Align the promotion of sustainable land management practices with the economic incentives of beneficiaries. While participants in several of the grant programs expressed support for conservation measures that can slow land degradation and reduce soil erosion, those who made changes in their own agricultural practices also pointed to the tangible benefits they directly experienced from adopting improved techniques. Interim evaluation findings suggest that many beneficiaries felt that engaging in sustainable land management activities was valuable for them, as it resulted in higher crop yields, while others found opportunities in alternative income-generating activities. Therefore, the visible benefits of the practices helped motivate adoption, in some cases even leading to positive spillover effects wherein non-participants in villages outside of the intervention areas adopted similar practices, after seeing the benefits in neighboring villages.
Lesson Learned