Restoring the Soil - Canadian Foodgrains Bank

Decision Tree Guide35Decision Tree GuideEach of the points below refers to a numbered box in the decision tree. Each pointprovides additional information on the decision tree boxes and will assist in selectingoptions as one moves through the decision tree.1. Farmers’ priorities. If farmers do not include soil fertility or the need for fertilizersas one of their two or three most important problems, and don’t seem toshow much interest in working on soil fertility, go to #2. If they do identify soilinfertility as a major problem and show a strong interest in trying to solve theproblem, go to #4.2. The importance of gm/ccs. Seriously consider the possibility of not working insoil fertility. If the decision is not to work in soil fertility, go to #3. If you stillbelieve strongly that soil fertility is a major problem in the area and success intackling it is still definitely possible, go to #4.3. The end. This is the end of the program’s work in gm/ccs. Maybe something willchange (for instance, people’s soils become poorer, so they will have more motivationto improve them) that will make gm/ccs more attractive or easier to managein the future, but for now, gm/ccs will not be part of the program’s agenda.4. A successful system nearby? Is there a successful gm/cc system near the projectlocation or in an area of roughly similar farming systems and ecological environment?Or do the farmers know of such a system, and are they interested in it?Are more smallholder farmers adopting this gm/cc system, or are they graduallyabandoning it? Are they adopting it in the absence of any artificial subsidies orany program that is promoting it? If the answer is yes to most of these questions,go to #5. If there is no such system, go to #10.If there is such a system, but you cannot answer yes to the questions, interviewthe farmers that are using it, being careful not to just take their answers at facevalue. Analyze the system’s economics and its pros and cons, both according tothe farmers and according to your own analysis. If the system does not seem toprovide more benefits than costs, go to #10. If it does, go to #5.5. Field trials. Organize at least three or four trials of the technologies in question.Preferably, trials can be done on the land of the best farmer leaders, or of thosefarmers who will do the best job of managing the experiments and whose farms,if possible, are accessible. If there is not a strong relationship with the farmers, orthe farmers may not properly manage the experiments, conduct a trial on a smallplot of rented or borrowed land.Keep very close records of the costs and benefits as compared to traditional systems,being especially careful to include all labor costs. Far too often those of us