to 1500mm

To effectively implement Boundary Planting practices:

• Step 1: Plant long lines of two fast growing trees, Caesalpinia velutina trees, between a Bombacopsis quinate and a Swietenia humilis to be replaced over time.
• Step 2: Consider planting the boundary trees 1.5 metres apart along pre-existing fences.
• Step 3: Attach metal fencing to the trees to support the large trees without endangering their growth. Harvest fodder when the tree is overgrown.
• Step 4: Prune lower brunches to encourage upward growth of trees and reduce shed on the plants.

To effectively implement SRI practices:

• Step 1: Consider separation of high-quality seeds from low-quality seeds through soaking them in plain or salt water and the unviable seeds will float on the surface of the water.
• Step 2: Plant the seeds on an unflooded, raised bed with adequate drainage and fertile soil.
• Step 3: After 8-12 days, transplant single young seedlings into a grind pattern with wide spacing between hills (25 cm x 25 cm).
• Step 4: During crop growth period, control the flooding and research and follow alternate wetting and drying irrigation practices.
• Step 5: Consider application of compost and mineral fertiliser for nutrient enhancement.
• Step 6: Use a mechanical weeder for the control of weeds and maximisation of soil aeration.

To effectively undertake seed saving:

• Step 1: Communicate with national agricultural extension and local farmers regarding seed harvesting timing and practices for local crop species.
• Step 2: Clear field and sow desired crop using climate smart agriculture practices.
• Step 3: Monitor plant life cycle and ensure that seeds are extracted correctly and are not spoiled in the process. Employ local expertise to ensure seed harvesting is carried out correctly.
• Step 4: Post-harvest, seeds should be adequately dried and then transferred to proper storage facilities.
• Step 5: store seeds in dry, cool, and dark locations. This will prevent them from spoil. Different strategies for seed storage are implemented around the region so local expertise should be sought.
• Step 6: Ensure that pests are excluded from storage areas to prevent loss or spoil (Technical Brief 61-65).
• Step 7: Community seed banks or seed trading should be established to allow farmers to integrate different varieties into their farming system that are resilient to local climatic conditions

To effectively undertake leverage traditional seed characteristics, or improved crop varieties  the following should be carried out:

• Step 1: Prior to selecting seed varieties, perform a Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) to identify how crops will perform and their benefits compared to the costs of the seed, considering the following:
  • Local  farming system(s): land availability per household, crops traditionally grown, access to inputs such as fertilisers,
  • Local environmental conditions: soil conditions, disease, pests, climatic conditions, occurrence of flooding/droughts and other natural disasters.
  • How climate change has impacted or will impact the farming system and how crop variety selection can be a climate- smart practice.
  • Local access to seeds – is seed collected at the householder level, do neighbours exchange seeds, do farmers have access to commercially produced seeds?  Are the costs for accessing commercial, improved seeds manageable or prohibitive? The CBA should weigh the benefits of a new seed against perceived actual or transactional costs for selecting a new seed.
• Step 2: Obtain information and guidance from local experts, lead farmers, and government regarding best varieties to grow.
• Step 3: Evaluate results of the CBA and select appropriate seeds that match the farm system/requirements, and available financial resources/access to credit.
• Step 4: Plant test plots of selected seeds to understand if benefits are realised and demonstrate outcomes with farmers, showing possible alternatives and discuss implementation.
• Step 5: Following full demonstration and discussion with farmers, implement at farm level – planting the first crop in accordance with guidance provided by seed provider, or traditional knowledge.

Consider in-country seed sources to access different varieties through local extension or research services. When buying seeds ensure that the seeds are adequately dry and look for seed that is certified by a national seed laboratory to ensure that the variety is the highest quality possible. Seeds should be properly stored to avoid high temperatures and humid air to reduce chances of early germination.

To effectively undertake weed control measures:

• Step 1: Review weed control measures - crop rotation, intercropping, cover crops, mulching, seed-bed preparation, livestock grazing, seed/variety selection, mowing, hand-weeding and adjustments to tillage practices - and determine which methods are available and appropriate for the farming system and farmer. Two or more of these techniques can be applied to assist in ensuring farmers have more chance of success. Understand possible negative impacts of each weed control method.
• Step 2: Improve weed identification knowledge in specific areas.
• Step 3: Prevent weeds from spreading – clean clothes, animals, machinery, vehicles to limit weed transport; use only well stored/rotted manure (4-5 months) (Knowledge Product 16), include fencing, irrigation and other farm ‘breaks’ where possible
• Step 4: Apply a combination of weed control methods including – cover crops (Technical Brief 15), mulching, intercropping (Technical Brief 07), crop rotation (Technical Brief 09), livestock grazing, seed selection (Technical Brief 20), mowing, hand-weeding. Try to avoid the application of herbicides, tillage and burning.
• Step 5: monitor and document most effective weed management strategies for each farmer, and use lessons learned from the area with other farmers where applicable.

To effectively approach to terracing construction:

• Step 1: Measure slope angle – should not exceed 25 degrees and soils should be at least 0.5 metres deep.
• Step 2: Plot the contours – see Technical Brief 16 Contour Planting for instructions for staking-out contours, and the diagram below for use of a t-stick to measure the distance between contours.
• Step 3: Start at the lowest terrace. Dig a trench vertically below the next contour, and then dig outwards to the lowest contour. Remove soil and place downhill below the lowest contour.
• Step 4: Compact soil on constructed terrace.
• Step 5: Work should then progress upslope, emptying top-soil on to the terrace below to provide soil for planting.
• Step 6: Strengthen riser buttress walls (back-walls) with stones, compacted soil, or by planting grass or trees.
• Step 7: Terrace-end drainage should also be considered, so water does not pool too heavily. The down-field gutters can be lined with stones to reduce erosion

Detailed diagrams and tables for calculating terrace dimensions are provided in Peace Corps 1986, Soil conservation techniques for hillside farming.

Additional guidance can be sought from videos provided by Access Agriculture: SLM02 Fanya Juu terraces. The Kenyan example provided is also up-slope terrace construction but using a different method where a trench is dug, and the loose topsoil is thrown up-hill (fanya juu in Kiswahili) which forms a ridge that flattens over time.

While agroforestry practices are deemed highly beneficial and climate smart, it is important to ensure that proposed practices are appropriate for the specific context – the benefits of the agroforestry practice match the needs of the farmer - and are fit for purpose. Obtain advice from an agroforestry expert before embarking on secondary crop/hedge species selection.

To effectively implement alley-cropping the following should be carried out:

• Step 1: Clearly understand the objectives of the intervention and identify an appropriate species for intercropping. For maize and sorghum in a smaller subsistence farm setting, selection and growth of hedge rows of a legumes such as cowpea or Gliricidia can provide sustainable benefits in terms of soil quality and secondary fodder/food products. In larger fields, timber trees can be planted every five to ten crop rows, depending on the height of the mature tree, and the shade-tolerance of the crop.
• Step 2: Identify and understand key conditions, such as prevailing wind direction, and sunlight to ensure that the field is planted in an appropriate configuration, with primary crop and secondary (hedge/shrub/tree) crops planted in such a way as to benefit the primary crop and not compete with it. East to west row orientation should maxmise sunlight, topography permitting.
• Step 3: For beneficial hedgerow growth with legume species such as Leucaena, cliricidia, and Sesbania sesban, the trees should be planted in rows between two and four metres apart, with individual trees planted as close as possible - between 10 to 15 cm apart. If planted closely, the trees will favour leaves over step growth, creating more mulch to prune for cover. Note that if rows are planted too closely, the secondary crop can dominate the available crop land reducing productivity. Furthermore, the closer the hedges, the more shade will present, which can depress crop growth, and also start to compete for soil water and nutrients, which is not beneficial.
• Step 4: Once reaching sufficient maturity, after approximately six months (one-metre tall for legumes)– hedges should be pruned to generate mulch for working into the soil. Then the primary crop (maize) can be planted. Pruning once per month thereafter provides cover and ensures that light penetration is maintained. Planting legumes approximately six months before planting the primary crop can ensure that sufficient pruned material is available to incorporate into the soil to enhance growth.
• Step 5: After harvesting the primary crop, hedgerows can be left to grow taller so that shade reduces weed grown, and to develop material to prune and incorporate into the soil again during the following crop cycle. However, hedges should not be allow to grow too high or dense as their roots will dominate the soil and out-compete primary crops for water and nutrients.

Before implementing any of these technologies, further research may be required beyond the guidance provided here. The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) has many resources, toolkits and success stories that can support such research.

Without a topographic survey, this technology may require trial and error to begin with, to see how rainfall and run-off responds to the contouring. To effectively implement erosion control measures the following should be carried out:

• Step 1: Perform a thorough local study of the landscape, soils, land use and erosive processes that most impact the area: steep slopes, flood plains, high winds etc.
• Step 2: Source a large number of stones, preferably five to ten centimetres square blocks (from a quarry) or five to ten-centimetre diameter cobbles (from a river-bed). You will need 30 to 50 tonnes of stone per hectare for contour bunds approximately 300 metres long.
• Step 3: Mark out contours, as discussed in Technical Brief 16 Contour Planting.
• Step 4: In larger fields with shallower slopes, place stones in rows of two along contour line, interlocking alternately, burying the lower half. The bunds can be between 25 and 40 metres apart. On steeper slopes, stack and bury stones against or in vertical/near vertical walls of contours much closer together (five to ten metres apart) to reinforce them.
• Step 5: Make sure that stone bunds follow the contours from one side of the field to the other, ensuring that no ‘pour’ points (larger gaps) exist along the way, lining the drainage channel or weir from one contour to the next with stones to avoid or reduce scouring in these locations.
• Step 6: Following, and if possible, during rainfall events, check the stability of the slope, adjusting stone bunds where necessary.
• Step 7: At the end of the rainy season and again following harvest, review the performance of the technology, and prepare for the next growing season.

To effectively undertake crop diversification:

• Step 1: Identify potential market opportunities for alternative crops in local/sub-national/national area.
• Step 2: Determine crops that farmer wishes to plant and the purpose whether it be household food stuff, cash crop or fodder crop.
• Step 3:  Establish local demonstration plots at the local level growing non-traditional crops that have market demand and can be incorporated into local farming systems.
• Step 4: Prepare smaller plot through clearing and weeding. CCARDESA recommends a no tillage approach (Technical Brief 12).
• Step 5:  Secure seeds of desired crops and follow planting guidance if the crop has not been previously grown. Sow seeds on small plot.
• Step 6: Track progress of crop and harvest and process as required.
• Step 7: Discuss cost benefit of growing diversified crops with farmers.
• Step 8: Farmers should gradually integrate a new crop(s) into their farming system to ensure that they are comfortable with diversifying at a greater scale.

An example of crop rotation is maize, followed by a legume. Grain SA has reported a 12 % increase in maize production following rotation with legumes such as cowpea. Furthermore, the legume yields often increase following rotation with the grain crop, and sometimes responding differently to the crop type. For example, soybean yield has been measured at 20 % higher following sorghum than maize. To effectively undertake crop rotation:

• Step 1: Determine which cereal crops and legumes are available in the area of interest.
• Step 2: Prepare land through clearing, weeding. No-tillage approaches are preferable (Technical Brief 12).
• Step 3: Plant a leafy cereal crop (maize or sorghum) and let the crop mature and harvest once ready. Once harvested, bend stalks over to increase biomass.
• Step 4: If possible, allow field to fallow for a short period. If this is not possible, practice cover cropping (Technical Brief 15).
• Step 5: Prepare land again, and sow second crop, usually a legume to improve soil structure and fertility. Harvest crop once ready.
• Step 6: Repeat process. It is possible to include more than two crops into crop rotation if desired.

It is advisable to carefully monitor yield for demonstration purposes, run test plots if necessary.