Conservation farming on steep lands - USAid

FOOD AND AGRICULTUHE ORGANIZATION ACl IVITIES 61
tion of agreements.
- P Frtrmcrs will only adopt and continue :o use conservation neth hods
if they can see some direct benefit in doing so fix themselves and their
families in the short-term. 'rhcse benefits arc most likely to be in the fi)rn~
of increased yields, higher incomes, or the reduced need fi~r some input,
si~cli as labor. Farmers in the Kitui area of Kenya are now terracing fields
at their own expense and without the need for much ~nc~~uragement by
the government. The terraces effectively prevent soil erosion, but they also
lead to yield increases on the orcler of 40 to 90 percent. Appeals to land
users to adopt conservation programs for such reasons as national interest,
the protection of downstream dams, or the need to save soil for future generations
are not likely to have lasting effects.
b Land tenure sys!ems also have a bearing on which, if any, conservation
practices land users will accept. Farmers see no point in investing in
conservation works on land to which they have no assured long ierm ri~hts
or control. Many farmers in the Machahos district of Kenya have been
building terraces on their fields in recent years-at the same time that they
are being granted legal title to the land. On the other hand, it is understandable
that farmers in Lesotho have shown little interest in leaving protective
crop residues on their fields when they know that anyone can bring
animals to graze them once the grain has been harvested.
b The conservation practices and techniques advocated must be practical
and appropriate to local conditions. In Kenya, the fanya juu terrace,
a modified form of contour terracing, has been developed to suit local
conditions.
The conservation practices advocated must be within the technical
capabilities of field staff and farmers to apply. Therefore, systems that require
complex engineering designs and layouts are not practical in circumstances
where large areas must be treated and where field staff are
few and their training limited.
b Implementing soil conservation programs can be expensive in time
and labor. A combination of incentives, subsidies, and disincentives are
required to induce land users to take up soil conservation on the necessary
scale. In recent years, food aid has been extensively used in a number of
developing countries to encourage farmers to install physical erosion control
structures. However, the use of incentives or subsidies must be carefully
thought out, planned, and implemented, or the inducements may become
counterproductive. Farmers can easily become dependent upon subsidies
or refuse to do even maintenance work if they are not paid.
b Experience indicates that conservation can only be achieved if governments
are committed to seeing through long-term programs. Short-term proj-