Desire for Greener Land

Human Environment
Cropland per household (ha)
10,000
Implementation activities, inputs and costs
Establishment activities
Land user: individual / household, small scale
land users, common / average land users,
women and men
Population density: 50-100 persons/km 2
Annual population growth: < 0.5%
Land ownership: state
Land use rights: individual
Water use rights: open access (no
organisation)
Relative level of wealth: rich, which
represents 30% of land users; 30 % of the total
land area is owned by rich land users
1. Plant the young trees with small pits.
2. The soils from the upper parts of the slope is shovelled
away and deposited on the lower side of the trees
3. Expand the pits into a large platform year by year.
4. 3.4 years after planning the trees a level platform of 2 to 3
square meters around the trees is build.
5. The platforms increase and the space between trees is
change into terrace.
Maintenance/recurrent activities
SLM Technology: Progressive bench terrace, China DESIRE – WOCAT 2012
Importance of off-farm income: 10-50% of all
income: Only a few land users have implemented
this measure because there are other market based
activities that bring higher returns. Sometimes
farmers have enough money to buy more fertilizer
for the orchard.
Access to service and infrastructure: low:
drinking water and sanitation; moderate: health,
employment, financial services; high: education,
roads & transport
Market orientation: commercial / market
Mechanization: manual labour
Livestock grazing on cropland: no
Technical drawing
i: first year: planting of fruit trees along the contour in
small pits
ii: after 3-4 years: a small terrace is built up around
each tree (as the tree grows it needs more water,
which is collected from the platform around the
trees.
iii: after 5-8 years: terraces develop
iv: final stage: fully developed level bench terraces
Owing to the soil properties of loess, there is no
need to separate surface and subsoil as there is
little difference between them. Therefore, soil can be
moved directly from upper to lower parts of the
terrace without changing soil fertility.
(Wang Fei)
Establishment inputs and costs per ha
Inputs Costs (US$) % met by
land user
Labour (450 days) 6398 100
TOTAL 6398 100
Maintenance/recurrent inputs and costs per ha per year
1. Repair the bank of progressive bench terraces Inputs Costs (US$) % met by
land user
Labour (15 days) 219.6 100
TOTAL 219.6 100
Remarks:
Slope is the most important factor. The steeper it is, the higher the cost. Labour was not considered as a cost before, but now it is
expensive so that some local farmers do not use this technology. The costs are calculated assuming a local wage rate of 14.2 US$/day.
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