Transcript Improving Land and Water Management

Improving Land and
Water Management
David Bahk
TSM 352
S
Challenges
S Food insecurity prevalent around the world
S Small famers deal with low and unpredictable crop yields and
incomes
S Millions of farmers in the world are struggling to feed their families
S Land degradation
S Land use pressures
S Climate change
Requirements
S Increase soil organic matter
S Improve soil structure
S Reduce soil erosion
S Increase water filtration
S Increase efficiency of water use
S Replenish soil nutrients
S Increase the efficiency of nutrient uptake
Results
S Improved land and water management practices to farmers
and rural economies
S Higher crop yield
S Increased supplies of valuable goods
S Increased income and employment opportunities
S Increased resilience to climate change
Promising Land and Water
Management Practices
S Agroforestry
S Conservation agriculture
S Rainwater harvesting
S Integrated soil fertility management
Agroforestry
S Integration of woody perennial plants (trees and shrubs) with
crops or livestock on the same land
S In Malawi, maize yields increased by 50% when nitrogen-fixing
trees were planted in farms
S In Senegal, presence of certain shrubs in fields increased nutrient-
use efficiency and helped create a soil high in organic matter,
nitrogen, and phosphorus
S Practiced in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and parts of Europe and
North America
Conservation Agriculture
S Combination of reduced tillage, retention of crop residues
or maintenance of cover crops and crop rotation or
diversification
S In Zambia, maize yields in conservation system with crop
rotation can increase yield by 50% than conventional tillage
S Most practiced in North and South America, Canada, and
Australia, but not in Africa
Main Constraints to
Smallholders in Africa
S Competition for the use of crop residues
S Short-term risks of lower yields during the transition period from
conventional plowing to no-till
S High costs and limited access to specialized equipment
S Weed control and access to herbicides, particularly during early
transition
S Free-ranging livestock and customary grazing on crop residues
Rainwater Harvesting
S Planting pits, stone bunds, and trenches along slopes that
capture and collect rainfall before it runs off farm fields
S Low-cost practices
S In Burkina Faso, grain yield doubled by using multiple
water harvesting techniques such as stone bunds and
planting pits
Integrated Soil Fertility
Management
S Combined use of mineral fertilizers and soil amendments
such as manure, crop residues, compost, leaf litter, lime, or
phosphate rock
S In West Africa, integrated soil fertility management across
200,000 hectares resulted in yield increase of 33-58% over a
4 year period and revenue increase of 179%
Integrated Landscape
Approaches
S
Provisioning
S
Crops and livestock
S
Biomass fuel
S
Wild foods and freshwater
S
Regulating
S
Erosion control and climate regulation
S
Water flows and quality
S
Supporting
S
Soil formation
S
Nutrient and water cycling
S
Habitat for biodiversity
S
Cultural
S
Local land races of agricultural crops
S
Cultural landscapes
Seven Ways to Accelerate the
Use of These Practices
S
Strengthen knowledge management systems and access to information
S
Increase communication and outreach in ways that amplify voices of champions and leverage
direct engagement with farmers
S
Support institutional and policy reforms, particularly for strengthening property rights
S
Support capacity building, especially in community-based management of natural resources
S
Increase support for integrated landscape management
S
Reinforce economic incentives and private sector engagement
S
Mainstream Investments in improved land and water management to accelerate adoption of
these practices as a strategic component of food security and climate change
How Improvement in
Management Practices Perform
for Sustainable Future
S Poverty Alleviation: Reducing poverty while being cost
effective
S Land and water management improvements increase soil
quality (Organic matter, moisture content, fertilizer efficiency,
etc…)
S Improved practices can diversify and increase farmer income
S Gender: Generates benefits for women
S Land and water management improvements diversify and
increase women’s income
Continued…
S
Ecosystems: Avoids agricultural expansion into remaining ecosystems and relieves
pressure on overstrained fisheries
S
S
Climate: Helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture to levels consistent
with stabilizing the climate
S
S
S
Improving land and water management practices restores and boosts productivity of
existing agricultural land, thereby reducing the need to expand cropland area
Improving land and water management practices sequester carbon on cropland by
increasing organic matter in soil
Reduce farmer vulnerability to increased climate variability by increasing soil moisture
retention
Water: Does not deplete or pollute aquifers or surface waters
S
Rainwater harvesting reduce rainfall runoff, increase infiltration of water into soils,
recharge aquifers, and contribute to local water supplies
References
S Winterbottom, Robert, Chris Reij, Dennis Garrity, Jerry
Glover, Debbie Hellums, Mike Mcgahuey, and Sara Scherr.
“Improving Land and Water Management.” World Resource
Institute. World Resource Institute, 1 Oct. 2013. Web. 17
Apr. 2014.
http://www.wri.org/sites/default/files/improving_land_an
d_water_management_0.pdf.