Introductory Agroforestry (1+1)

TECHNOLOGY DESIGN and EVALUATION & REDESIGN STAGES

III. TECHNOLOGY DESIGN STAGE

Step 8. Identification of candidate technologies

• List feasible technologies which meet the system specifications
• Select and prioritize the most promising technologies and combinations

Step 9. Detailed technology specifications

• Make a detailed list of desirable attributes of each of the selected technologies (component characteristics, management. considerations, etc.)
• Prioritize the attributes on this list in the light of the total knowledge of the diagnosed system

Step 10. Technology design

• For each specific technology, give detailed answers to each of the following questions:
• What functions should each intervention address?
• At what location within the farm or general landscape should these functions be performed?
• What component or combination of components (plant/animal species and varieties) are the best choices for performing these functions?
• How many of each component are required to meet production targets?
• What precise arrangement of components is envisaged?
• What management practices are required to achieve the desired performance characteristics?
• Take note of all design questions to which the D&D team is presently unable to give satisfactory answers (these are topics for further consultation or research).
• Synthesize all of the above into an integrated design for an agroforestry system which best answers the needs and potentials of the existing land use system (consider stepwise introduction of component technologies if the full system is likely to be too much for local farmers to adopt all at once).

IV. EVALUATION AND REDESIGN STAGE

Step 11. Ex-ante evaluation and redesign

• Check land user’s response to the design proposal (optional D&D verification survey)
• Conduct a preliminary evaluation of the agroforestry design, compare with present land use and non-agroforestry alternatives in terms of:
• Productivity (biological potential, economic efficiency and diversity of production
• Sustainability (Environment impact, resource conservation)
• Adoptability (fulfillment of felt needs, cultural comparability, social distribution of benefits)
• Return to design stage activities to make modifications suggested by the preliminary evaluation

Step 12. Suitability classification

• Summarize system evaluations for each of the design agroforestry systems and develop classification of suitability for wider application
• Combine this classification into suitability maps and tables for the study area/region as a whole (define preliminary recommendation domain)