Conservation farming on steep lands - USAid

10 T. F. SHAXSON
use system produce enough output to bear the expected costs? Can costs
be reduced by changing the recammendations? (3) The land user is unwilling
to implement the recommendations. Is this because he or she judges
the expected results to be unworkable or uneconomic in terms of costs and
benefits or social consequences?
Given these possible reasons for nonadoption of soil conservation recommendations,
it could be said that projects whose chief objective is only
to conserve soil are, in fact, the least successful in doing so.
The types and sequences of plants that land users grow are dictated by
considerations of profit and/or subsistence. The types and sequmces of
plants that conservationists may recommend are often dictated by a primary
concerii for soil conservation. Plants used to achieve the two goals may
or n~ay not be different. Emphasizing activities that improve soil conditions
for rooting favors the farmer's aim of more vegetative production per
hectare. Crop cover and plant residue assist the farmer's goal of good
Small farmer
'cnvclope' of forces
W~thout Exlernal Forces
W~lh Exlcrnal Forces
Ideal
Large farmer
Figure 1. "Distortion" of the farmer, with and without external forces.