Jan de Graaff

Soil conservation policy measures to control wind erosion in northwestern Europe

Abstract Wind erosion is not as significant or a widespread problem in Europe as in dryer parts of the world, but it can cause major damage in small areas. The hazard is greatest in the lowlands of northwestern Europe with more than 3 million ha at high-potential wind erosion risk. Crop damage and off-site damage have prompted farmers and policymakers to pay more attention to wind erosion control. A great variety of measures have been developed in the last decades. Most farmers, however, only use measures to protect their high value crops. In existing policies, little attention is paid to the off-site effects and long-term effects of wind erosion. There are no direct policy measures at a European level to control soil erosion, and few measures exist in individual Member States. Agricultural or environmental EC policies offer different policy tools to approach the wind erosion problems related to agricultural practices. Tools like subsidies for the re-afforestation of arable land can help regional policy makers with the implementation of wind erosion control measures. A case study concerning the ‘Code of Good Agricultural Practice’ shows that regional differences result in different control measures that fits best given the physical, social and economic context. The formulation of the practical details of such code should therefore remain a task of the local or regional government. The main objectives of a Code of Good Agricultural Practice could be formulated at national or European level.

Participatory rural appraisal of spate irrigation systems in eastern Eritrea

In the Sheeb area in eastern Eritrea a Participatory Rural Appraisal(PRA) was carried out in two villages, one upstream and one downstreamof the ephemeral rivers Laba and Mai-ule. The objectives of the studywere to obtain a better understanding of farmer-managed spate irrigationsystems and to enable the local people to perform their own farmingsystem analysis. This paper describes the various PRA activities, suchas mapping, diagramming and ranking of problems, that were undertakenwith the participation of local people. The resource mapping revealedthat lack of water and not scarcity of land is the main constraintaffecting the development of the spate irrigation system in the Sheebarea. When there is a lack of rainfall in the highlands of Eritrea,there are only few floods per year in the Sheeb area. The developmenttrend diagrams showed that the number of floods, the food production andthe prevalence of pests vary considerably over time. The livelihooddiagrams indicated that food, fodder, and water were only availableduring part of the year. In search of these resources, the farmers havedeveloped a livelihood strategy of seasonal migration to the highlandsof Eritrea. The PRA data collected in the two villages appeared to bevery useful for the preparation of community action plans in the entireSheeb area.

Evaluation of soil and water conservation practices in the north-western Ethiopian highlands using multi-criteria analysis

Investments by farmers in soil and water conservation (SWC) practices are influenced by the physical effectiveness, financial efficiency and social acceptability of these practices. The objective of this study is to evaluate different SWC practices in the north-western highlands of Ethiopia using various qualitative criteria and weightings based on ecological, economic and social impacts using Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA). The study reveals that MCA is a useful evaluation tool that takes into account non-monetary and less quantifiable effects of SWC practices. Farmers employ a range of criteria to evaluate the performance of SWC practices. The relative importance of each criterion in their selection of SWC alternatives depends mostly on slope categories. In steeply sloping areas, farmers assigned the highest score for criteria related to ecological impacts; whilst preferring practices with stronger positive economic impacts in moderate and gentle sloping areas. Policy makers and development practitioners are encouraged to pay greater attention to both farmer preferences and slope specific circumstances when designing SWC strategies and programmes.

Using Soil and Water Conservation Contests for Extension: Experiences from the Bolivian Mountain Valleys

Soil and water conservation (SWC) contests among farmer groups were organized in five rural villages in the Bolivian mountain valleys. The contests were aimed at quickly achieving widespread sustainable results. This article analyzes the effectiveness of these contests as an extension tool. Mixed results were obtained. In three villages, participation rates in the SWC activities introduced in the contests were still high even 2 years after project withdrawal. These were all villages where a solid foundation for sustainable development had been laid before the contests were held. Two years later, most families were still involved in maintenance of the SWC practices introduced in the contests, and many farmers had started to experiment with different soil management practices. However, replications of these SWC practices were not widespread, Conservation Leaders did not continue with their training activities, and the quality of maintenance of the practices was often not satisfactory. In order to become a more effective extension tool and achieve widespread impact, SWC contests must receive continued support by a catalyst agency. Moreover, other SWC contests should also be organized in which practices are not predefined. Given that SWC contests are a low-budget extension tool, local municipalities could become more actively involved.

A socioeconomic analysis of the zaï farming practice in northern Burkina Faso

ABSTRACT The zaï farming practice is a local adaptation of conservation agriculture to degraded semiarid areas and consists of restoring heavily crusted soils through small planting pits. This article analyzes the land use change and its impacts through the zaï farming practice in the northern part of Burkina Faso from a socioeconomic perspective, based on data gathered through two surveys in the Ouahigouya region. A survey among 101 farmers concentrated mainly on adoption rates and household characteristics. Later, 16 farmers from the first survey were interviewed with respect to their adoption of the zaï technique for soil restoration. Farm data was collected to cover the farms’ and households’ expenses and revenues for the year 2011. Material and labor input, as well as the obtained yields, were analyzed using the economic farm model OLYMPE. The results reflect the positive economic benefits of zaï cereal production at field and farm level when compared to conventional cultivation, but also point out the constraints to its further expansion. Despite higher input costs mostly related to external labor, the increased yields led to a more than three times higher gross margin per hectare for zaï millet (101,085 FCFA) than the conventional system (23,030 FCFA). Yet, the physically demanding intensive labor requirements during land preparation and implementation of the planting pits (+117 % man days/ha) challenge a broader adoption of the zaï practice. Nonetheless, in a mostly subsistence-oriented farming context the zaï practice proved to reverse severe land degradation and improve households’ livelihood and food security.

Farmers’ Visions on Soils: A Case Study among Agroecological and Conventional Smallholders in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract Purpose: Why do farmers not take better care of their soils? This article aims to give insight into how farmers look at soil quality management. Design/methodology/approach: It analyses diverse land management practices and visions on soils and soil quality of ten agroecological and 14 conventional smallholder farmers in Araponga, Minas Gerais, Brazil. As agroecological farming (that is, managing soils with minimum use of external inputs) requires more complex knowledge, it is assumed that agroecological farmers would be more knowledgeable on soils compared to conventional farmers. This case study tests the hypothesis that differences in land management practices between agroecological and conventional farmers can be explained by differences in their knowledge on soils. Findings: The hypothesis turned out to be faulty: agroecological and conventional farmers do not differ in what they know about soils, but how they use their knowledge in their farming strategy. Both groups of farmers have different but rational farming strategies. Practical implications: Designing policies and measures to make farming more environmentally friendly and more sustainable as two-way knowledge exchange between farmers and science (and not as one-way knowledge transfer from science to farmers), to benefit from vital and context-based farmers’ knowledge and to ensure successful implementation of more sustainable land management practices. Originality/value: By analysing farmers’ visions on soil quality management and farming strategies, this study shows that farmers’ knowledge is valuable for farmers, for scientific knowledge on soil quality management and for policies which are to be effective and adapted to the local environment.