Conservation farming on steep lands - USAid

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN SOIL AND WATER COI\!SERVATION 249
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further use of terracc construction equipment, usually bulldozers.
P. Reforestation is increased along river margins, lakes, and springs,
with a view to protection of the water and to the preservation and recuperation
of the region's fauna and flora, in addition to the production of timber
for use or sale.
B Treatment of a small catchment does not end with the construction
of terraces. On the contrary, it starts there. The work is slow and step-bystep,
with a view, fundamentally, to educate the farmers in the proper use
and management of natural resources. The objective is to introd1l.e more
complex techniques and practices over time, such as direct drilling and
making use of the lowland 'varieas' (wetlands) that up to now have not
been put to use. Also, the work includes the increased use of green manuring
and other biological manures (compost, dung, etc.) produced on the property
or bought at reasonable prices.
A sequence of activities
Making the work k:to)vn. The first step is to create a conservation attitude
among farmers, alerting then: to the specific problems of the regior.
and presenting rc;lutions. This can be done in various ways-television,
radio, meetings, posters, and visits to farmers. In the Toledo region, this
information was already being disseminated efficiently by the extension
service of Parana, prefectures, secretariat for agriculture, unions and cooperatives,
and technical community, which enabled work to proceed to the
second phase. Farmers who were working alone are now grouping together
and calling on the technical staff for more information, or even to install
the system. Even so, the attempt to make the work known must not stop.
Resistant farmers must also be reached, with a view to acl~ievirig complete
participation in the region.
Prelitninary meeting. Once a conservation attitude has been developed
among farmers, a desire for more information follows. The second phase
of thc process is a preliminary meeting in the locality. Such a meeting should
be arranged and run by a technical person who has knowledge of a region's
specific problems.
During this meeting, all criteria for the system must be clarified. Leaders
can be elected to serve as linkages and as a means of stirring enthusiasm
on the part oi the community group. The purpose of this meeting is not
to obtain an immediate solution to the problems. It serves chiefly to clear
up doubts, to form a conservation point of view, and to strengthen the ideas
already awakening interest in the minds of the most resistant farmers so