1.2 Contact details of resource persons and institutions involved in the assessment and documentation of the Technology

Name of project which facilitated the documentation/ evaluation of the Technology (if relevant)

Scaling-up SLM practices by smallholder farmers (IFAD)

Name of the institution(s) which facilitated the documentation/ evaluation of the Technology (if relevant)

National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) - Uganda

1.3 Conditions regarding the use of data documented through WOCAT

When were the data compiled (in the field)?

01/02/2018

The compiler and key resource person(s) accept the conditions regarding the use of data documented through WOCAT:

Yes

1.4 Declaration on sustainability of the described Technology

Is the Technology described here problematic with regard to land degradation, so that it cannot be declared a sustainable land management technology?

No

2.1 Short description of the Technology

Definition of the Technology:

Improved pawpaw (Carica papaya) fruit tree growing using improved varieties for Sustainable Land Management Practices and income generation.

2.2 Detailed description of the Technology

Description:

Intensification of pawpaw with mulching. It is the growing of improved pawpaw fruit tree growing for sustainable land management practices and income generation among small scale and medium farmers in Kampala. This is established on 1.5 acres of land. The technology is mostly prefered because it doesn’t require much attention or specialized planting (labour). The cultivation is pest-resistant, and thrives in well-drained soil with an equal balance of sunshine and shade as well as reduction of soil degradation. Under this technology, pawpaws are integrated with trenches with the aim of reducing soil and water erosion for increased production and soil fertility improvement. In Uganda, specifically Kampala District, the technology started in 2012 where the host farmer visited a friend in the neighbouring village, who was growing pawpaw on a commercial scale, and acquired knowledge and skills, inputs and resources needed for establishment.
To get the pawpaw seeds, I got a ripe pawpaw from which I extracted healthy seeds, which I used to make a nursery bed. The pawpaw seeds I got were of the big pawpaw with yellow flesh. I chose this variety because it has a longer shelf life compared to the red flesh variety. In addition, its fruits are big and tasty. and then I dried them in the sun. Got two Units of loam / sandy soil mixed with one basin of cow dung to improve on its drainage and fertility, filled the bags with a mixture of sandy loam manured soil, sown 1 or 2 seeds in each bag and covered with soil, then watered the beds once every day, morning or evening. (description of farmer)

The farmer also covered the bags with thatch grass to keep them warm and moist still they emerge. After one month when the seedlings had germinated he sprayed them with Vegimax, which is an Organic Supplement for all types of plants that helps improve the quality, yield, appearance as well as soil condition and later applied 'Dudu cyper' (insecticide) to kill insects that attack the leaves. When the seedlings were about 10-15 cm tall, they were transplanted onto a well prepared field. A slit was cut into the plastic bag down one side to remove the bag and place the plant into the planting pit. Spacing of plants was approximately 3 metres between rows and 3 metres between plants. Soil was raked in to cover the roots. The plants were then watered to provide moisture needed for proper rooting and growth.
Activities carried out in this technology include: Nursery bed preparation, watering once a day, garden preparation, digging of planting pits, mixing animal manure with soil, transplanting from the nursery bed to the main garden, mulching the garden using banana leaves and grass, spraying the plantations,pruning and harvesting. Proper spacing of trees is important because if they are not well spaced, they will just grow tall and fruiting will be poor. I started with one acre of pawpaw where I had initially 250 pawpaw trees but a density of up to 440 trees is possible.
The technology is good at income generating. Having one acre of the improved pawpaw the farmer can pick five to seven pawpaws every week from each tree and harvest throughout the year so every time the farmer has something to sell to the market. However Paw paws are easily perishable and this affects the market in addition to being affected by weather changes especially when it rains a lot the demand for the fruit becomes very low and when it’s the long dry spells also affect the plantations since the farmer cannot afford to irrigate through the dry season. During long dry periods, pawpaw doesn’t perform well so the harvest is low. Strong wind can cause problems to pawpaw plantations because pawpaw plants have a shallow root system, they get very top heavy as they grow older, and they blow over easily. Then there are birds and fruit bats which affect the plantation. In case of such scenarios its advisable that the farmer keeps in touch with extension worker for advisory services and all the necessary management advice (pest management, watering and marketing).

2.3 Photos of the Technology

2.4 Videos of the Technology

2.5 Country/ region/ locations where the Technology has been applied and which are covered by this assessment

2.6 Date of implementation

Indicate year of implementation:

2016

If precise year is not known, indicate approximate date:

• less than 10 years ago (recently)

2.7 Introduction of the Technology

Specify how the Technology was introduced:

• through land users' innovation
• during experiments/ research

Comments (type of project, etc.):

From my neighbor.

3.1 Main purpose(s) of the Technology

• improve production
• reduce, prevent, restore land degradation
• preserve/ improve biodiversity
• reduce risk of disasters
• create beneficial economic impact
• create beneficial social impact

3.2 Current land use type(s) where the Technology is applied

3.3 Further information about land use

Water supply for the land on which the Technology is applied:

• rainfed

Number of growing seasons per year:

• 2

Specify:

Main harvest in May and December.

3.4 SLM group to which the Technology belongs

• improved ground/ vegetation cover
• minimal soil disturbance
• integrated soil fertility management

3.5 Spread of the Technology

Specify the spread of the Technology:

• evenly spread over an area

If the Technology is evenly spread over an area, indicate approximate area covered:

• < 0.1 km2 (10 ha)

Comments:

The technology is applied on a 1.5 acre plot

3.6 SLM measures comprising the Technology

3.7 Main types of land degradation addressed by the Technology

Comments:

This technology is not done primarily to reduce land degradation. This is rather a side effect.

3.8 Prevention, reduction, or restoration of land degradation

Specify the goal of the Technology with regard to land degradation:

• not applicable

Comments:

This technology is not done primarily to reduce land degradation. This is rather a side effect.

4.1 Technical drawing of the Technology

4.2 Technical specifications/ explanations of technical drawing

The technical drawing shows pawpaw trees planted at a spacing of 3 m x 3 m from one pawpaw to another pawpaw tree. The planting hole is 30 cm deep.
Slope: Gentle sloping

4.3 General information regarding the calculation of inputs and costs

Specify how costs and inputs were calculated:

• per Technology area

Specify currency used for cost calculations:

• US Dollars

Indicate exchange rate from USD to local currency (if relevant): 1 USD =:

3600.0

4.4 Establishment activities

	Activity	Type of measure	Timing
1.	Nursery Preparation	Agronomic	2 days
2.	Watering	Management	everyday
3.	Garden preparation	Agronomic	7 days
4.	Digging pits	Agronomic	4 days
5.	Compost and soil mixing	Agronomic	2 days
6.	Transplanting	Agronomic	5 days
7.	Mulching	Agronomic	2 days
8.	Spraying	Agronomic	1 day

4.5 Costs and inputs needed for establishment

	Specify input	Unit	Quantity	Costs per Unit	Total costs per input	% of costs borne by land users
Labour	Nursery Preparation	Man days	2.0	2.8	5.6	100.0
Labour	Watering	Man days	1.0	1.39	1.39	100.0
Labour	Garden preparation	Man days	4.0	2.8	11.2	100.0
Labour	Digging pits	Man days	4.0	2.8	11.2	100.0
Equipment	Animal manure and soil mixing	Man days	2.0	1.39	2.78	100.0
Equipment	Transplanting	Man days	5.0	2.8	14.0	100.0
Equipment	Mulching the garden	Man days	5.0	2.8	14.0	100.0
Equipment	Spraying	Man days	1.0	2.8	2.8	100.0
Equipment	Hoes	Pieces	5.0	2.8	14.0	100.0
Equipment	Wheelbarrows	Pieces	3.0	33.4	100.2	100.0
Equipment	Gumboots	Pairs	5.0	3.4	17.0	100.0
Equipment	Sprayer pump	Piece	1.0	13.9	13.9	100.0
Plant material	Watering cans	Pieces	3.0	2.8	8.4	100.0
Plant material	Seeds	Kilograms	5.0	1.39	6.95	100.0
Fertilizers and biocides	Vegimax,	Litres	5.0	3.4	17.0	100.0
Fertilizers and biocides	Dudu cyper	Litres	3.0	2.8	8.4	100.0
Fertilizers and biocides	Dythene	Kilograms	3.0	6.94	20.82	100.0
Fertilizers and biocides	Animal manure	Trip	1.0	11.2	11.2	100.0
Total costs for establishment of the Technology					280.84

Comments:

The land user had ready capital to establish the technology.

4.6 Maintenance/ recurrent activities

	Activity	Type of measure	Timing/ frequency
1.	Spraying	Agronomic	Every after 3 weeks
2.	Prunning	Agronomic	Every week
3.	Digging	Agronomic	Every month
4.	Mulching	Agronomic	Every after 6 months
5.	Animal manure application to the garden	Agronomic	Every after a year

4.7 Costs and inputs needed for maintenance/ recurrent activities (per year)

	Specify input	Unit	Quantity	Costs per Unit	Total costs per input	% of costs borne by land users
Labour	Spraying	Man day	1.0	2.8	2.8	100.0
Labour	Prunning	Man day	2.0	2.8	5.6	100.0
Labour	Mulching	Man day	3.0	2.8	8.4	100.0
Labour	Animal manure application to the garden	Man day	2.0	2.8	5.6	100.0
Equipment	Harvesting	Man day	2.0	2.8	5.6	100.0
Equipment	Hoes	Pieces	5.0	2.8	14.0	100.0
Equipment	Sprayer pump	Piece	1.0	2.8	2.8	100.0
Equipment			1.0	13.9	13.9	100.0
Fertilizers and biocides	Vegimax	Litres	5.0	3.4	17.0	100.0
Fertilizers and biocides	Dudu cyper	Litres	3.0	2.8	8.4	100.0
Fertilizers and biocides	Dythene	Litres	5.0	6.94	34.7	100.0
Fertilizers and biocides	Animal manure	Trip	1.0	11.2	11.2	100.0
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology					130.0

Comments:

The land user incurs all the costs.

4.8 Most important factors affecting the costs

Describe the most determinate factors affecting the costs:

Labor costs are those cost which most heavily affect the technology.

5.1 Climate

5.2 Topography

Indicate if the Technology is specifically applied in:

• not relevant

5.3 Soils

5.4 Water availability and quality

Is water salinity a problem?

No

Is flooding of the area occurring?

No

5.5 Biodiversity

5.6 Characteristics of land users applying the Technology

Indicate other relevant characteristics of the land users:

The land user is married with six children, is a commercial pawpaw farmer, is business oriented and a primary four school drop out.

5.7 Average area of land owned or leased by land users applying the Technology

5.8 Land ownership, land use rights, and water use rights

Land ownership:

• individual, titled

Land use rights:

• individual

Water use rights:

• individual

Comments:

The land user inherented the land from the grandfather.

5.9 Access to services and infrastructure

6.1 On-site impacts the Technology has shown

Socio-economic impacts

Income and costs

Socio-cultural impacts

Ecological impacts

Soil

6.2 Off-site impacts the Technology has shown

6.3 Exposure and sensitivity of the Technology to gradual climate change and climate-related extremes/ disasters (as perceived by land users)

Gradual climate change

Gradual climate change

	Season	Type of climatic change/ extreme	How does the Technology cope with it?
seasonal rainfall	dry season	increase	moderately

Climate-related extremes (disasters)

Climatological disasters

	How does the Technology cope with it?
drought	moderately

Biological disasters

	How does the Technology cope with it?
insect/ worm infestation	moderately

Comments:

Since the technology is mulched the dry season doesn't affect PawPaw plantations much .

6.4 Cost-benefit analysis

How do the benefits compare with the establishment costs (from land users’ perspective)?

How do the benefits compare with the maintenance/ recurrent costs (from land users' perspective)?

6.5 Adoption of the Technology

• 1-10%

If available, quantify (no. of households and/ or area covered):

3

Of all those who have adopted the Technology, how many have did so spontaneously, i.e. without receiving any material incentives/ payments?

• 0-10%

Comments:

They use their capital to establish the technology.

6.6 Adaptation

Has the Technology been modified recently to adapt to changing conditions?

Yes

If yes, indicate to which changing conditions it was adapted:

• changing markets

6.7 Strengths/ advantages/ opportunities of the Technology

Strengths/ advantages/ opportunities in the land user’s view
Having ready market to the nearby countries like South Sudan.
The technology uses low maintenance costs.
It's a source of income to the household.

Strengths/ advantages/ opportunities in the compiler’s or other key resource person’s view
Pawpaw is a fast growing tree that provide very many fruits.
It can be established on a small scale land.
It does not require a lot of capital, that is in terms of starting it and maintaining the garden.

6.8 Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks of the Technology and ways of overcoming them

Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks in the land user’s view	How can they be overcome?
The technology is relatively expensive to establish.	By using group associations to access credit to finacne the technology and pay after sale of harvest.
Technology requires enough land for those who are landless.	Hire land and promote the technology.
Pests and diseases sometimes affect the pawpaw.	Seek advice from the extension service provider.

Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks in the compiler’s or other key resource person’s view	How can they be overcome?
Pawpaws are perishable fruits .	The farmer has to first get ready market before he considers growing pawpaw.
Pawpaws are very delicate fruits in case their mis-handled, a farmer might have many losses.	Farmer should handle the fruit carefully to avoid bruising and unnecessary cuts. Never drop the fruits to the ground. On tall trees, use a ladder to reach and pick the fruits by hand.
The technology faces long dry spells that affect the plants .During long dry periods, pawpaws don’t perform well so the harvest is always poor.	The farmer should irrigate the plants to avoid poor harvest.

7.1 Methods/ sources of information