I I - part - usaid

ANNEX V-3
with droughl.-toLecrnt crops such as watermelon, peanuts, mungbeans,
or sesame to increase utilization of potentially produc­
tive land which is vacant after rice harvest. Also, mungbeans,
cowpeas, or forage legumes can be planted into rice straw prior
to rice harvesting in order to provide iorage for livestock,
or for pods if soil moisture is adequate.
Middle Terraces. Low rice yields and frequent rice crop
failure due to erratic rainfall are found in these areas, which
relate to the poor water holding capacity and low inherent
In order to reduce the
fertility of the prevailing sandy soils.
problem of low rice yiclds, farmers will be introduced to rice
direct-seeding techniques. Drought-tolerant rice cultivars will
be tested under on-farm conditions before release to farmers,
All rice cultivation practices promoted on middle terraces,
however, should include a moderate amount of nitrogen fertilizer.
Middle terrace areas which remain uncropppd in 2 to 3 years out
of five due to insufficient water for paddy production can be
transformed into relatively more productive utilization by
planting them to field crops. This can be done by planting
either a monocrop of long duration (e.g. peanut, kenaf, or
cassava), or a sequential cropping of two short duration crops
(e.g. sesame-mungbean).
High Terraces. Drought-tolerant crops, predominantly
cassava and kenaf, currently occupy this landscape. Due to
present uncertainties and possible future limitations in the
marketing of these crops, alternative crops ipeanuts, mungbeans,
sesame and cashew or other fruit
or tree crops) will be tested
and demonstrated in these areas in order to provide examples of
potential crop diversification and risk avoidance in the event
of a market failure of one particular crop. The remaining
cassava and kenaf will be further improved through the introduction
of new high-yielding cultivars such as Rayong 1 cassava
and TSH 30 kenaf.
Farmers will also be encouraged to apply some
fertilizers and use improved cultivation techniques with these
crops. For cassava growers, other short to midLum duration
legumes (e~g. peanut) will be introduced for intercropping during
the early rainy season between the rows of relatively slow-
growing cassava.
This will help to conserve soil fertility and
reduce soil erosion, in addition to increasing net income per
unit area planted to cassava.
Proposed cropping system modifications are summarized
in Figure V-2. The potential for implementation of these modLfications
can be seen by comparing Figure V-3, which indicates
estimated areas of current crops in Project tambons, with
Figure V-4, which gives rough estimates of areas utilizing NERAD
cropping systems modifications 20 years after the beg:nning of
Project implementation.