probably become the prime mechanism for mutual technical assistance, with South-South cooperation eventually overtaking current forms of North-South technical assistance. Networks have demonstrated that they can play vital roles to promote and support TCDC exchanges. It is recommended, therefore, that governments, NGOs, the private sector and international organizations work together to utilize technical cooperation networks that can support mutual development objectives and priority needs in various sectors at the regional, national and grassroots levels.

3.2 NETWORK SUSTAINABILITY

After six years, APAN has not yet attained sustainability at the regional level. It is therefore recommended that donor partners consider sustainability as an essential objective of network support. Recognizing the long gestation period for networks, it is also recommended that a reasonable but gradually declining level of financial and technical assistance be provided over a longer period (for example, ten years). By employing cost-recovery and TCDC mechanisms, such as experts and consultants from within the region, the total donor budget required can be reduced.

3.3 APAN PHASE II FOLLOW-UP

Given that network sustainability has not been fully achieved, and that many new agroforestry development needs have emerged in recent years, it is strongly recommended that donor support be sought to implement the APAN 21 programme as a third phase of the network project (from 1997 to 2002).

3.4 NATIONAL APAN SECRETARIAT AT FORDA

The Government of Indonesia will institutionalize the APAN Secretariat within FORDA, the host agency in Bogor. The National Coordinator will continue in his capacity, supported by government facilities, staff and operating budget, and efforts will be intensified to develop collaboration and obtain funds for agroforestry activities with various partner and client organizations, including the private sector. The ICRAF Southeast Asia office, based in Bogor, will also provide support for agroforestry training and information dissemination activities. Building upon these positive developments, it is strongly recommended that the Government of Indonesia and other committed partners provide appropriate support to the new National APAN Secretariat to develop its capabilities and self-reliance.

3.5 NATIONAL NETWORKS

Most APAN National Coordinators have formulated sound and feasible contingency plans to sustain national agroforestry networks in the event funding cannot be obtained for APAN 21, either by institutionalizing the National APAN Secretariat, or by developing proposals for donor funding to support national agroforestry networks. It is recommended that member country governments assist national networks in the institutionalization process and, where appropriate, seek donor funding to ensure sustainability at the national level.

3.6 COLLABORATION AND JOINT ACTIVITIES

APAN successfully worked with about 20 international and national partners to pool human, financial and other resources in order to conduct regional training courses, workshops and study tours. Following this experience, it is recommended that all current and future networks seek more intensive collaboration and joint activities with partner institutions in order to pool resources and maximize impact.

3.7 USER-FRIENDLY PUBLICATIONS

The technical content of publications must be geared to recognized needs, and the form and language of the published materials should be easily understood by end users. Based on feedback from network members and the APAN Phase II review mission, it is recommended that future extension-oriented publications be tailored to assessed needs and be user-friendly in content and form.

3.8 FARMER-MANAGED DEMONSTRATION PLOTS

Agroforestry technologies and enterprises can best be transferred through farmer and extensionist visits to successful demonstration plots. Such plots can be operated at low cost, but maximum impact, by identifying and utilizing successful, farmer-managed agroforestry sites as "centres of excellence" for demonstration activities. It is recommended that this approach be adopted as the touchstone of agroforestry demonstration activities designed for farmers, extension workers and other groups.

3.9 NETWORK MANAGEMENT

It must be recognized that networks are different in nature from projects. Projects are usually time-bound, of short duration, tied to physical targets, and relatively fixed in terms of strategies, inputs and operational modalities. Networks, on the other hand, require years of gestation and nurturing to attain self-reliance, but offer flexibility, responsiveness to emerging needs, often qualitative targets and innovative modalities. It is strongly recommended that the issue of network management be examined for specific, realistic and feasible suggestions on how to improve collective and individual efforts in this important area.

Appendix 1: PROJECT STAFF

Appendix 2: STUDY TOURS

Appendix 3: MAJOR ITEMS OF EQUIPMENT PROVIDED

Appendix 4: DOCUMENTS PREPARED DURING THE PROJECT

A4.1 FIELD DOCUMENTS

Asia-Pacific Agroforestry Profiles. K.G. Tejwani and C.K. Lai. APAN Field Document No. 1, 1992, 52 pp.

Agroforestry Training Approaches: Examples from the Asia-Pacific Region. K.G. MacDicken and C.K. Lai. APAN Field Document No. 2, April 1993, 68 pp.

Participatory Methods and Tools for Agroforestry Applications in Asia-Pacific. Regional Training Workshop for Technical & Extension Level Agroforestry Trainers in Asia-Pacific, 14-27 November 1993, Khon Kaen, Thailand. A.P.Y. Djogo, R.A. del Castillo, S. Braatz, H. Beukeboom, C.K. Lai and J. French. APAN Field Document No. 3, December 1994, 39 pp.

Asia-Pacific Agroforestry Profiles: Second Edition. R. Koppelman, C.K. Lai, P.B. Durst and J. Naewboonien. APAN Field Document No. 4/RAP Publication 1996/20, September 1996, 369 pp.

A4.2 TECHNICAL REPORTS

First Project Advisory Committee Meeting, 25-29 November 1991, Bogor, Indonesia. APAN Report No. 1, 1991, 144 pp.

Summary Report of Refresher Course for Agroforestry Trainers in Asia-Pacific, 26 April-9 May 1992, Cisarua, Indonesia. C. Veer, Asmeen M. Khan, P.M. Shingi, C.K. Lai and H. Beukeboom. APAN Report No. 2, May 1992, 46 pp.

Report of Agroforestry Information and Technologies Exchange Visit between Thailand and Laos, 2-12 July 1992, Thailand. P. Makarabhirom and H. Beukeboom. APAN Report No. 3, September 1992, 54 pp.

Summary Report of Regional Consultation of Farmer-to-Farmer Adaptive Agroforestry Research, 4-10 October 1992, Cebu City, the Philippines. Asmeen M. Khan and C.K. Lai. APAN Report No. 4, October 1992, 53 pp.

Report of Second Project Advisory Committee Meeting, 1-8 November 1992, Kathmandu, Nepal. APAN Report No. 5, January 1993, 128 pp.

Report of the Regional Expert Consultation on Participatory Agroforestry and Silvofishery Systems in Southeast Asia, 15-21 November 1992, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. H. Beukeboom, C.K. Lai and Masahiro Otsuka. APAN Report No. 6, February 1993, 139 pp.

Summary Report of National Workshop on Agroforestry Development in Thailand, 1-3 December 1992, Chiang Mai, Thailand. T. Lakhaviwattanakul and C.K. Lai. APAN Report No. 7, August 1993, 43 pp.

Developing Curricula for Agroforestry and Community Forestry in Asia-Pacific. Report of an Expert Consultation, 8-12 June 1993, Chiang Mai, Thailand. D. Taylor, C.K. Lai and S.T. Mancebo. APAN Report No. 8, July 1993, 252 pp.

Summary Report of the International Training Course on Sustainable Land Use Systems and Agroforestry Research for the Humid Tropics of Asia, 26 April-15 May 1993, Indonesia. D.P. Garrity, C.K. Lai, C. Neely and I. Basri. APAN Report No. 9, October 1993, 134 pp.

Report of the Third APAN Advisory Committee Meeting (APANAC III), 14-18 December 1993, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. D. Taylor, C.K. Lai and H. Beukeboom. APAN Report No. 10, January 1994, 93 pp.

Prosiding Lokakarya Nasional Agroforestry, 24-26 August 1993, Bogor, Indonesia. A.N. Gintings, B. Purnama, M. Kaomini, Y. Mile, H. Beukeboom, Masahiro Otsuka and R. Fithriadi. APAN Report No. 11, February 1994, 276 pp. (in Bahasa Indonesia with summary in English).

Proceedings of the Regional Expert Consultation on Farmer-to-Farmer Adaptive Agroforestry Research, 4-10 October 1992. Cebu, the Philippines. Eds., C.C. Tomboc and A.M. Luna. APAN Report No. 12, July 1994, 319 pp.

Reflection of Chinese Team on Social Forestry/Agroforestry Information and Technology Exchange Visit to Indonesia, 2-13 November 1993. Xiong Yaoguo, Li Weichang and Liu Jinlong. APAN Report No. 13, July 1994, 25 pp.

Partisipasi Petani dalam Pengembangan Plot Penelitian dan Plot Demonstrasi Agroforestry. Laporan Hasil Evaluasi Partisipatif Plot Penelitian Parung Panjang (5-8 April 1994) dan Plot Demonstrasi Babakan Madang (26-28 April 1994). R. Fithriadi. APAN Report No. 14, August 1994, 93 pp. (in Bahasa Indonesia with summary in English).

Summary Report of an International Training Course on Farm Forestry and Agroforestry Technologies, Extension and Marketing in Asia-Pacific, 19-30 September 1994, Beijing, China. J.H. French. APAN Report No. 15, November 1994, 73 pp.

Assessment of Agroforestry in Laos and National Agroforestry Action Plan. J.L. Chamberlain. APAN Report 16, December 1994, 89 pp.

Summary Report of the Fourth Asia-Pacific Agroforestry Network Advisory Committee (APANAC IV) Meeting, 5-9 December 1994, Colombo, Sri Lanka. J.H. French and C.K. Lai. APAN Report No. 17, January 1995, 58 pp.

Pengembangan Wanatani di Kawasan Timur Indonesia. Prosiding Lokakarya National Wanatani II. Ujung Pandang, 16-18 January 1995. A.N. Gintings, R. Fithriadi, S. Riswan, A.P.Y. Djogo, D. Rumpoko and W. Soeparno. APAN Report No. 18, June 1995, 191 pp. (in Bahasa Indonesia with summary in English).

Summary Report of the Training Workshop on Integrating Woodfuel Production into Agroforestry Extension Programmes in Southeast Asia, 23-30 April 1995. West Java, Indonesia. R. Koppelman. RWEDP Report No. 21/APAN Report No. 19, October 1995, 149 pp.

Summary Report of the International Workshop on Agroforestry Investment, Production and Marketing, 17-26 September 1995. Dehra Dun, India. J.H. French and U. Blicher-Mathiesen. APAN Report No. 20, November 1995, 106 pp.

Summary Report of the Fifth Asia-Pacific Agroforestry Network Advisory Committee (APANAC V) Meeting, 19-26 November 1995. Vientiane and Luang Prabang, Laos. J.H. French and C.K. Lai. APAN Report No. 21, January 1996, 62 pp.

A4.3 OTHER PUBLICATIONS

Agroforestry in the Asia and Pacific. W. Mellink, Y.S. Rao and K.G. MacDicken. RAPA Publication: 1991/5. Bangkok, 1991, 308 pp.

Marketing of Multipurpose Tree Products in Asia. Proceedings of an international workshop, Baguio City, the Philippines, 6-9 December 1993. J.B. Raintree and H.A. Francisco. Winrock International, Bangkok, 1994, 367 pp.

South-South Cooperation in Agroforestry. Summary report of interregional meeting on agroforestry research, education and development for Africa, Asia and Latin America, 3-7 May 1994, Nairobi, Kenya. M. Crouch. ICRAF, Nairobi, 1994, 52 pp.

Agroforestry for the Degraded Sal Forest. Proceedings of the national workshop held at Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, Dhaka, 26 November-1 December 1994. Rowshan Ali Chowdhury, Ali Akbar Bhuiyan, S.M. Ruhul Amin, A.K.M. Fazlul Huq, Sunil Kanti Bose and Mohammed I.M. Fattah. BARC, Dhaka, December 1994, 81 pp.

Proceedings of the National Agroforestry Experts' Consultative Meeting. 7 October 1994, Villa La Maja Hotel, Baguio City, the Philippines. L.A. Calanog. APAN Philippines Report No. 2, ERDB, Los Ba�os, 1994, 75 pp.

Proceedings of the National Agroforestry Symposium Workshop. 3-6 October 1994, Villa La Maja Hotel, Baguio City, the Philippines. L.A. Calanog. ERDB, Los Ba�os, 1994, 238 pp.

Woodfuel Productivity of Agroforestry Systems in Asia. A review of current knowledge. M. Jensen. RWEDP Field Document No. 45, Bangkok, 1995, 44 pp.

Roundtable Discussions on Agroforestry Education in Southeast Asia, Summary Report, 17-18 November 1994, Bogor, Indonesia. E. Zulberti, A.B. Temu and C.K. Lai. ICRAF/APAN, Bogor, 1995, 20 pp.

Resource Management for Upland Areas in Southeast Asia: An Information Kit. Based on a workshop organized by IIRR, FAO and APAN, 29 August-9 September 1994, IIRR, the Philippines. FARM Field Document No. 2, FAO/IIRR, Bangkok/Silang, 1995, 214 pp.

Agroforestry Systems in Viet Nam. Vu Biet Linh and Nguyen Ngoc Binh. APAN/Viet Nam, Hanoi, 1995, 66 pp.

Trees in Agroforestry Systems. S.M. Amatya. Forest Research and Survey Centre, Kathmandu, 1996, 61 pp. (in Nepali).

Information Kit for Agroforestry Extension in Thailand. T. Lakhaviwattanakul. RFD/APAN/FTPP, Bangkok, 1996, 176 pp. (in Thai).

Production Manual for Jackfruit Cultivation in Sri Lanka. H.P.M. Gunasena, A. Wickramasinghe, P. Wickramasinghe, K.P. Ariyadasa, H.M.W. Herath and S.B. Rajakaruna. Forest Department, Colombo, 1996, 61 pp.

Glirisidia Produksi dan Manfaat. English version compiled by N. Glover, translated by E. Keffi, edited by R. Fithriadi. Winrock International/APAN, Bogor, September 1996, 57 pp. (in Bahasa Indonesia).

A4.4 PROJECT NEWSLETTERS

APANews, Nos. 1-13, March 1992-August 1996.