Contour hedgerows of pruned leguminous trees have been promoted for almost two decades as a solution to the problem of sustainable crop production in the uplands. Despite the effort, adoption of the technology has not been widespread, due to various factors. Natural vegetative strips are a better alternative. Different extension models are described as a means to introduce the alternative to farmers in Claveria.The indiscriminate extension of supposedly superior soil-conservation techniques for the gedraded acid upland areas of Southeast Asia has sometimes led to fristration among farmers and the R&D community alike. There are only few cases, foe example, of wide scale adoption of multi-purpose tree hedgerows that sustain permanent cropping on the slope, a system commonly known as "contour hedgerow farming" or "alley cropping on the slope". Techologies that are not based on site-specific biopysical and socioeconomic circumstances cannot be expected to maintain agricultural production and sustain natural resources because they will not be accepted by local farmers.
Année de publication
1998
Auteurs
Marcado A; Stark M; Garrity, D.P.
Langue
English
Mots clés
alley cropping, erosion control, extension activities, innovation adoption, models, multipurpose trees, sloping land, technology transfer
Géographique
Philippines
