Soil Fertility Matters
A Newsletter on Soil Fertility and Fallow Management in the SEA
READINGS, DISCUSSIONS, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Suggested Readings on Fallow Management
1. Burgers, P., Ketterings, Q. M. and Garrity, D.P. 2000. Fallow management initiatives and issues in Southeast Asia. Paper presented at the Fallow Management Symposium during the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, 08 November 2000, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
2. Cairns, M. (ed). forthcoming. Voices from the Forests: Farmer Solutions Towards Improved Fallow Husbandry in Southeast Asia. Jakarta, Indonesia: International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF).
3. Cairns, M., Garrity, D.P. 1999. Improving shifting cultivation in Southeast Asia by building on indigenous fallow management strategies. Agrofor. Syst. 47:37-48.
4. International Center for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development (CIIFAD). 1998. Programme and compilation of abstracts from the Workshop on Strategies for Intensification of Shifting Cultivation in Southeast Asia, 23-27 June 1997, Bogor, Indonesia.
5. Fagerstrom, M. 2000. Agroforestry systems in northern Vietnam with Tephrosia candida as an alternative to short-fallow crop rotations. Doctoral thesis, Sveriges Lantbruks Universitet (SLU), Department of Soil Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
6. Magcale-Macandog, D.B. 2000. Improving estimates of C stocks of different fallow systems in the Philippines. Paper presented at the Fallow Management Symposium during the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, 08 November 2000, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
7. Magcale-Macandog, D.B., Ilao, R.O., Yao, R.T., Garcia, J.N.M., Dela Cruz, E.A., 1999. Proceedings of the Workshop on Fallow Management Systems Documentation and Participatory Rural Appraisal, 16-19 May 1999, Baguio City, Philippines. SEAMEO SEARCA, College, Laguna, Philippines.
8. Sanchez, P.A. 1999. Improved fallows come of age in the tropics. Agrofor. Syst. 47:1-3
9. Van Noordwijk, M. 1999. Productivity of intensified crop fallow rotations in the Trenbath model. Agrofor. Syst. 47:223-237.
For those interested in fallow management in the uplands of Asia, the above mentioned publications are recommended for reading. For readers who are aware of related reading materials not listed, you are welcome to send bibliographies and description of the reading materials. Those received items will be included in the next issue of the newsletter, with proper recognition of the sender. Please refer to the contact address of the editorial staff at the last page of this newsletter.
ÐNext Article Table of Contents
Information on Indigenous Fallow Management on the Web
On 23-27 June 1997, a workshop on Indigenous Strategies for Intensification of Shifting Cultivation in Southeast Asia was held in Bogor, Indonesia. International funding agencies composed of ICRAF, IDRC, CIIFAD, and others jointly supported the conduct of this workshop. To date, this is one of the biggest gathering of researchers, scientists, and other concerned individuals who focused on the study and documentation of fallow management systems in Southeast Asia. Part of the outputs of this workshop could now be accessed from the internet. (See numbers 1 and 2.)
On the other hand, numbers 3, 4, and 5 are related works on fallows, which include a database of abstracts and lecture notes. These are some of the websites where materials on soil fertility and fallow management in Southeast Asia can be downloaded.
1. Indigenous Strategies for Intensification of Shifting Cultivation in Southeast Asia. Compilation of Workshop Abstracts. Bogor, Indonesia. 23-27 June 1997. Edited by M. Cairns
<http://www.idrc.ca/cbnrm/documents/abstract_main.cfm>
Opening Programme2. Indigenous Strategies for Intensification of Shifting Cultivation in Southeast Asia —
<http://www.idrc.ca/cbnrm/documents/abstract_opening.cfm>
3. ASA 2000 Fallow Management in the Tropics Symposium.
November 8, 2000, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Sponsored by the Management of Organic Inputs in Soils of the Tropics (MOIST) and the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development (CIIFAD), both based in Cornell University, USA.<http://ppathw3.cals.cornell.edu/mba_project/moist/ASAprogr.html>
4. Indigenous Fallow Management Lecture Notes in PDF format
<http://www.icraf.cgiar.org/sea/Training/Materials/lecture%20notes/LecNotes-New/4%20IFM-LN.pdf>
5. Intensification of shifting cultivation — Editorial
<http://www.oneworld.org/ileia/newsletters/16-3/04.PDF>
This newsletter will also be accessible through the Internet. The tentative web site can be accessed at:
<http://www.geocities.com/fallownet >ÐNext Article Table of Contents
A Soil Fertility Kit for the Southeast Asian Uplands
In Southeast Asia, the greatest potential for future increases in agricultural production and productivity lies in the 295 million ha of ‘upland’ or rainfed land. Most tropical upland soils have low fertility status and are particularly vulnerable to degradation when cleared of the protective forest cover.
Rapid deforestation and poor crop management (e.g., slash-and-burn methods) are the major causes of soil erosion and upland degradation in Southeast Asia. Biological, physical, and chemical deterioration of upland soils marks the onset of a vicious cycle of decreasing yields, income reduction, and environmental destruction. As a result, most small-scale upland farmers are unable to participate fully in the developing regional market economy.
Participatory methods are more suitable than prescriptive packages in upland farming systems development, and technology needs to be developed and tested with the full involvement of local farmers. There is an urgent need for soil fertility recapitalization in the uplands, where years of neglect have led to deterioration in soil fertility. But at present, extension services in the uplands are neither prepared nor equipped for such a role.
A new handbook is now available: 'Soil Fertility Kit' by T.S. Dierolf, T. Fairhurst, and E. Mutert is a compendium of information and methods for managing upland soil fertility in Southeast Asia. The handbook, written in an easy-to-use format, is a useful toolkit for extension workers, farmers and researchers.
This handbook, whose cover appears on the top, right hand side, basically deals with these topics:
- Identifying soil fertility problems in upland soils
- Involving farmers in soil fertility management
- Calculating a nutrient budget
- Identifying nutrient deficiency symptoms
This book announcement could also be accessed at
<http://www.ppi-far.org/ppiweb/seasia.nsf/$webindex/E0292B393405F44148256ADC0015F19C> ÐNext Article Table of Contents
Some Organizations Concerned with Soil Fertility and Fallow Management in the Uplands
- Alternatives to Slash and Burn (ASB) Consortium
- ASEAN-Canada Fund
- Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)
- Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture, and Development (CIIFAD)
- International Center for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF)
- International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada
- International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
- International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR)
- The Rockefeller Foundation (RF)
- The Ford Foundation (FF)
- University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB)
- United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Next Article Table of Contents
The editorial team is happy to announce a logo-making contest for this newsletter. The winner will receive a complete set of the project’s information products, including all issues of the newsletter, poster series, and a special publication on Soil Fertility and Fallow Management. The winner will also receive a copy of Shifting Cultivation in Asia, the book featured on page 20. A surprise giveaway also awaits the winner. Non-winners will also receive a special gift.
Logo entries should symbolize the importance of soil fertility and fallow management in the uplands of Southeast Asia, and should be accompanied by a brief description. The winning logo will be printed on all succeeding issues of the newsletter.
Entries should be submitted by email or postal mail to the editorial team not later than 31 March 2002.
ÐNext Article Table of Contents
1. Fallow Discussions on the Net — To facilitate a dynamic discussion on soil fertility and fallow management, the Interim Information Support Project is developing a discussion group based at Yahoo Groups! To join, send an e-mail to <fallownet@yahoo.com> with “JOIN FALLOWNET” in the subject heading.
2. The Conservation Farming Movement (CFM), based at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, will have its next annual conference in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, on 16-18 July 2002. This upcoming conference will have paper presentations grouped along four major themes. One of the themes will focus on the Philippine fallow systems. For more information, please contact the CFM president, Dr. Virgilio T. Villancio, at <villancio@yahoo.com> or the CFM secretary, Mr. Jose Nestor M. Garcia at <jnmg@mudspring.uplb.edu.ph>.
3. Related Conferences
International Soil Conservation Organization (ISCO) 12th Conference, 26-31 May 2002, Beijing, China.
International Symposium on Sustainable Soil and Water Resources Management, 30-31 May 2002, Manila, Philippines.
4. Response to Land Degradation
A new book from the World Association of Soil and Water Conservation. Designed for advanced readers interested in methods of sustainable land management and prevention and control of land degradation. Provides a coherent view of the current situation about land degradation and the human response to the problem. Published by Science Publishers, Inc., Enfield, New Hampshire, USA.
5. For Agroforestry Modelers... WaNuLCAS Model Release 2.1 now available on the web at:
<http://www.icraf.cgiar.org/sea/AgroModels/Wanulcas/index.htm>
This new version features (1) a module to grow palm tree; (2) an ACCESS database listing all WaNuLCAS input and output parameters; and (3) database sets available in English, Bahasa Indonesia, and Portuguese. For more information, please contact Dr. Meine van Noordwick at <m.van-noordwijk@cgiar.org>
6. Readers of this newsletter are welcome to send related announcements, updates, and upcoming conferences. The items received by the editorial staff will be included in the next issue of the newsletter in the middle of year 2002.
Ð