This policy brief explores the consequences of climate change on cocoa and tomato production in Jamaica. The report describes work carried out by CIAT in partnership with the University of the West Indies (UWI), which used

Joint Venture schemes based on the floppy irrigation technology are being promoted in the post-Apartheid South Africa's Limpopo Province. Access to land and water resources in South Africa are largely viewed as a mechanism for re-dressing the Apartheid injustices. This research was part of a broader applied research to help inform irrigation practise in the Limpopo Province. The research used literature review, key informant interviews and a questionnaire survey. The overall research question sought to understand how the Joint Venture Schemes had benefited the smallholder farmers.

The effect of land use on the availability of soil nitrogen (N) was studied by separating total soil N into one labile and one stable fraction by oxidation and extraction of labile N with potassium permanganate. The nitrogen management index (NMI) was calculated according to Blair et al. (1995) for the carbon management index. In all systems, labile N released by potassium permanganate was a better indicator for nitrogen availability than were total and stable N. The NMI was a good indicator for N availability but gave no information on the total amount of N.

Land degradation is a great threat for the future and it requires great effort and resources to ameliorate. The major causes of land degradation in Ethiopia are the rapid population increase, severe soil loss, deforestation, low vegetative cover and unbalanced crop and livestock production. Inappropriate land-use systems and land-tenure policies enhance desertification and loss of agrobiodiversity. Utilization of dung and crop residues for fuel and other uses disturbs the sustainability of land resources. The supply of inputs such as fertilizer, farm machinery and credits are very low.

This chapter reviews relevant Vertisol properties, experimental results and the overall experience of the project on this subject. There are several types of drainage problems in Vertisols whose magnitude may vary from site to site. Drainage improvement is discussed in relation with camber beds, broadbeds and furrows, field depressions, perched watertable, open ditches, height of beds, soil erosion and supplemental irrigation. The need for water shed development projects is also examined.