Conservation farming on steep lands - USAid

e both usefi~l and within their physical and n~anagcrial capacities. This
may mean making more use of mulripurpose trees and varieties that tvill
produce at least some fruit or timber in the short rerrn.
* The need to oveicome problems of land tenure and land use rights
in some countries. Farmers who do not have long-term tenure on their land
are unlikely to be interested in planting trees. However. it may not bt pnc-
tical to try to intrcduce agroforestry systems in those regions ~vhert: farmers
do not have the pwer or right to control grazing on their lagds.
* The nccd to overcome some practical problems in some countries.
For e.uample. suitable varieties of seedlings must be nztilable ar a reasonable
price near where the. are to be planted. and farmers may need advice and
assistance on how to best plant and then manage the young trees.
* The need to develop new markets if the introduced agroforestry s-stenls
result in the production of. for inzunce. more fruit than the farmer's fam-
ily can consume.
The need for more rexarch 3n spcie~ ;.J owrcome some of the problems
nou- being encountered. For e.~zi~ple. both eucakptus aad mangoes
have frequently been advocared for use in agroforestr). systems. but participants
mentioned cases of farmer resistance to these two spccies because
eucalyptus tends to compete with crops for moisture while mangoes produce
too much shade.
There uas general agreement that in consenation more empfiasis should
he placed on !curer nratla,gntenr. So important is !his subject that some participants
suggested that we should talk of uarer and soil consenation instead
of soi1 consenation or even soil and water consenation.
.A numbi: r of participants mentioned the necd to design conservation
measures. bo:h vegetative and physical. in such a uq- that maximum or
even total infiltration is achieved. On the other hand. other participants
uarned of the problems of increased wter infiltration leading to mass
movements and possible deleterio~ts effects on ~ields of crops requiring
good drainage. It also appared from the discus~ions b52t not very much
is knmn yet about the effects of leaching on ternced lands in high rainfall
ar23S.
Related to this xas another problem that has uurried soil co~er;ationists
for a long time: how to safe]. and cheaply dispose of excess water from -
steep. terraced lands. .A number of solutions were suggested. including the
use of precast concrete channels. Regrettabl~. most effective solutions are
too expensive for farmers unless some high-due crop is grown on the
temces.
1tbre.r i1anesrirz.g would seem to be a topic requiring more research and
dmelopment. It was por,nted out h r vegetati\-e measures as well as physid