Better land husbandry: from soil conservation to holistic land management

Better Land Husbandry: From Soil Conservation to Holistic Land Management......Page 1
Land Reconstruction and Management Series Preface......Page 7
Preface......Page 9
Acknowledgements......Page 11
Contents......Page 13
1.1 LAND AND SOIL DEGRADATION......Page 15
1.2.1 Controlling Runoff and Preventing Erosion......Page 20
1.2.2 Farmer Adoption and Adaptation of Technologies......Page 22
1.3.1 New Ways of Thinking......Page 24
1.3.2 Agro-ecological Components of Better Land Husbandry......Page 26
1.3.3 Social and Economic Components of Better Land Husbandry......Page 29
1.4.2 Structure of the Book......Page 32
2.1.1 Promotion of Soil Conservation Technologies......Page 34
2.1.2 The Use of Incentives in Soil Conservation Programmes......Page 35
2.1.3 Time to Ask Ourselves a Few Questions......Page 39
2.2.1 Livelihood Strategies......Page 40
2.2.2 Outsiders’ Failure to Appreciate Farmers’ Realities......Page 47
2.3.1 Changing paradigms......Page 49
2.3.2 Farmer participation......Page 50
2.3.3 Indigenous Knowledge......Page 53
2.4.1 Grappling with the Challenges of Validity and Reliability......Page 56
2.4.2 Capturing Farmers’ Realities: Qualitative and Quantitative Research......Page 58
2.4.3 Research on Better Land Management in Honduras......Page 60
2.5.1 Making Sense of the Complexity......Page 68
2.5.2 Farmers and Soil Loss: Perceptions and Coping Strategies......Page 69
2.5.3 Where Should we be Scratching?......Page 74
2.6.1 Land and Labour Shortages and Land Management......Page 76
2.6.2 Soil Conservation Technologies and Competing Demands for Land......Page 81
2.7 FARMERS’ RELATIONSHIP WITH OUTSIDERS......Page 86
2.8 TAPPING INTO FARMERS’ RESOURCEFULNESS......Page 90
3.1 QUESTIONING THE SOIL CONSERVATION APPROACH......Page 95
3.2.1 The Research Agenda......Page 96
3.2.2 Erosivity and Erodibility......Page 98
3.2.3 Vulnerability of Steeplands......Page 99
3.3.2 Predictive Models......Page 101
3.3.3 Field Experiments and Extrapolation......Page 104
3.3.4 Shenanigans with the Data?......Page 107
3.3.5 Steeplands: The Justification for More Research Using Runoff Plots......Page 108
3.4.1 The Interest in Live Barriers......Page 109
3.4.2 Rationale Behind the Design of the Field Experiments......Page 113
3.4.3 Location of Santa Rosa Experimental Station......Page 114
3.4.4 Experimental Design......Page 115
3.4.5 Establishment of the Experimental Plots......Page 116
3.4.6 Addressing Farmers Concerns: Measuring Maize Yields......Page 121
3.4.7 Use of Barrels and Catch-pits in Estimating Soil and Water Loss at......Page 122
3.4.8 How Good are the Soil Loss Data?......Page 129
3.5 MEASURING RAINFALL......Page 130
3.6.1 Presentation of Data......Page 134
3.6.3 Is Soil Erosion a Threat to Farmers’ Livelihoods?......Page 139
3.7.1 Vetiver Grass Live Barriers, Soil Erosion and Water Loss......Page 141
3.7.3 The Dangers of Scouring and Deposition......Page 144
3.8 SOIL CONSERVATION AND SITE VARIABILITY......Page 149
3.9 TIME FOR A RETHINK......Page 152
4.1 SOIL CONSERVATION VERSUS BETTER LAND HUSBANDRY......Page 154
4.2.1 The Raison D’être......Page 155
4.2.2 Soil Erosion: Confusion Over Causes and Symptoms......Page 156
4.2.3 Questioning the Soil Erosion and Productivity Relationship......Page 159
4.2.4 Clarifying Causes and Consequences......Page 161
4.3.1 Soil as a Living and Self-renewing Resource......Page 163
4.5.2 Selecting Technologies and Practices......Page 192
4.3.2 Soil Biology......Page 165
4.3.3 Organic Matter......Page 167
4.3.4 Soil Architecture......Page 170
4.3.5 Importance of Soil Moisture to Agricultural Production......Page 172
4.3.6 Soil Quality and Farmers: Linking Production and Conservation......Page 175
4.4.1 Think Like a Root......Page 176
4.4.2 Soil Cover and Soil Quality......Page 178
4.4.3 Soil Cover: Complementing Farmers’ Needs and Resources......Page 182
4.4.4 Cover Crops and Green Manure Crops......Page 187
4.4.5 Managing Agricultural Crops to Provide Cover......Page 188
4.4.6 Soil Cover is Not a Panacea......Page 190
4.5.1 Working with Farmers for Better Land Husbandry......Page 191
4.5.3 Hoodwinking Farmers?......Page 194
4.6.1 Rediscovering the Principles of Agriculture?......Page 195
4.6.2 The Legacy of Modern Agriculture......Page 196
4.6.3 Threat to Established Research and Extension Agenda......Page 197
5.2.1 Land Degradation and Promotion of Green Manure Crops in Santa......Page 199
5.2.2 The Spread of Zero-tillage in Paraguay......Page 201
5.2.3 Benefits of Minimum and Zero-tillage Systems in Brazil and Paraguay......Page 202
5.2.4 Obstacles to Adoption of Zero-tillage by Smallholder Farmers......Page 205
5.3.1 Characteristics of the Quezungual System......Page 206
5.3.2 Reasons for Adopting the Quezungual System......Page 208
5.4.1 Land Degradation and Out-migration......Page 209
5.4.2 Soil Quality and Increasing Productivity......Page 210
5.4.3 Farmer First: Active Farmer Participation......Page 211
5.4.4 Farmer Adaptation and Innovation......Page 213
5.4.5 Human Development......Page 218
5.5.2 Niger......Page 219
5.5.3 Mali......Page 221
5.5.5 Association for Better Land Husbandry and Double-dug beds in......Page 222
5.6.1 Synoptic History of Hurricane Mitch......Page 224
5.6.2 Hurricane Mitch and Landslide Damage in Southern Honduras......Page 225
5.6.3 Soil Conservation Technologies and Slope Protection......Page 227
5.6.4 Promoting a False Sense of Security?......Page 229
6.1 A NEW APPROACH TO LAND MANAGEMENT......Page 232
6.2.1 Why Support Smallholder Agriculture?......Page 233
6.2.2 What About the Green Revolution?......Page 234
6.3.1 There is Still Much to Do......Page 236
6.3.2 Effective Communication......Page 237
6.3.3 Encouraging Active Farmer Participation......Page 238
6.3.4 Watershed Catchment to Community Level......Page 241
6.4 FROM PRODUCTION TO MARKETS......Page 242
6.5.2 A Juggling Act......Page 247
6.5.3 Rural Non-agricultural Employment......Page 249
6.6.1 What can Researchers and Development Practitioners Do?......Page 252
6.6.2 Need for More Research......Page 254
Conservation-effectiveness......Page 258
Qualitative Visual Indicators to Estimate the Status, Type and Severity ofSoil Erosion......Page 265
Better Land Husbandry Rating-rating the Overall Care of the Land......Page 268
The Importance of and Obstacles to Assessing Livelihood Impact......Page 275
A Three-stepped Approach to Assessing Livelihood Impact......Page 276
An Iterative Process......Page 280
REFERENCES......Page 282
Index......Page 324
Color Inserts......Page 331