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Many sustainable technologies and approaches have been developed and tested locally for sustainable agriculture. But how can these be more widely adopted? Based on the analysis of 39 best practice projects on income generation, poverty eradication and protection of environment in India, Kenya/Tanzania and Peru/Bolivia, this article seeks to answer that question. In all three project regions, the identi?ed best practices were ?rst analysed in a self-assessment by the local partners who had developed these practices. In writeshops, the results were written down as success stories. Some of the success factors and obstacles in scaling up have also been depicted. Then, the 39 best practice projects have been analysed scienti?cally by ZALF (Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research) through a decision-support tool ‘ScalA’ (Scaling-Up Assessment Tool) which it developed. Success factors in ScalA have been classi?ed in seven categories, ranging from the attributes of the best practice to the political and institutional framework. ScalA assesses a total of 59 success factors in these categories. Results of the assessment indicate deviation (in percentage) from the ideal conditions for scaling up. The diversity of information integrated into ScaIA allows for a detailed assessment of the scaling-up potential in different project phases. The tool can also be used at the project design stage, in order to ensure a high probability of success in scaling up. Moreover, ScalA can be applied during project implementation at ‘adjustment points’ to identify weaknesses and adjust the scaling-up strategy. In situations that do not scale up satisfactorily by themselves, decision-support tools like ScaIA can assist with developing appropriate strategies.
Based on Rural 21, 2010. Sustainet: Scaling up Sustainable Agriculture, www.rural21.com (02/2010). |
