Fragile Lands of Latin America Strategies for ... - PART - USAID

William E. Doolittle
Plate 5 An arroyo field after a few decades of use. The farmer who used this field,
improved incrementally, increased his yields annually. He also saved enough money
after seven years to dig a tube well and irrigate a variety of crops year round. He
now is one of the more prosperous arroyo farmers and will leave a great legacy to
his successor.
(Hewitt de Alcantara, 1976). With the exception of one program that
began in 1980 (Luiselli, 1982) but was abandoned early in 1983 because
of hnding problems resulting from the collapse of oil prices, the federal
government has been guided by the prevalent belief that lands not
currently under cultivation, in this case arroyos, cannot be economically
improved. Preference has been given to the development of large-scale
mechanized agriculture (Johnston, 1 987:48). In the north, these so-
called "planned developments not only resulted in permanent damage
to fragile desert plants and soil, but they were also poorly-conceived.
For example, Mexican agricultural agents once devised a plan that
involved water transfer from Cuatro Cienegas, Coahuila, to expansive
fields 60 kilometers away near the city of Monclova. Initial tests
indicated that the water to be used was acceptable for irrigation.
Accordingly, the canals were excavated and water began to be moved.
Unexpectedly, however, the water became increasingly saline during
transit, in part because of evaporation. By 'the time it arrived at the
fields, the water was unsuitable for crop production. The scheme failed
within a year and, of course, was not publicized (Hendrickson, 1988).4
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