Completed Since the completion of the 1996 review, a number of projects have been funded within the NRSP/FAI programme, and also within NRSP/SAPS, that either directly or indirectly are or were based on the understandings developed in the review. Other DFID-funded work has also been completed (ie: through ESCOR) and some of this has been published through the ODI. These studies have a bearing on the earlier review, and should highlight relevant future work.

Completed Over the years explanations for the limited uptake of research results by poor farmers and other natural resource users in the developing world have been framed in terms of deficiencies of the farmers themselves, of the research process and its outputs, and of ,dissemination pathways,, institutions and approaches.

Completed In 1999, NRSP issued a call for research proposals addressing the ?knowledge gap between technology design and dissemination? in response to the perceived low uptake of new technologies in Ghana, Nepal, Brazil and Bolivia. The call assumed this gap was at least in part due to inadequate attention to promotion pathways and dissemination. At the same time, it asked for a critical review of technologies themselves to see if there were ?fundamental? reasons for this low uptake.

Completed Agricultural production which is dependant on the clearing of forest land (usually logged natural forest or long-term forest fallow) is common to many countries of the humid tropics. This shifting (slash and burn or swidden) agriculture results in the reduction of forest cover as only a proportion of the cleared land is returned to forest. In Bolivia, and in other countries, rise in populations through immigration and natural increase from 1-5 people per sq.km.

Completed Smallholder hillside agricultural production systems are extremely vulnerable to soil erosion and land degradation. Yet, especially in South and South East Asia, they offer some of the greatest potential for increasing production and developing sustainable land use. Donor and government funded interventions have met with only patchy success in realising this potential (Hudson 1993).

Completed The project is aimed at the needs of resource-poor agriculture in the semi-arid tropics for which nutrient constraints on crop growth are a major limitation to agricultural development. 1.)To develop a model for mine The influence of nitrogen and phosphate nutrition on crop production has been incorporated into the PARCH model. Using the data available from previous work, and that derived from a parallel NRI managed project the model has been tested and its performance found to be satisfactory. However, further independent testing is desirable.

Completed The forest-agriculture interface (FAI) is characterised by rapid changes in land use following conversion of forest to agriculture. Losses of soil organic matter and nutrients are often high just after the initial clearing, and inappropriate soil conservation practices during cropping can lead to further losses of soil fertility through leaching, erosion, and structural deterioration. Ingress of weeds after 1-2 cropping seasons may also be a major problem at some sites (eg: Brazil, Bolivia).

Technical Report Matthews, R.B. 2001 Matthews, R.B. 2001. Review of technologies being evaluated for the Forest Agriculture Interface. Final Technical Report of project R7560. Silsoe: Cranfield University, UK, 23 pp.

Report Brown, D. and Amanor, K. 2002 Brown, D. and Amanor, K. 2002. A brief history of agriculture in the transition zone of the Brong Ahafo. Annex 1 of the Final Technical Report of project R7957. London: Overseas Development Institute, UK. 23 pp.

Technical Report Gregory, P. 1996 Gregory, P (1996) Soil fertility review for Forest Agriculture Interface. Final Technical Report for project R6384. Reading: Department of Soil Science, University of Reading, UK, 128 pp. This document represents the final report of project R6384, "Soil fertility review for Forest Agriculture Interface". The project describes project activities and outputs, most notably a review of soil fertility issues at the Forest Agriculture Interface (FAI) and the identification of research priorities for NRSP. The review demonstrates the complexity of the FAI.