Abstract
In the Sahel region of West Africa, which is known as the forefront of the desertification, many international organizations and aid agencies have tackled on the issues of desertification from various aspects. However, they still have not borne fruit. To disseminate the technology to certain region, it is necessary not only to be practicable for the residents but also to find the appropriate way of technology introduction to enable them to continue after adoption. Therefore the purpose of our study is to elucidate the appropriate way of introducing the technology dealing with the desertification. In two sites in the south-west of Niger, one technology against desertification called ‘Fallow Band System', which have multiple effects of controlling wind erosion and increasing the yield was introduced in different ways. We examined the disseminating process in each site. At the same time, we also researched the evaluations of the residents who had tried the technology. In the first site, the technology was introduced by conventional method in the Sahel : through the residents' meeting initiated by outsiders ( we call it ‘Participatory Top-down Approach' ). In the second site, it was introduced through the conversation of insiders ( we call it ‘Participatory Bottom-up Approach'). In both sites, the technology was highly evaluated generally. However, in the first site, all trial participants have given up the technology at the end. On the other hand, most trial participants have continued the technology in the second site. From these results, it is clear that relatively high evaluation of the technology does not necessarily lead to well-established of the technology, therefore, the appropriate way of introducing technologies is the way through the conversation of insiders as Participatory Bottom-up Approach.
