Cassava farmers in Southeast Asia are conducting research to control erosion on their tiny hillside farms in a five-year project funded by Japan's Nippon (formerly Sasakawa) Foundation. In partnership with international and national scientists, the farmers test and refine new technologies in their own fields.
The innovative experiment, begun in 1994, unites 15 universities and national institutions with more than 130 participating farmers in China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), based in Cali, Colombia, manages the project and offers technical assistance through its regional office in Bangkok.
High population density and scarcity of prime agricultural lands have forced small-scale Asian farmers to cultivate hillsides, which are more susceptible to erosion than the lowlands dedicated mostly to rice production. "Soil erosion is a crucial problem in Asia today," says Reinhardt Howeler, the CIAT agronomist heading the project. "The river systems of mainland Southeast Asia discharge more than 3 billion tons of sediment yearly, more than twice the sediment load of the Amazon river basin. Another 3 billion tons erode from the Asian and Pacific islands."
"Farmers have long been aware of the fragility of their land but have lacked resources and expertise to deal with it," says Kazuo Kawano. This native of Osaka, Japan, is a plant breeder with the CIAT Cassava Program and coordinator of the Asian regional office. "The Nippon Foundation project provides accessible techniques and technical guidance that will enable farmers to reduce erosion while intensifying cassava production."
Cassava, which thrives under difficult conditions, is one of the few crops that can be cultivated on the marginal hillsides. Its starchy root was a staple food during the war years in Vietnam and China-as it is now in many drought or war stricken areas of Africa.
"Cassava production in Asia has almost doubled in the last twenty years," Howeler says. "It is now the third most important food crop here. Even so, since many people associate cassava with hard times, they eat less of it-but continue producing it for on-farm feeding of pigs or for the starch and animal feed industries. In fact, cassava is the principal source of income for some of the poorest Asian farmers; nothing else will grow in their dry, infertile soils."
"Domestic and international starch manufacturers are requiring increased supplies of cassava roots," says Guy Henry, agricultural economist with the CIAT Cassava Program. "Cassava starch is a base for modern manufacturing of pharmaceutical products, sweeteners, and flavoring agents such as monosodium glutamate. It is also used in the production of biodegradable plastics." Japan imports about 200,000 metric tons of processed cassava yearly.
Rising demand offers farmers a compelling incentive to adopt the improved varieties they are testing under the project. Besides increasing yield, these varieties grow more quickly, thus establishing ground cover earlier to protect the soil from erosion by wind and rain.
Other innovative management techniques include cultural practices, intercrops, and live barriers. National scientists arrange field days to demonstrate 15 to 25 of these options to participating farmers, who select a few to test on-farm in experiments they design. Later the farmers evaluate the options and decide which to keep.
The project involves all stakeholders in the research to encourage maximum ownership. "It's a partnership with farmers, researchers, extensionists, and even the private sector," Henry says. "The processing industries also participate by telling us what they need in terms of raw material, supply, and quality. In return they offer land or human resources. It makes for very efficient research."
On-farm research gives the farmers a sense of commitment to the results and helps disseminate the technologies. "Neighbors ask to join the project because they see its value," Howeler says. "So our ranks are growing. And we don't have to convince anyone to adopt techniques-the farmers convince themselves through their research."
(CIAT news release)
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