November, 1994 21081 No. 7 Agriculture i * Technology Notes 4a The Agricultural Technology and Services Division (AGRTN) S The World Bank Integrated Soil Management for the Tropics A profitable and environmentally sound approach to land husbandry Integrated soil management (ISM) offers an economically and environmentally attractive way to foster sustain- able growth in crop, wood, and animal production. This note describes ISM (focusing on the humid tropics), outlines the conditions that are conducive to wide adoption of ISM, and identifies the steps needed to foster these techniques in natural resource management or agricultural projects. ISM techniques for temperate zones are different and will be addressed in a later issue. ISM is an agro-ecological approach to _.*__. farming that can increase land productiNi- tv and minimize the risk of soil degrada- tion. The approach takes adviantage of' biotic interactions both above grotnid (for example througl crop association), and E bclov groundl (for example. through (leep- -: rooted plant species and biological iiitro- gren fixation). ISM is suitable for both i , large- and small-scale fairmers. inclu(ing poor farmers. Experience shows that farm-- ers adopting ISNI are highly receptive to . the application of other environientalvi friendly teclbii({uies such as integrated pest maniagementt ISM Techniques , can be applied indixidiallv or in coml)ina- tion for ISM: A r) Conservation tillage-Any tillage Soybeon crops growing under no-tilloge conditions in Porona, Brozil. metlho(d that leaves at least 30 percent of' the prexious crop residuie on the surf:ace available nutrienits and water at (lifferenit maintaining enough land area for crop and after planting can be conisidere(d conserva- soil (leptlhs as Nvell as the accumulation of animal production. tion tillage; varieties includc no-tillage. vegetative resi(lies and mulch. In the The ISM approach dlescribed in this minimum-tillage. or ridge-tillage. The rule Brazilian cerra(los (savainahs) for exam- Note relates to ecosystems in the humid of' thumb for no-tillage uin(ler huinnid-trop- ple, in order to achieve large amounts of tropical regions -where the turnover (oxida- ical con(litioyns is to get at least 6 tons/hee- resi(llIes. upland( rice is inter-cropped with tion) of organic matter is very rapid, the tors (t/ha) of drv matter of vegetative Caillopogoniui nonoooiuoes, soybean is rainfall can be intense and destructive- and residues from crops, associated plants - or inter-cropped wvith Lolliioii ,mnltfloomM. the soil can be poor in terms of nutrient both. Landscape unit management-This content. ISM for the humi(d tropics has Nutrient recycling-This is achievable uses vegetative contouirs (vetiver grass, been iiiitiated and im)plemenited w,ith suc- through crop rotation, inter-cropping and seabuckthorin etc.) and agro-forestry sys- cess in regions whvhere agricoltuire is inten- other crop methods that favor the use of' tems that favor soil erosion control wvhile sive ancd yields are hiiglh (for example in AGRTN Technology Notes Community initiative and involvement have been the keys * Veed control is b)etter, decreasing to ISM adoption in Brazil. inputt costs. 0* In areas with strong human pressuire In 1979, small professional farmers in the Brazilian state of Parana' formed an orga- on steep slopes, ISM can provide nization to address poor and detelioratimg soil. The Clube da Minhoca (Earthworm acceptable soluitions to enviruoiiiental Club) became one of the first of a number of clubes da terra (soil cluibs) that have pro- problems provide(l that there are rmoted soil conservation and adoption of ISM techniques in several Brazilian states. strong falrrner organlizations coimmitte(d The World Bank became involved with the farmers and the state government of to soil conservationi an(l the focus is oil Parana in 1989 in the first of a total of four Brazilian land management projects in four high-value crops. Brazilian states. The cost of the first project was US$138.3 million; the Bank proxid- A switch from conivenitionial methio(ds of ed a loan of $63.0 million. Incentive funds, an important part of launching ISM, have cultivation to a combination of ISM tech- totaled 18 percent of the total costs. ni(ues (suchl as stubble planting, green The first project developed and implemented a land management plan. mantre and crop rotation) miav he finani- Mlicrocatchment plans, built tup through the consolidation of individual farmn plans and ciallv less rewvarding in the first year. In the then neighborhood plans, were approved by local microcatchment committees made medlium)l- to long term, hlowever-, financial up of local farmers. These plans and funding requests were then submitted to munic- returnis increase duie to decliningh iiipiit ipal committees on which farmers, extentionists, the private sector, and local authori- costs (suchl as lahor, energs, fiertilizer. and ties were represented. Finally, the requests were submitted to regional, then state- pesticides) and improve(d yielIs. level committees. A soil conservation fund was created specifically to prtovide farmers Converselv, variable costs for conventional witlh part of the cost of the new equipment needed to upgrade land management, to formiiing in settle(d areas generally grows reforest areas needing long-term protection, or to install barriers to run-off. The ratio- because of land( degradation as a result of nale for such funds was that part of the benefits of these investments were external to soil erosion and( a declinie in soil fertilitv. A the farrner's land. The proportion of costs met by the fund decreased progressively. decline in ijiptit costs has been consistent- The hierarchy ensured, via peer monitoring, that the use of resources from the fund ly documiiienitedl on farmns in Brazil, Chile. was equitable and that the process was transparent. Argentina. Bolivia. anld UrguHay that shift- Social pressure has worked to ensure nearly frill participation of farmers in the area. ed friom conventional farm ning metlho(ds to Twvo factors were conducive to this: implementation of the plan was in everybody's best n1o tillage. Practical examples shovw that interest, ancd links betweeni fanrms meantt that non-participating farmers/actions were after three vears. average economnic contributing to the problems of participating farners through continuing soil erosion, returnis of no-tillage comiipare(d with con- poor water quality, and flooding. The grass-roots character of the project and its popu- ventional tillage could(I be 45 percenit larity made local and state politicians want to be associated with it. As a result, even greater. after 6 years almost (dolble. where elections have changed the govemments, political commitment remains high. ________________________ _ Conditions Favoring Adoption of ISM Latimi Amneica and in parts of South East * In the case of large farmns, ISM gener- Farmers generally become motivate(d and Asia): its prospects in otlier tropical ally achieves higher xields with n1o receptive to the uptake of ISM utnder the regions are also promising. ISM tech- increase (and sometimes a decrease) folloNving econonmiic an(l social circuimi- niii(ies such as miniminimm-tillage. direct in the cost of production. stances. Programns designed to promnote drilling on living or dea(l mulclh. and * For subsistence farmers, ISM offers ISM shotld(I take inito accouniit the degree decrease(l herbicide application are under soil stability and increased yields in the to wvhich such conditions exists. experiml1enit in Cote d(ivoire, South Africa, long run. * Narrowing profitability because of the Zimbabwe, an(d Zambia. The experiments * ISM provides flexibility in sequencing degradation of soils have been motivated by the impacts of ris- cultivation activities, and requiires less * Decreasing retiirns to labor iig feiel cost. labor scarcity, and land labor and tractor power since it * Limite(d availability of new land for degradation on farnm productiity,. reduces or elimninates tillage. As a expansion ISM re(quires a participatory approaclh result, more time is available for mar- * Labor shortage at peak periods, espe- throughi whichl farmer experience is keting and off-farm activities. cially at planting and harvesting times mier.ed with scientific knowledge. This * ISM maintains the soil resource base * Public support for ISM by way of cred- approach dra-ws on the successfuil experi- by controlling soil erosion and enhane- it or grants ence in Brazil where farrmers have orga- ing soil fertility, thus favoring settled * Cultivation of crops that benefit from nize(d themselves to practice ISM (see box). agriculture and reduciing the need to lucrative local market conditionis such open up new land for cultivation. as sovbeans in Latin America and high- Benefits * ISM requires less total capital invest- value crops such as plants used in the Farmners often perceive the following as ment in equipment than conventional perfilme industrv, for example geranii- major benefits of ISM. farming. ums in La Reunion (see lbox). page 2 NVovembcr, 1994 * Farmer as Nareness of the degra(lation of lancd and concern over long-term ISM has improved the yield of geranium sustainiabilitv cultivltion on La Reunion * Existence of fann-ers' groups (lebating land( conservation issues andl raising On the French island of La Reunion, east of Madagascar, small farmers have tradi- consciousness tionally planted the geranium rosat in small plots on steep slopes. The roots of the * Popular concern over and health prob- plant yield a highly valuable oil that is used to produce perfume. Geranium crops are lems related to organic and chemical usuaUv maintained for four to five years. folloved by two to three years of staple food pollutionl crop production ( for example, beans, maize, and potatoes). Lanid is usually manually . Leadership) aware of possible ways to or mechanically prepared. This system is so disruptive to the soil that it becomes dev- improve the situation astated by erosion; in many sites the crops cannot he cultivated until after several years . Existing research and technology base of unproductive fallow. to build Upon Alternative cultivation teclniques have been successfully introduced during the last . Reference farrms practicing alternative decade ineluding the use of no-tillage with or witholut the maintenance of crop cultivation techniiquies residues at the soil surface, and more recently inter-cropping with oats. Oats provide * Secuire land( tenure, giving farmiiers an most of the residues to cover the soil surface, wvhile oat grain is used as cattle-fodder. incentive to invest in the land. Erosion has been brought under control. Fallow periods are no longer reqtuired. Moreover, inter-cropping compares most favorably with the traditional mono-crop- Initiating and Sustaining ISM ping system in terms of oil production. Based on a 1989-91 average. yields of gerani- Assessing the potential for ISM, designing um oil under mono-cropping at 34 kilograms/hectare/year (kg/ha/vr) were between 32 a project or process of adoption, and sus- and 51 pereent less than those aclhieved with inter-croppinig (inter-cropping gerani- taining use of ISM are three distinct parts ums with oats prodluced yields of 50 kg/ha/year without mulch and 69.5 kg/ha/yr with of applying ISMI techniiques. oat straw mulch). Data from representative fanuis show that combined with adequate Phase 1: Assessment-Appraising the herbicide use, this system can lead to an up to four-fold increase in ecolnomic return. potenitial for ISMv1 involves several steps. This is mainly because of (a) an increase in geranium yields resulting from better avail- First, a multi-disciplinary fieldwork- team ability an(d uptake of nutrients and water stored in the soil profile, (h) halving the labor compose(l of (at minimumn ) an agronoomist, intensive weeding times, (c) a significant growth in the rate of cuttings emerging (55% a farmuing systems spec ialist, alnd an agri- in the first year and 66% in the second year as opposed to 5% and 49.5%, respective- cultural economist should make a rapid ly). and (d) a sharp (lecrease in the harm flone by a major predator, the larvae of the appraisal of' the potential. This would scarab beetle. involve revie\ving culrrent practices ands constraints on soil management (incluiding the econiomiiic aspects) partlv through col- may he neede(d to break tip the compacted recquiisites to the project. These are: identi- lecting statistical data oin the deniographic. soil. A thir(d aspect of an assessment that fving farmiiers' organiizationis that wotuld be climatic, soil, infrastructure, andl land may occur before. (luring, or after testing. prepared to adopt ISM. preparing a man- cover conditionis, and partly through using is discussion xith tlose wlo have ani inter- iiual of ISM teehni(lues for paiticipating rapid rniral appraisal" techni(lues (see est in soil improveement (stakeholders) in farmers (it is important to have this pre- Agricultuire Techlnology Note no. 6) to gover-nment, nationial agricultural research pared before the I SM process begins), and develop a clear inderstanding of the farmii- systems, non-governmnent organizations planning for the integration of ISM pro- ers' perspectives on current practices and (NGOs) and agribusiness fii'ms. Firnis jects or adoption wxith other activities, par- constraints. Meeting farmers' organiza- supplving farni e(quipmenit and chemicals, ticularly building access roads, distributing tionis and local decisionmakers to gather for example, may favor the status quo, but potable water, or providing incentive information is important. A second aspect gaining their support is important. Local ftnds. of assessment is to develop an initial set of decisionmiakers may support and ISM pro- Estabhshing an incentive filnd or soil practices for testing. These mnight include ject or techni(lues if convinced of the ben- conservation fundl has been an important crop rotations, tillage methods, and man- eficial externalites of' improving the soil, part of successfiil ISM adoption. Such agement practices. If land is seriously wvhich may bring improvements in water fhids promote "new" tecliologies an Paper No. 221. and international ° Waslhington-. 1).C. researcls centers. Direct drilling equipment available for large and small forms. Agriculture Technology Notes provide up-to-date infrm on on ic topics to WAorld Bank professionals. Forjfurther infannationm about ISM, cottact Christian Pierix 3opes To obtai o this or er Ntes, or to inquire about Agriculture Tcnology Notes, please call (202)473-9406. Ohr Ns in thses are: "osion ofMineral Supplements," "Integrated Pest Management", 'tPivatizaton oAnimal ealth aes,"'tioalSeedytems,"in "Participatory Rral Assessment." L'ayot nd &esig &b iter Wit. page 4