Natural vegetative strip technology: a "no cost" paradigm that may help transform tropical smallholder conservation

Contour hedgerow systems using nitrogen-fixing trees have been widely viewed and promoted as important components of soil conservation in Southeast Asia to minimize erosion, restore soil fertility, and improve crop productivity. Although positive results have been observed and reported in a number of experimental and demonstration sites, farmer adoption is poor. This low adoption is associated with constraints of high labor requirements in establishing and managing hedgerows. However, the concept of contour hedgerows was a popular idea. We saw that some farmers experimented with the concept by placing crop residues in lines on the contour to form “trash bunds”. These rapidly revegetated with native grasses and weeds and soon formed stable hedgerows with natural front-facing terraces. Other farmers tried laying out contour lines but didn’t plant anything in them. These lines evolved into natural vegetative strips (NVS), which we later observed were superb in soil erosion control and reduced maintenance labor to a minimum. We examined each component of the process of establishing and maintaining low –labor hedgerow practices. The establishment of natural vegetative strips (NVS) requires only a fraction of the needed labor compared to the conventional contour hedgerow of tree legumes. The only labor required is the laying out of contour lines (about 2 person-days per hectare). A locally-led Landcare Association evolved to develop and share more effective ways of achieving a sustainable agriculture in the vicinity where the NVS practice was spreading. Landcare took responsibility for technology dissemination. The approach developed into a dynamic movement that now has 56 self-governing chapters, over 2000 members, and a municipal federation in Claveria. Currently over 600 farmers have installed NVS on their farms. It is quite uncommon for an effective soil conservation structure to be adopted by large number of farmers without public subsidies. Thus, we took note that perhaps we are witnessing the kind of low-labor, zero-cash-cost alternative that might have widespread applicability in other parts of the tropics where farming systems are similar.

---

• View source