Dominguez-Rosales, JA

Hernandez-Nazara, Z

Kastanis, GJ

Lechuga, C

Nieto, N

Popratiloff, A

Rincon-Gallardo, AR

Rojkind, M

Jayashree, B.

CGSpace

A riculture 'Contour bunding' preserves soils and boosts farmers' incomes by 20% in Mali A simple innovation can go a long way to help lives and livelihood of farmers in the drylands. A team of scientists from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Mali have found that 'contour bunding', a technique that helps retain moisture and nutrients while preventing soit erosion also brings as much as 20% increase in net income. A report by Jayashree Balasubramanian. Farmers pianting Andropogon grass on contour bunds The study, in Kani watershed, about 450 km from Bamako, was carried out between 20 14 and 20 16. The research also looked at land use data between 1986 and 2014 to show the IInpacl of Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) practices. Contour bundi ng technique reduces water nmoff and controls soil erosion through ridges covered with perennial grasses such as Andropogon and Vetiver. Farmers use the ridges for crop production. Says Or Birhanu Zcmadi m Birhanu, Senior Scientist, ICR1SAT who led the srudy, "We need to ba lance natural resource use. Areas that were natural forests have been convened into agricul-turalland without increase in crop yields per unit area. Contour bunding, a low-cost technique has dual benefits o f 24 Credit Dr Bimanv. fCR/SAT One Year old Andropogon gran and other tree specie,. planted on crest of contour. soil conservation and sustainable agricul-tural intensification. It helps increase crop yield , without actutllly expanding faml lands." The region under slUdy, is an area of Credit DrBirhanu, fCR/SAT 5780 ha, thot receives just about 800 -1100 mm average annual rainfall between July to September, struggling to retain even this. A constructed dam here, dries up after two months. During Appropriate Technology, Vel 45. No 2. www.appropriate-technclogy.com Credit Or Birhanu, /CR/SAT One Year old Andropogon grass planted on crest 01 contour Credit Or Birhanu, fCR/SAT Credit Or Bimanu, /CR/SAT Appropriate Technology, Vol 45, No 2. www.appropriate-technology.com rainfall, flooding causes loss of topsoil and nutrients, Due to low productivity, land under natural vegetation gives way for farming, to increase production, This is a maller of concern, both from the environmental as well as economic perspective, Th is is why a comprehensive watershed approach is important. During the study, participatory watershed lll(lnagclllent hclped identify challenges in land and water practices, An evalu-ation of historical changes in land use and water consumption for major crops was carried out. The benefits of SWC practices were also evaluated through field experiments, By leaving upland areas in a watershed, forested, natural resources degradation can be greatly reduced, The contour bunding practice now could be scaled up at watershed, landscape or basin level through collective action of researchers, agricul-tural extension workers, NGOs and local community based organisations, Results showed that erosion through rainfall, reduced considerably due to contour bunding, Also, farmers reaped as much as 20% net benefit increase from sorghum production with this technique, Farmer Mr, Sekou Berthe of Kani village who used contour bunding, says, "1 have been contacted by other famlers now, who also wish 10 have this in their fields, An NGO, AMEDD put this together for us at a COSI of SUS 10 per hectare of land. I am more than willing to pay this cost, since we have seen the benefit", he says. More than 250 farmers implemcnted contour bunds in their farnllands echo Mr Berthe, that they were willing to pay for this, making it a sustainable modeL Malian Association of Awakening to Sustainable Development, (AMEDD), is an NGO working with research institutes and farmers in Mali 10 promole technol-ogies among smallholder fanners. Says Mr Bougouna Sogoba Director, AMEDD, "Our technicians are well trained 10 demarcate contour lines in f'amlers' fie lds at a minimum affordable price which is US$IO per hectare of land, Our market-driven approach and increased benefits from farm fields trealed with conlour bunds were key 25 Agriculture A young lady leading fann animal$ In preparation for contour bund conslruclion. factors that influenced the success o f this application in many fann fi elds:' in the context of crop land expansion and low productivity in Mali , use of 26 Credit D,Birllanu, /CR/SAT SWC practices is crucial to ensure that land degradation is curbed and produc-tivity increased. The study recommends scaling up contour bunding to help bring Credit Or BirtJanu, ICRI$AT large scale benefits to farmers in the regIOn. Jayash,.ee Balasubramanian works at feRfSAT The flllf paper may be accessed at: oar.icrisaI.orglf05f21 This work was supported by the CGIA R programme on /Vater, Land and Ecosystem (WLE) and Ihe Africa Research in Sustainable [ntensijicclII'OIl for the Nexl Generation (Africa RISING) programme ill Mali. Financial SUppOI"/ was provided by the International Wa/er Management Ins/itl/le (JWMJ) and Ihe US Agency fhr Del'elopmem (USAID) throllgh the IlIternational Institute of Tropical Agriculture (ll TA). For more informatioll conflict l CRlSAT - Mali. BP 320 Bamako, Mali. Tel: +(223) 20 70 92 00; Fax: +(223) 20 7092 01; Email: Icrisat.Mali@t;gial: org; Web. www.icrisat.org Appropriate Technology, Vo145, No 2. lIVVvW.appropriate-technology.com 

Contour bunding preserves soils and boosts farmers' incomes by 20% in Mali

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Contour bunding preserves soils and boosts farmers' incomes by 20% in Mali

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