Study on Climate Resilient Agriculture Techniques

Transcription

1 Study on Climate Resilient Agriculture Techniques (for selection of good practices to include in simple book to farmers) Growing vegetables with DRIP irrigation & plastic mulching (photo: Long Vanda) Report by: Mrs. Bernie O Neill, Study Team Leader With Assistance from: Mr. Long Vanda (Agriculture advisor) Mr. Hem Sokha (Irrigation advisor) Mr. Kheam Soun (Artist) Mr. Ven Sarith (Translator) Study timeframe: September/October 2015

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of acronyms 3 I Background to study 5 II Methodology of the study 5 III Climate change and resilience in Cambodia 7 IV Proposed adaption/mitigation activities to study 10 V Analysis of adaption/mitigation measures 11 V.1 Resilient Farming Systems 11 V.1a System or Rice Intensification & new adaptations 11 V.1b Integrated Farming & Multi Purpose Farms 14 V.1c Improved Animal Nutrition techniques 19 V.1d Sustainable Cassava Production 20 V.2 Water Management 23 V.2a DRIP irrigation 23 V.2b Rainwater harvesting 23 V.2c On-farm water management (canals, ponds) 24 V.2d Bamboo irrigation or MSG (Multi-Storey Gardens) 24 V.2e Fish refuges (CFRs and CARE rings) 25 V.2f Medium scale irrigation systems 26 V.3 Improving or conserving Soil Quality 28 V.3a Composting 28 V.3b Crop diversification and rotation 28 V.3c Plastic mulching and other soil covering 31 V.3d Reduced (or no) tillage (DMC) 32 V.4 Potential use of New Technology 35 V.4a Use of rainfall data to develop cop calendars 35 V.4b Wind and Solar power water pumping 36 VI Actions included in Farmers Booklet 38 Annexes 1. Terms of Reference for assignment Bibliography 43 Page 2

3 List of Acronyms ACIAR AFD AVSF CA CARDI CARE CBDRR CC CCCSP CCSP CEDAC CelAgrid CFR CIRAD CWS DCA DMC DRR ECHO FAO FFEM GDA GIZ GPG GPO GRET HOM ide ILO IPCC IRRI IWMI JAG JCCI MAFF MOE MOWRAM MPF MSG NAPA NBP NCDM NSDP PIN Australian Center for International Agriculture Research Agence Françaises de Développement Agronomists and Veterinarians Without Borders Conservation Agriculture Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute Community Aquatic Resource Enhancement Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction Climate Change Cambodia Climate Change Strategic Plan Climate Change Strategic Plan The Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture Center for Livestock and Agriculture Development Community Fish Refuge French Agriculture Research and International Development Organization Church World Service Dan Church Aid Direct seeding Mulch-based Cropping systems Disaster Risk Reduction European Union Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department Food and Agriculture Organization (UN) Fonds Français pour l Environnement Mondial General Directorate of Agriculture German Agency for International Development Good Practice Guide Good Practice Options French Development NGO Old Age and Miserable People Help Organization International Development Enterprises International Labor Organization (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change International Rice Research Institute International Water Management Institute Joint Action Group Joint Climate Change Initiative Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry of Environment Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology Multi-Purpose Farm Multi-Storey Garden National Adaptation Program of Action to Climate Change National Bio-digester Program National Committee for Disaster Management National Strategic Development Plan People In Need Page 3

4 RFCD RGC SAW SC SCW SIDA SNV SRI TOR UNDP UNFCCC WMO Rural Friend Community for Development Royal Government of Cambodia Strategy for Agriculture and Water Sustainable Cambodia Save Cambodia's Wildlife Swedish International Development Agency Netherlands Development Organization System of Rice Intensification Terms Of Reference United Nations Development Program United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change World Meteorological Organization Page 4

5 I. Background to this study ActionAid, DanChurchAid (DCA), People In Need (PIN), Oxfam and Save the Children have formed a consortium and are currently implementing a project titled Building Disaster Resilient Communities Phase II in Cambodia. The project is financed by the European Union Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (ECHO) under DIPECHO IX funding mechanism. The project began in April 2014 and ends in December It is implemented in the target areas of Pursat, Kampong Speu, Kampong Thom and Banteay Meanchey provinces. One of the project activities is the assessment on the use of existing agricultural good practices and documentation of climate change resilient agricultural techniques across the consortium and partners, to be applied by farmers. It is intended to document the different agricultural techniques in response to various climate hazards and the various types to be categorized. There are already a lot of documentations on good practices but they need to be presented in the right formats to be suitable for local farmers. It is important that the book is easily understood and uses simple language - preferably less text but more drawings or pictures. Documented good practices from previous DIPECHO and other projects shall be assessed and serve as inputs for the publication. The agreed output of this study was a simple booklet in Khmer language. This report is being produced separately in addition to the booklet, for internal DCA use, to aid the understanding of the organization as to the reasoning behind the selection of techniques for inclusion in the farmers booklet. II. Methodology As there have already been many documents produced in relation to climate resilient agriculture practices (and climate change in general), a desk review was undertaken of relevant documents that could provide suitable input for this study. These documents included (see full references in the bibliography attached in Annex 2): - Agrisud International, 2010: Agro-ecology, Best Practices Guide - CASC (Conservation Agriculture Service Center), 2014: Development of direct seeding mulch-based cropping systems for irrigated lowland rice on poor Sandy Soil - Stung Chinit - CelAgrid, (no date): Use of Cassava leaves as animal food silage - CIRAD, 2012: First Impacts of DMC adoption among smallholders in Cambodia - CIRAD, 2012: Conservation agriculture (CA) as an alternative to plough-based cassava cropping in the upland borders of Kampong Cham, Cambodia: preliminary results of extension - CIRAD 2012: A preliminary experience of CA practices extension with smallholders in Cambodia: the study case of Kampong Cham province - DCA, 2015: Technical Assessment of Agro-meteorological System in Cambodia - DCA, 2013: Documentation of CBDRR Models in Cambodia - FAO, 2014: Good Practice Options for Disaster Risk Reduction in Cambodia - FAO (policy brief), 2013: Cassava A guide to sustainable production intensification - FAO, 2011: Save & Grow A Policy maker s Guide to the Sustainable Intensification of Smallholder Crop Production - GDA (General Directorate of Agriculture), 2011: Rice Production 10 most important species and rice exports - GDA, 2011: System of Rice Intensification (SRI) - GRET, 2015: Towards an agro-ecological transition in Southeast Asia: Cultivating diversity and developing synergies Page 5

6 - IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), 2015: Climate Change 2014, Synthesis Report - IWMI (International Water Management Institute) and ACIAR (Australian Center for International Agriculture Research), 2013: Agriculture Water Management Planning in Cambodia - JAG (Joint Action Group), 2011: Good Practice Guide for Community Disaster Risk Reduction - JCCI (Joint Climate Change Initiative), 2012: Good Practices for Integrating Climate Change Adaptation Lessons from local partners in Cambodia - MAFF, 2014: Climate Change Priorities Action Plan for Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries Sector ( ) - MAFF, 2013: Climate Change strategic plan for agriculture, agro-industry, animal production, fisheries and forestry - MOE (Ministry of Environment), 2011: Climate Change and Agriculture, Cambodian Human Development Report MOE, 2011: Climate Change and Water Resources, Cambodian Human Development Report - MOE, 2006: National Adaptation Program of Action to Climate Change (NAPA) - MOE, 2002: Cambodia s Initial Communication under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change - MOWRAM, 2014: Climate Change Action Plan for Water Resources and Meteorology ( ) - MOWRAM, 2012: Climate Change Strategic Plan for Water Resources & Meteorology - NBP (National Bio-digester Program), 2014: Bio-digester User Survey NCDM (National Committee for Disaster Management), 2014: 5-Year Climate Change Action Plan for Disaster Management Sector - NCDM, 2013: Climate Change Strategic Plan for Disaster Management Sector - NCDM, 2013: Climate Change Strategic Plan for Disaster Management Sector - NCDM, 2014: 5-Year Climate Change Action Plan for Disaster Management Sector - Oxfam America, : Various case studies on SRI - PIN (People in Need), Animal Nutrition training documents (feeding components, earthworm cycle in agriculture, black fly worm raising, earthworm raising, termite raising) - RCG (Royal Cambodian Government), 2013: Cambodia Climate Change Strategic Plan SCW (Save Cambodia s Wildlife), 2012: Assessment report on Awareness and Knowledge level on Climate Change and Adaptation practices - SCW (Save Cambodia s Wildlife), 2011: Perception Survey on Level of Knowledge and Awareness on Climate Change and its impact n Agriculture and Water Resources - SIDA, 2013: Evaluation of the Joint Climate Change Initiative (JCCI) in Cambodia - SNV (Alterra), 2014: Bio-slurry as fertilizer - SNV, 2013: Study on Good Practices in Agricultural Adaptation in Response to Climate Change in Cambodia - SC (Sustainable Cambodia), 2011: Newsletter 04 Biogas in Cambodia - SC, 2010: Newsletter 05 Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting - SC, 2010: Newsletter 08 Water Projects in Cambodia - The Learning Institute, 2015: Learning for Resilience - UNDP/MAFF (NAPA follow up project), 2015: Climate Resilient Irrigation Training Manual - WMO (World Meteorological Organization), 2013: A summary of current climate change findings and figures Following review of the above documentation, the consultant arranged meetings (or telephone or conversations where meetings were not possible) with interesting informants noted in the documentation. These meetings included representatives from: - Action Aid, Oxfam and People in Need (Consortium partners) - Local implementing partners of the Consortium: LWD (Life With Dignity), RFCD (Rural Friend Community for Development) and HOM (Old Age and Miserable People Help Organization) Page 6

7 - FAO, ide, GIZ, CARDI, CEDAC, and CIRAC (organizations active in agriculture sector) - General Directorate of Agriculture (GDA) of the Ministry of Agriculture & staff of Provincial Departments of Agriculture From the document review and meetings with organizations and institutions implementing the identified resilient agriculture practices, field visits were identified to interesting farmers practicing the various techniques. These field visits were used to obtain a clear plan of the steps involved, the inputs needed, the costs involved, benefits obtained and any obstacles they encountered. Field visits to farmers covered nine provinces in different regions of Cambodia Kompong Thom, Pursat and Siem Reap (around Tonle Sap lake); Kompong Speu (Southwest); Oddar Meanchey and Banteay Meanchey (North); Prey Veng (Southeast, Mekong delta region); and Kompong Cham and Ratanakiri (upland farming, central and Northeast). Finally, after each possible agriculture resilient technique was studied, the consultants produced a brief outline of those considered relevant for inclusion in the farmers booklet. Where photos were not deemed specific enough to display the steps involved, the team artist produced illustrations to explain the technique. The techniques to be included in the booklet were tested on a selection of farmers and edited where appropriate based on their feedback. Farmers had three specific comments for the overall production: Keep it short (farmers are more likely to read a small book) Make the book in color as much as possible to make it more attractive The writing should be quite large (older, or less literate, farmers find small writing difficult) but text is good to have as many people can read Limitations encountered: The timeframe for this study was relatively short, given the diverse number of possible actions to study. This period also included some national holidays which meant that some key persons of interest could not be met. In addition, although many interesting techniques looked good on technical papers, it was not always possible to identify farmers putting these techniques into practice or they were still at a pilot stage whereby positive results could not yet be identified. Piloting anything involves some degree of risk and the intention of this study was to present techniques to smallholder farmers that have been proven by others to reduce risk in the event of natural hazards such as floods or drought. III. Climate change and resilience in Cambodia The topic of resilient agriculture has been on the development agenda for some time. An article in the Oxford Bioscience Journal 2011 (Volume 61, Issue 3) noted that The development of resilient agricultural systems is an essential topic of study because many communities greatly depend on the provisioning ecosystem services of such systems (food, fodder, fuel) for their livelihoods. Many agriculture-based economies have few other livelihood strategies and small family farms have little capital to invest in expensive adaptation strategies, which increases the vulnerability of rural, agricultural communities to a changing environment. The challenge for the research community is to develop resilient agricultural systems using rational, affordable strategies such that ecosystem functions and services can be maintained and livelihoods can be protected. Developing such affordable strategies still remains a challenge in Cambodia today. The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has long recognized the importance of the impact of climate change. Cambodia ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1995 and acceded to the Kyoto Protocol in In 2006 the Council of Ministers of the RGC endorsed the National Adaptation Program of Action to Climate Change (NAPA) prepared by the Ministry of Environment (MOE). Page 7

8 The RGC s National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) recognizes the danger climate change poses to the achievement of national development goals. Poverty alleviation is the RGC s longstanding goal. However, as more than 80% of the population depends largely on subsistence agriculture, floods and droughts could push large numbers of people below the poverty line. The Strategy for Agriculture and Water (SAW) indicates that 80% of arable land relies on rainfall so the predictions for changing patterns of rainfall are a great cause for concern for these farmers. The RGC launched its first comprehensive strategic plan for Climate Change in 2013 with the NCCC (National Climate Change Committee) publishing the Cambodia Climate Change Strategic Plan (CCCSP) Specific Climate Change Strategic Plans also exist for key sectors such as Agriculture, Water Resources and Disaster Management among others. The key goals of the CCCSP are: Reducing vulnerability to climate change impacts of people, in particular the most vulnerable, and critical systems (natural and societal); Shifting towards a green development path by promoting low-carbon development and technologies; Promoting public awareness and participation in climate change response actions. Is it clear that the plan of DCA and partners to produce a farmers booklet on climate resilient agriculture techniques can be in important contribution to achieving these national level goals Two important strategies included in the CCCSP can help guide this study on climate resilient agriculture: - Increase capacity to identify climate-induced opportunities in agricultural production systems, ecosystems and nature protected areas: Agricultural diversification (e.g. crops, livestock, etc.) Increase in productivity (e.g. crops, fisheries, livestock, forestry, etc.) Opportunity for new crop varieties - Rehabilitate and build water infrastructures including small-, medium- and large scale irrigation schemes Current level of knowledge on Climate Change and Coping Strategies in Cambodia As part of the NAPA Follow up projects, a local NGO, Save Cambodia s Wildlife (SCW), was contracted to undertake a baseline survey (and a later follow up assessment) on Awareness and Knowledge level on Climate Change and Adaptation practices. The survey and assessment were carried out in Preah Vihear and Kratie provinces where the NAPA follow up project was being implemented. Following the baseline survey, the project had undertaken many activities to increase knowledge and awareness on climate change causes, impacts and adaptation. The assessment showed improvement in the knowledge and awareness of those who attended information dissemination activities but responses from respondents highlighted some key issues which are indicative of the overall situation throughout Cambodia such as: Most people have observed changes in climate such as higher temperature (hotter), intense rain, longer flood, drought, changes in timing of rain, changes in seasonal and lightning. Most people realized that they are most vulnerable to the changes in climate because they are lacking of ability, money, food, materials, crop seeds, proper irrigation and water sources. The majority of respondents realized that they can adapt in their health conditions and family income generating; however, they have less capacity of agricultural techniques, water management, and alternate resilient crop variety selection. Due to the impacts of climate change, majority of people are facing food shortages, low income, and diseases on livestock. These problems led to more poverty. People have to migrate for work or sell labor for income generation. Women gain more burdens once their husband or men in their family migrate to find jobs. People who never participated in the campaign are not aware of how to adapt to current climate conditions. They have to replant or plant twice for their crop damage as they are relying on rain water. Page 8

9 One of the coping mechanisms mentioned above is migration for work. This is currently one of the most commonly practiced coping mechanisms in the face of any crisis food shortages, natural disaster of all types, and poverty in general. During field visits to many rural areas throughout the course of this study, the consultants regularly came across situations where only the very old and the very young remained in the villages; those in the age group from 18 to about 45 had all left for work in factories, building sites or as farm laborers. Most of them migrated to other parts of Cambodia but some were also reported to have crossed to Thailand or even as far as Malaysia. This trend of increasing migration was noted in an IOM study (Maltoni, 2007) where the author identified, among other push factors, shocks such as natural disasters. The same study recognized that in a post-conflict like Cambodia, population growth in recent years has risen more than at any time in the past, creating an excess of labor looking for work and that the transportation network has also improved in the last few years, facilitating the physical movement of migrants. The study also noted pull factors such as perceptions of a better life drawing rural populations to seek employment away from their provinces. Unless agriculture productivity rises through increasing resilience to shocks (such as natural disasters, exacerbated by changing climatic conditions), the loss of productive labor from (especially small) farms will continue. This lack of productive labor on farms is a constraint to implementing many types of resilient agriculture practices. BOX: Some definitions provided by the Ministry of Environment Climate: The general weather conditions in a long-term perspective Weather: The conditions of the atmosphere at a given location: Temperature, precipitation, cloud cover, fog, sunlight, air pressure and wind. Climate change: Systematic long-term climate trends, whether natural or generated by human activities, for example increased temperature ('global warming'), increased weather irregularities, changed rainfall, and sea level rise Climate adaptation: Measures that address the adverse effects of climate change - as compared with Climate mitigation: Measures that address the causes of climate change Climate resilience: (1) The ability to recover from an adverse (climate-related) event; (2) the ability to withstand a (climate-related) pressure. A high resilience is related to a low vulnerability, and the other way around. Page 9

10 IV. Proposed adaption/mitigation activities to study The TOR for this assignment suggested the following topics of interest in relation to adaptation and mitigation towards resilient agriculture: Agriculture techniques that adapt to climate impact (flood and drought): - Crop diversification - Crop rotation - Pest or disease control - System of Rice Intensification (crop selection - success & challenges) - Integrated farming system (home gardens, livestock and fish/poultry) - Conservation and regeneration of agro-biodiversity - How to use rainfall data in agricultural practices - Dig canals as the border of rice field (store water & natural fish raising) Water saving innovations in farming: - Water drip irrigation system - Rainwater harvesting techniques - Plastic mulching or soil cover Soil conservation and regeneration: - Soil cover techniques - Composting - Upgrade soil micro-organisms - No tillage technique After reviewing the documents listed in the previous section, the consultants found some overlap between some topics and some other topics that can be combined under similar headings. Some new topics were also identified. Therefore the topics were re-organized for further study as follows: Resilient Farming Systems: 1. System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and new adaptations 2. Integrated Farming and Multi Purpose Farms 3. Improved Animal Nutrition techniques 4. Sustainable Cassava Production Water Management: 5. DRIP irrigation 6. Rainwater harvesting 7. On-farm water management (canals, ponds) 8. Bamboo irrigation 9. Medium scale irrigation systems Improving or conserving Soil Quality: 10. Composing 11. Crop diversification and rotation 12. Plastic mulching and other soil covering 13. Reduced (or no) tillage (DMC) Potential use of New Technology: 14. Use of rainfall data to develop crop calendars 15. Wind and Solar power water pumps Page 10

11 V. Analysis of adaption/mitigation measures V.1 Resilient Farming Systems V.1a System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and new adaptations Since its origin in Madagascar in the early 1980 s SRI has spread throughout many countries of the world and it is now commonly accepted as a proven system to increase rice yields. Nevertheless, widespread adoption has been restricted by some beliefs that the system is too labor intensive or that it requires access to irrigation systems. More specifically, cultural beliefs in traditional means of rice growing are often hard to overcome. Some farmers find it difficult to believe in the concept that less is more i.e. planting less seeds can give more output. SRI has been promoted in Cambodia for over 15 years (since the year 2000). Statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and CEDAC estimate well over 120,000 farmers are practicing this technique, although not all practice all the steps as set out in the Manual on SRI of the General Directorate of Agriculture (GDA). While this may seem like a high rate of adoption, it should be put in the context of the number of rice farmers in Cambodia. It is estimated that 80% of Cambodian households are engaged in some form of rice production which translates to over two million households. Therefore there is still a need to continue to promote this technique. The value of further promotion is even more pertinent under the current changing climatic conditions as studies have shown that rice grown under SRI techniques is more resilient to disasters such as drought, floods or even storms. This resilience comes mainly from the strength and depth of the root system which results from the plant spacing that gives the plant greater room to develop. Obviously the most detailed document on SRI in Khmer is the GDA manual. But this book is 90 pages long and therefore costly to reproduce and difficult for those farmers with lesser literacy ability. At provincial level, a simpler booklet is used for dissemination (but only where there are specific projects supporting its dissemination; the provincial departments do not have budget to reproduce this themselves). This leaflet is only 16 pages, covering the main topics from the SRI manual. Although this leaflet contains a lot of written explanation as well as pictures, discussions with farmers who have received it suggests that the concept is clear to them from this leaflet. Therefore the consultants would not suggest re-inventing the wheel for this technique but rather to reduce a little (e.g. by leaving out some of the more technical items on pests in the DCA Farmers Booklet. Adaptation of SRI in response to drought A farmer in Siem Reap (Lon Lin, from Kanhchan Kuy village, Yeang commune of Pouk district) who is a target farmer of GIZ project had been practicing SRI since 2008 but experienced the following problems with erratic rainfall and drought: - SRI suggests to plant the young seedlings (under 15 days) but when the rains did not come, his seedlings were often too old or if he waited for the rain to start preparing his seedbed, then his planting was too late - When his farm experienced a drought, he saw that the transplanted seedlings died quickly but some seeds that had been planted directly in the soil survived a drought period of almost one month. He came up with the idea of sowing the seeds directly in the field rather than transplanting, but keeping the main principles of SRI namely sowing in rows, limited seeds per clump and Page 11

12 reducing chemical fertilizer usage by incorporating animal manure. His experience was very positive as he could see that the seeds survived a long time in the soil and as soon as the rain fell, they sprouted quickly. They were hardier than transplanted seedlings and could survive longer periods of drought. Although feeling more resilient to erratic weather with this way of growing rice, Mr. Lon Lin found that it took a long time to sow the seeds when he wanted to do it on his entire farm of 8 hectares. He tried the drum seeder shown in the GDA SRI manual but found that when using it on the dry soil, the machine was too light so it jumped around the place. This meant that the seeds were not sown evenly in rows as he wanted. He thus decided to invent a machine that would suit his purpose. Working with a local mechanic, he has come up with a very efficient machine with some innovative changes to the traditional drum seeder apart from the additional weight (as it is made from steel), the wheel has been adapted with fangs that are aligned to the holes (from which the seeds are disbursed) that give the machine a thrust which eases the seeds out (see his seeder in the pictures below): A case study conducted by GIZ in 2013 did a comparison of the cost of labor for planting between using this machine, transplanting manually and broadcasting seed. The cost for one hectare was reported as follows: LABOR SEEDS pers days cost/day Total Qty Price Total SRI with m/c 2 10,000 20, ,500 Transplanting 25 15, , ,000 Broadcasting 20 10, , ,000 With a saving of over 350,000 Riels (almost $100) per hectare, a farmer with 3 hectares of land could recover the cost of the drum seeder in only one season as the machine is currently produced for one million Riels ($250). However our discussions with the farmers in Kanhchan Kuy suggested that while the figure for seeds above (33 kg per hectare) may be applicable in some circumstances, the average amount of seed they use is 48 kg per hectare. Scarcity of labor is a common problem these days for farmers who find it difficult to source labor for transplanting rice. This is mainly due to the preference of laborers to migrate (either in country or to neighboring countries) for work on farms there or in factories or building sites. Therefore the consultants feel this is an appropriate technology to include in the DCA Farmers Booklet. Our discussions with farmers in Pouk showed that almost the whole village of Kanhchan Kuy as well as many of the neighboring villages are now using this technique successfully. The mechanic who makes these machines has now had orders from six provinces (Siem Reap, Banteay Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey, Kompong Channang, Takeo and Ratanakiri) so its popularity is gradually spreading throughout the country. However, a concern of GIZ now is that the invention of this entrepreneur may be stolen by larger agriculture machinery manufacturers without giving any recognition or compensation to the designer. They are exploring the possibilities of getting a patent. Page 12

13 Reducing labor time during SRI (mechanical weeding) As noted above, labor is becoming increasingly difficult to access for farmers. During the course of this study the consultants visited a number of villages where the only people there in the day time were older people and children; the younger adult population was away working in factories or other paid labor. During times of climate unpredictability time is a key factor in all types of farming, especially rice. The use of simple labor-saving mechanical means can ensure more farmers can implement SRI. Therefore the mechanical weeding machine is a useful supplement to SRI technology as the straight line planting of SRI provides the ideal conditions for using such a machine. Oxfam America, in partnership with the local NGO, RACHANA, shared an interesting example which shows the benefits of such a simple (and relatively low cost) machine. This weeding machine was developed by RACHANA using mostly women as the testers of the original prototypes. That was particularly relevant as, although men do a lot of the hard work in land preparation for rice production, tending the crop, especially weeding, mostly falls to the women Excerpts from a case study of RACHANA shared by Oxfam shows the following key advantages: - TIME: While weeding by hand takes 3 people 2 weeks to complete one hectare, with the mechanical weeding machine the 3 people could complete the same work in one morning. - QUALITY: Mulching the weeds into soil via the weeding machine spikes increases the nutrient content of the soil. - EASE: The machine is light so can be carried easily and it reduces back strain for women as they can weed standing up rather than having to bend down for long periods to weed in the traditional manner. - COST: At a cost of about $20, it is not an excessively expensive piece of equipment. Although RACHANA notes that this seemingly small amount can be difficult for very poor farmers to access, they have found that farmers can pool resources together to buy one. - HIGHER PRODUCTION: If you weed by hand you only get the top of the weed, you don t get the root, and it grows again. When you use the weeding tool, it destroys the root and churns the weed into the soil it s better for the soil. Better quality soil can lead to higher rice yields although no production figures were available to prove this yet. (Photo: Patrick Brown/Oxfam America) Easy to carry as it is light (Photo: From GDA SRI Manual) Suitable for use in SRI due to straight line planting From the above analysis it is clear that this type of tool would be of immense benefit to any farmers practicing SRI and the availability of such a tool could increase the number of farmers willing to practice SRI. Discussions with farmers in various provinces throughout the duration of this study revealed that the existence of such a tool is not yet widely known. Therefore the consultants propose to include a short caption on the benefits of this tool in the DCA Farmers Booklet to ensure wider dissemination to other farmers. Page 13

14 V.1b Integrated Farming and Multi Purpose Farms From the perspective of climate resilience, integrated farming offers farmers (especially smallholders) a number of advantages: - Not putting all their eggs in one basket : The diversity of production reduces the likelihood of all elements suffering from disasters in the same year unlike mono-cropping where all can be lost at the same time. - The combination of animal raising and crop growing allows farmers to make use of a natural cycle of soil nourishments thus protecting the quality of their soil for future generations of farming - Where farmers implement the full system including a water pond, they can grow crops and water animals even at times of drought There is nothing technically new about such a farming system; it has been promoted in Cambodia by provincial departments of agriculture and many NGOs for decades. However, few NGOs promote (and few farmers adopt) the full package (rice, water, fish, trees, perennial plants, animal husbandry, vegetables and other seasonal crops). Most projects focus only on the activities of the household plot, not the entire farm including the rice land and rarely include trees. However, fully integrated farming (or Multi-Purpose Farms) have been promoted successfully by some organizations (e.g. CEDAC, PADEK, CWS). Documentations that were examined under this study include: A. The JAG Good Practice Guide 2011 presented the approach of AVSF (Agronomists and Veterinarians Without Borders) in Prey Veng province where they promoted improved chicken raising combined with fish raising and vegetable growing. The key points promoted by this GPG were: All three activities can be conducted in the house-land and can be inter-related: 1. Manure produced by chickens can be used to fertilize vegetable crops. This is very important for improving the soil. When soil contains more organic matter such as manure, it retains more water and provides more nutrients to the plants, so resilience to drought is increased. 2. Fish-raising can also contribute to soil organic matter, and ponds provide supplementary water for irrigation in case of droughts. 3. Vegetable by-products provide source of feed for fish and chickens. The model focused on making safe housing for chickens, separating chickens of different age groups, vaccinating chickens and improved feeding. For vegetables the focus was on using natural compost for fertilizer, mulching for water conservation and weed control, and care in the selection of seeds that were suitable to the climate, soil and water conditions. Fish raising techniques promoted were species selection (that can be adapted to aquaculture), pond maintenance, feeding (mixture of local and industrial food), and controlling fish density in the pond. This model is easy for farmers to understand. The main difficulty for farmers to put it into practice however is often the lack of water source or lack of time/labor to dig a pond so farmers focus only on chickens and vegetables, missing out on an important ingredient of the model. The lack of water also means that vegetable growing is often discontinued in the dry season. B. FAO Good Practice Options for Disaster Risk Reduction in Cambodia, 2014 presented some techniques to establish a vegetable garden but recommended this be done in conjunction with other techniques such as water management like DRIP irrigation (which they presented as a different model and will be discussed further below). This model, although touching Page 14

15 briefly on techniques of MPFs such as live fencing, did not really promote the integration of the various elements such as animals, fish, etc. It also faces the same constraint for poor farmers developing a water source as the AVSF model above. But under the next section on Water Management, we will present some low cost means of irrigating vegetable gardens that could be combined with the vegetable growing techniques suggested by the FAO guide. C. GRET, 2015: Towards an agro-ecological transition in Southeast Asia: Cultivating diversity and developing synergies presents similar ideology to the AVSF model discussed above, with the key principles being: 1. Some products from garden are used to feed fish 2. Fish pond provides water, mud and slime for irrigating and fertilizing the garden 3. Some fish and weeds can be used for livestock nutrition 4. Animal manure is used for feeding plants and fish. This study looked at the implementation of these principles in countries neighboring Cambodia, namely Vietnam and Thailand, but did not go into technical details on how a farmer could establish such an integrated system. D. The Learning Institute: Learning for Resilience (2015) studied Multi-Purpose Farms implemented by CEDAC as mentioned earlier in this section. The purpose of this study was to compare conventional rice cropping systems and MPF to analyze the production economics and the overall patterns of household labor diversification. Relevant to our current study, the researcher noted that: In the context of environmental changes, MPF can be climate-smart, as it may provide protection against drought, flood, and storm hazards that is better and more integrated (quoting Lipper et al. 2010). This made it imperative to look MPFs to study whether they had potential for sharing with smallholder farmers via the proposed DCA Farmers Booklet. Before discussing further, we show the model of a CEDAC supported Multi-Purpose Farm (MPF): Extract from The Learning Institute: Learning for Resilience, 2015 a study of CEDAC MPFs Page 15

16 The model rests on the assumption that better soil management and diversification in farming activities will result in increased yield and diversified food production, thus contributing to improved family income and nutrition. A fully functional, multi-purpose farm comprises several sub-systems. Farmers retain about 60 percent of their land area for rice cultivation. The rice plot is surrounded by a deep canal to store water and allow for efficient mobilization of water resources, to limit irrigation expenses (work time and water quantity used) or to serve as drainage when there is too much water (water logging) in the farm. The canal and rice field are surrounded by a dike that helps to keep fish and soil nutrients within the farm area and that also prevents minor flooding. The rest of the farm is divided into two or three areas: a pond serving for aquaculture production, and an upper area for seasonal crops and vegetables, for fruit trees, and for livestock rearing. Sediments from the pond and canal are collected annually. This, and manure from animal raising, is recycled as fertilizer, either directly or combined with crop residues to produce compost (making nutritional elements more easily available to plants and limiting the risk of propagating weeds, pests, and disease organisms contained in the manure and straw). Multi-purpose trees (often leguminous, which are effective as nitrogen fixers) planted on the dike as a living fence, limit damage from wind or animal grazing and reduce soil erosion. Living fences function as hedgerows, and are favorable to crops through providing shade, and increasing the presence of natural enemies to pests (diversity). These living fences also reduce the leaching of mineral elements from the farm to outside areas, provide biomass resources for use on the farm, and create ecological habitats conducive to maintaining agro-ecological diversity (description from the Learning Institute Study, 2015) Preliminary research conducted by Lim (2007) indicated that the MPF system is suitable for areas of between 0.2 and 0.6 ha, with the water surface representing 15 percent of the area, the rice field 60 percent and the upper area for seasonal crops, fruit trees and livestock representing 25 percent. The up-front investment costs (in cash) necessary to convert 0.5 ha of rice field into an MPF system is approximately USD 830. This covers the cost of renting the machine to dig the pond and surrounding canal (USD 1 for each cubic meter of soil). Additional labor for soil digging is usually provided in-kind by the family, and represents approximately USD 600 for 0.5 ha (USD 2 for each cubic meter of soil). A constraint noted in this study is that MPF is at full potential only when farmers are selecting and undertaking all necessary investments. If one element of the system is missing, the complementarity within the farming system is disrupted. This was demonstrated through study on Rainy Season Rice production comparing full MPFs, incomplete MPFs and traditional farms. The table below shows the results of this comparison: Page 16

17 These results from the comparison above strongly suggest that wet season rice production under a complete-mpf model makes a lot of economic sense. Significant gains in productivity attributed to better labor, and water and soil fertility management, combined with lower level cash costs of production resulting from recycling of sub-products within the farm, increase production, making it more efficient and profitable. However, the data shows that these gains in productivity and profit margin are not significant for incomplete-mpf farmers. This suggests that in order to realize the full potential of multi-purpose farming, farmers need coaching and mentoring support so that they can follow the MPF principles more precisely. Regarding promotion of MPFs, the survey reveals that a large proportion of households (82 percent) living close to MPF farmers have actually never heard about it. It seems that information and knowledge about this agricultural innovation are still very compartmentalized. Therefore, there is a need to break these barriers in order to promote it. In addition to this information gap, an important proportion of households (54 percent) do not want to engage in MPF and have definite reasons for that choice such as (multiple reasons given by respondents): - Not enough household labor 89% - Not enough money (or access to credit) to invest (e.g. canal digging) 56% - Not enough knowledge/training on how to do it 44% - Land plot is too small to be converted into MPF 31% - Agriculture land is far away from habitation 31% Considering whether or not to include this model in the DCA Farmers Booklet, the consultants feel that this technique is best included in the final section of the book in a brief format under ideas to farmers to advocate for external support. It is not something smallholder farmers can implement fully by themselves (as it has been pointed out in the study above that only limited benefit is gained from partial implementation) due to the costs involved in converting their farm and also the need for technical support during this process. However, even though MPFs may be a bit ambitious for farmers, visits to some DIPECHO Consortium partners and other NGO supported farmers during the course of this study showed that positive results can be obtained using simpler elements of integrated farming among smallholders generally combining vegetable growing with small animal raising (and where possible fish in ponds). Examples of this type of small level integrated farming was seen during visits to target farmers of HOM (Old Age and Miserable People Help Organization), a partner of ActionAid in Kompong Thom province. HOM supports climate resilient vegetable growing and has introduced techniques such as raising the vegetable seedbeds in times of flooding, combining with compost using animal manure (so HOM also support chicken and pig raising) and some farmers also use plastic mulch to reduce evaporation and help control weeds. While the raised vegetable beds can ensure vegetable growing during flooding periods, the techniques promoted by HOM are more resilient to drought for farmers with ponds as they can use the water to ensure vegetable growing continues when rains are less and even in the dry season. As noted above under other studies, the lack of water is often the main constraint. One farmer that did not have a pond had to draw water from a nearby stream. To reduce trips she made a plastic pond to have water closer to her vegetable garden. She combines this with plastic mulch to reduce the amount of water (as she only sprinkles to the vegetable roots through the holes in the plastic) and the mulch also helps to reduce weeds. She could have reduced her labor more if she also combined this with techniques such as DRIP irrigation (which we will discuss further in the next section). Page 17

18 Some pictures from HOM target farmers in Kompong Thom (photos by Mr. Long Vanda): Raised vegetable beds to avoid floods Plastic mulching reduces water use & weeds Plastic pond to store water Seed trays Family pond used to water vegetables Pig raising for fertilizer for vegetables Some variations on climate resilient vegetable growing were seen at the project of another ActionAid partner in Krakor RFCD (Rural Friend Community for Development). Some of their target farmers live along the Tonle Sap lake in Krakor district. Their growing seasons vary with the water levels of the lake. In the rainy season they have little or no land to use for agriculture; in the dry season when the water level goes down they can grow some crops on land but the water is often too far away. Without land for growing vegetables when the waters are at a high level, the farmers have developed floating gardens (like on rafts). They make these from bamboo and use kamplaok collected from the lake to make the soil bed on which they can grow the vegetables. They also practice integration of animal raising and vegetable growing by raising animals such as pigs on their boats. Thus they have pig manure for fertilizing their vegetable gardens. Some other families use containers to grow the vegetables on their boats. These families along the lake don t suffer from drought or flood (as their houses are on boats); the highest risk for them is storms which break up their floating gardens as the waves get stronger during the winds. Page 18

19 Vegetable growing by families along the Tonle Sap lake in Krakor (photos by Mr. Hem Sokha): Integrated farming (pigs and vegetables) Vegetable growing in containers To check other types of integrated farming systems with smallholders, we visited a farmer in Sout Nikum district, Siem Reap, supported by GRET organization. This farmer, Mr. Loch Sann, has very small amount of land and most of it floods during the rainy season. With help from GRET he has developed some interesting ways to make use of old materials around the farm to develop a vegetable growing system that is resilient to flooding (and also drought as he uses techniques that require little water. His system can be called integrated as he has made a small pond to raise fish (1 x 2 meters wide and 1 meter deep) and raises chickens. He makes both liquid and solid compost for his vegetables. Old materials he collected were bamboo to make vegetable racks, tree branches to make raised seed beds, old fishing nets to make a cage to protect from animals and birds, old containers to grow vegetables, and an old water jar for liquid compost. As he got some vegetable seeds from GRET, his only cost in cash terms was about 10,000 Riels for nails to make the vegetable beds. It only took him a few days to put the structures together. He spends about a day watering in the dry season and only if necessary in the rainy season. He can harvest vegetables at various times depending on the type he grows within one month for morning glory and between 3 to 4 months for other types like cabbage or eggplant. With this small investment of time and money, he can harvest sufficient vegetables for his family to eat and also earn up to 500,000 Riels a season from selling his excess produce. He now feels safe from flooding as his vegetables are raised high off the ground (and the ones he grows in containers can be moved easily). He also does not fear drought as his small water pond, in addition to providing fish to eat, can be used for supplementary watering. His little farm is a good demonstration that such integrated farming is an appropriate technique for smallholders and it can ensure their resistance to disasters. Some pictures from Mr. Loch Sann s farm (photos by Mr. Long Vanda): Bamboo racks for vegetable growing Raised vegetable beds (he was replanting at time of visit) Small water pond dug to raise fish and also water vegetables Page 19

20 Vegetables in container sacks Jars for liquid compost Pit for solid compost Inclusion of integrated farming in DCA Farmers Booklet Analysis of information from studies and field visits shows that integrated farming can enhance the resilience of farmers. However, water supply is crucial to ensure that vegetables can be grown during periods of drought and also throughout the year. Farmers who don t have water during the dry season usually drop vegetable growing at that time and rely only on income from the animal raising component thus they are not practicing integrated farming throughout the year. It is clear from the visits to farmers discussed above that many use some elements of integrated farming but they often lack techniques to make the most out of each one. If each element is improved, the options for integration are enhanced. Therefore we will present some techniques for pig and chicken raising (including worm raising) and for vegetables we will focus on rotation of the various types to preserve soil fertility and reduce pests As noted above, Multi-Purpose Farm model will only be presented in brief in the last chapter of the book (ideas for famers to request external assistance). V1.c Improved Animal Nutrition techniques Improved animal nutrition is not in itself a climate resilient agriculture technique. However, it complements the integrated farming systems discussed above as better animal nutrition will result in healthier animals who produce larger quantities and better quality of manure. People in Need (PIN), a partner in the Consortium who commissioned this study have been working with farmers in Pursat province to improve the quality of animal feeding. The benefits are three-fold: - Healthier animals provide more income to their owners (as with integrated farming discussed above, more income from diverse sources is a mitigation measure that can assist farmers if other sources of income such as crops are affected by disasters) - Greater quantities of manure produced by healthy animals adds to capacity of farmers to fertilize their crops by natural means, thus contributing to soil quality - Manure can be used by farmers to produce biogas which can contribute to reduced use of wood for cooking (climate change mitigation if less trees are cut for fuel wood) and also reduced consumption of electricity from generators which use non-renewable fuel Consortium partner, People In Need (PIN) in Pursat is promoting (using CellAgrid Center for Livestock and Agriculture Development training manuals) improved animal food production including: - Termite raising for animal feed - Earthworm raising for chicken feed - Black fly work raising for animal feed - Cassava-fish silage for pig feed Page 20

21 A review of these manuals suggests the need for some technical support or at least a good trainer to explain the techniques to farmers. But there is a possibility to present one of these techniques (earthworm raising) in a simple form that farmers can understand. This simple technique has proven to be an excellent source of protein to feed chickens. Discussions with chicken farm owners in Ratanakiri revealed that feeding these earthworms to chickens can increase their weight by up to 50% within the same space of time as raising chickens without these earthworms (all other things being equal such as breed of chickens, housing conditions and other food types fed to them). A snapshot of the Earthworm Cycle (from CellAgrid training manual): During visits to other provinces, the consultants asked farmers raising chickens if they had thought about raising earthworms as food for their chickens. The majority of them had not and one of the reasons was they did not know how to do this. So presenting this technique in a simple form in DCA Farmers Booklet is one way to disseminate this useful technique to a large number of farmers. Not only can this technique provide quality feed for chickens, the residue from earthworm raising provides excellent compost for growing vegetables or other crops. V1.d Sustainable Cassava Production This topic is included as observation of farmer practices through many provinces of Cambodia shows its increasing importance as a key crop in addition to (or in some cases instead of) rice. Although with little or no previous experience of growing this crop, farmers are rapidly expanding the amount of land planted with cassava. But many farmers are practicing mono-cropping, without interspersing with any other crops. Experience from other countries has shown that mono-cropping of cassava increases the prevalence of pests and diseases, and accelerates the depletion of soil nutrient stocks. During the course of this study the consultants interviewed many farmers growing cassava and practically all of them downplay this risk (mono-cropping), saying that they will continue to grow cassava as long as the market price ensures them a profit from it and as long as they don t see any significant reduction in the yields they get from their cassava land. Unfortunately, by the time they see significant reduction in yields, it may be too late to regenerate the soil to its condition before they started to grow cassava. Page 21

22 This DCA Farmers Booklet is therefore an opportunity to help disseminate about the risks of cassava mono-cropping and possible ways to reduce these risks. In line with the key topic of this booklet (climate resilient agriculture techniques), cassava is particularly interesting to farmers due to its tolerance to drought and because it has a less restrictive harvesting period compared to other crops (for example rice or soybeans). A policy brief issued by FAO in 2013 titled Cassava A Sustainable Guide to Production Intensification provides some useful suggestions for this topic. Three techniques proposed to retain soil quality are: 1. Reduced (or no) tillage 2. Mulching (e.g. with rice straw) 3. Crop diversification The first technique will not be proposed to farmers in this booklet as it is something that they are unlikely to adopt unless it is part of an external support project (this will be discussed further below as it is the subject of a separate topic (V3.d). Regarding mulching, FAO recommends maintaining an organic cover on the soil, using crop residues and mulches, in order to protect the surface, reduce runoff and erosion, and suppress weeds. Ground cover is especially important in cassava production: because the initial growth of cassava is slow, the soil is exposed to the direct impact of rain during the first 2 to 3 months of its growth cycle, and the wide spacing between plants favors the emergence of weeds. Fast-growing legumes smother many unwanted weeds that normally proliferate during cassava establishment and after the cassava harvest, thus providing weed control that is less demanding than manual weeding and less expensive than spraying with herbicides. Crop diversification: Farmers are encouraged to cultivate a wider range of plant species in associations, sequences and rotations. Mixed cropping diversifies production, which helps farmers to reduce risk, respond to changes in market demand and adapt to external shocks, including climate change. Rotating or associating nutrient demanding crops with soil-enriching legumes, and shallow-rooting crops with deep-rooting ones, maintains soil fertility and crop productivity and interrupts the transmission of crop-specific pests and diseases. Intercropping (such as with early maturing crops, like corn, upland rice or various legumes) protects the soil from the direct impact of rain, reduces soil erosion, and limits weed growth. It also produces crops that can be harvested at different times during the year, increases total net income per unit area of land, and reduces the risk of total crop failure. Rotation of cassava with grain legumes, such as groundnuts, mungbeans, cowpeas and soybeans fix atmospheric nitrogen and make it available to the successive cassava crop. Sequential cropping of cassava and these legumes can improve soil fertility to the point where applications of mineral fertilizer can be reduced, with no loss of yield. Comparing the lessons from the FAO guide discussed above and observation of farmer practices, it is clear that not all farmers get the most out of their cassava growing. Although it would be nice to include some more specific issues related to cassava, the lack of detailed research on growing, marketing, and diversified use of end products means there are not yet many specific good practices from Cambodia to disseminate. Therefore a specific section will not be devoted to cassava but mulching and the benefits of crop diversification will be included in the section on overall soil management. *********************************** Page 22

23 V.2 Water Management V.2a DRIP irrigation DRIP irrigation is an efficient water saving technique. The system provides water slowly and regularly directly to the soil through a network of pipes and tubes. Water contained in a tank is distributed evenly to the root of plants. This maintains best moisture level around the roots, and reduces evaporation and runoff, so that water use is less. It also saves time and effort for irrigation. This makes vegetable growing easier especially for women and for families with little labor, land and available water. DRIP irrigation systems can help maintain crops through breaks in the wet season when water becomes scarce. In general, DRIP irrigation creates a good environment for crops. It encourages better root systems to develop and reduces water-borne pests and fungal diseases. It also reduces germination of weeds in the area between plants. The diagram below (from the JAG Good Practice Guide 2011) shows the basic idea in simple terms: Although disseminated in almost every good practice guide studied, this technique is proving so effective for many farmers that excluding it is not an option. But a few interesting variations on the model have been developed by ide (International Development Enterprises) and private companies such as Asia Irrigation Ltd. that can apply to different size landholders. There is little need to explain much theory here but the booklet will include pictures and drawings to explain the process to farmers. V.2b Rainwater harvesting Rainwater harvesting is common in Cambodia. Practically all families collect rainwater in some form either directly in jars or barrels or where feasible (i.e. family has suitable rooftop to collect water) larger systems that run-off into tanks. However, there are limited examples of any farmers using this rainwater for agriculture purposes. Normally it is used for drinking water and/or other household purposes. Therefore we don t propose to include such a technique in the DCA Farmers Booklet. Page 23

24 V.2c On-farm water management (canals, ponds) Excavation of ponds has been noted above as key to supporting SRI and also integrated agriculture systems. Canals around rice fields are also a component of water management under SRI. However, even if farmers are not practicing SRI or integrated farming, water management in their rice fields will be enhanced by digging canals and/or ponds. There is nothing technically difficult that requires explanation to farmers in the booklet; rather we will present some pictures of the benefit of having water as opposed to not and include some estimates of time (if digging by hand) or cost (if using contractor) to enable farmers to make decisions about the possible size they could manage on their land. V2.d Bamboo irrigation or MSG (Multi-Storey Gardens) This technique was included in the Documentation of CBDRR Models It is a nice simple technique for growing vegetables with reduced water and requires less investment for poor households that for example DRIP irrigation. However, informal discussions with farmers in many provinces by the consultants throughout the course of the current study show that it is still unfamiliar to many farmers throughout Cambodia. Therefore the consultants propose to include this again as the distribution of the new DCA Farmers Booklet may reach a wider audience than the previous publication as it is directed specifically at farmers and is in Khmer, unlike the 2013 publication which was aimed at DRR practitioners. There are two main elements to the technique: using a cement bag to retain moisture content in the soil and the slow release of water to the plants through perforated bamboo. The presentation will focus on the practical implementation of the technique. A constraint expressed by farmers in using this technique was the difficulty in finding suitable bamboo. A slightly different system successfully used by ZOA (a Dutch organization) with families who had little access to land (often displaced persons) may be useful to show to Cambodian farmers via this booklet as an alternative if they cannot find (or afford to buy) bamboo. Although piloted first in Africa, most recently this system, called MSG (Multi-Storey Gardens), has been successfully introduced in the delta region of Myanmar. The system consists of a sack of soil (similar to bamboo irrigation) and tin cans are stacked in the middle of the sack. The bottom can has the least number of holes perforated into it, with increasing numbers of holes for the upper layers of cans. The cans are filled with gravel to slow down the water flow and filter it to the sides. This technique can be particularly successful in growing eggplant, tomatoes, coriander and spinach, among many other possibilities. The pictures below show some examples of this technique in action: Page 24

25 Preparing materials sack, tins, soil Gravel packed in tins Planting/transplanting seedlings Watering the vegetable garden V2.e Fish refuge (CFRs and CARE rings) The SNV (2013) Study on Good Practices in Agricultural Adaptation in Response to Climate Change in Cambodia presented an project of the World Fish Centre about CFRs (Community Fish Refuges), a technique developed by the Asian Institute of Technology-Aqua Outreach which is based on stock enhancement of the rice field fishery with perennial ponds that are protected as dry season refuges for fish and are managed by the local community. However the estimated cost for each CFR according to the study is $3,000 (for a CFR benefiting about 7 families) and a considerable amount of technical support is recommended. Therefore we will not consider this as a possible option for inclusion in the DCA Farmers Booklet as it is not something that farmers (especially smallholders) can do themselves. CARE stands for Community Aquatic Resource Enhancement a technique to improve the availability of small animals and fish that live and breed in water. This is a very interesting technique that was included in the 2011 JAG GPG but, possibly due to lack of dissemination, has not been widely adopted. In fact farmers in many provinces have never heard of such a technique. As Cambodia has limited irrigation, rice fields often dry out during drought. When this happens, animals that live or breed in water have no refuge to survive. CARE rings are concrete well rings installed in rice fields, canals and ditches that can solve this problem by providing a breeding place and refuge for animals to migrate to during drought. The JAG GPG provided two possible techniques shallow rings for single family use and community-owned deep CARE rings. For this farmers booklet, we propose to only include the shallow ring that can be used at individual family level. Shallow CARE Rings are 1.5 meters deep and built with 3 concrete rings. They are installed on the lowest area of the rice field so that as water levels fall, the remaining water drains into them. Page 25

26 These have been effective in increasing animals available for individual family consumption. It is important to cover the CARE ring with a roof to reduce heat, and surround it by a fence so that people can see it and avoid falling into the ring (see pictures below that were included in the GPG 2011): In addition to acting as a refuge for fish and other small animals, the water an also provide a source of small scale irrigation in times of drought or for watering animals. A constraint with this technique is that, although it appears to require very little inputs, even this small investment can be difficult for poor farmers. Nevertheless if their produce can be increased through other techniques described in the booklet, they may be able save enough to invest in such CARE rings. V2.f Medium scale irrigation systems The small techniques described above can be of benefit to farmers on only a relatively small scale. For wider protection against drought, there is a need for larger scale water management projects that can ensure a more resilient agriculture sector. The Ministry of Water Resources & Meteorology has developed a Climate Change Strategic Plan for Water Resources & Meteorology (CCSP ). While naturally mitigation measures include rehabilitation of large scale irrigation schemes which can only be implemented by the National level, the plan also includes a strategy to Expand surface water storage (reservoirs, ponds), channel capacities and drainage systems to ensure water supply and environmental sustainability. There is scope under this strategy for many medium (and even small) scale systems such as community ponds, check-dams on small streams and canals. While even these are outside the scope of individual farmers, without such systems they will not be safe from drought. MOWRAM notes in its CCSP that Climate Change will increase water management challenges with less rainfall is anticipated during the dry season and more during the wet season. This makes it imperative to store as much of this additional water that falls in the wet season for use during the dry season (and during short drought periods during the wet season). There many examples throughout Cambodia of community ponds, dams and canals provided by the Provincial Departments of Water Resources, IO/NGO projects and commune councils. Although there have not been any formal studies published on the impact of these structures on the agriculture resilience of their users, informal discussions with users (farmers) as well as the hands-on experience of the authors of this report indicates the high relevance of such small or medium sized structures to improved resilience, especially to drought. While the consultants recognize that the construction of such structures is outside the scope of the individual farmers (especially smallholders), we propose to include a few examples (with related costs) in the final section of the DCA Farmers Booklet which is a section to give ideas to Page 26

27 farmers for advocacy under possible funding mechanisms (such as commune councils, NGOs working in their area or technical government departments). The pictures below show examples of a few different types of structures that can be included: Dam: Earthworks with spillway (photo: author) Dam: concrete check dam (photo: author) Concrete canal (photo: NAPA: Kratie) Earthen canal (photo: author) Small community pond (photo: author) Large community pond (photo: author) Page 27

28 V.3 Improving or conserving Soil Quality V.3a Composing The TOR suggested the inclusion of composting as a possible technique for dissemination in the booklet. Initially the consultants felt that this is possibly already widely known to most farmers so it would not be beneficial to present it again in this booklet. But many farmers still do not practice it even when they have the materials available to do so. When asked why, most farmers say that it is too labor intensive. Instead of investing time to prepare a compost pit, they prefer to purchase chemical fertilizers. This incurs a cost to the farmers which reduces profits from their crops and they lose an opportunity to improve their soils. So it is useful to reiterate again the benefits and techniques to awaken interest in farmers to produce their own organic compost. There are already many materials available on the techniques of producing compost. The FAO Good Practice Options for Disaster Risk Reduction (2014) summarized the steps involved in a simple manner with accompanying diagrams for making heap compost, the most commonly known in Cambodia. The Agrisud International Agro-ecology, Best Practices Guide (2010) went into more detail and included four different ways to make the compost, using examples from Africa (Madegascar, Niger and Congo) and Asia (Sri Lanka and Cambodia). The four techniques described were manure recycling, swath and crib composting (both of these similar to the heap composting described by the FAO guide) and liquid composting. The relevance of composting to the topic of the DCA Farmers Booklet (climate resilient agriculture) is in its contribution to soil conservation. When raw materials are decomposed into compost, they not only provide nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to the soil (the three elements found in chemical fertilizers), but compost also provides additional macro and micro elements needed for plants (FAO, 2014). Compost also improves the structure of the soil. It allows the soil to drain more effectively, promote spread and growth of roots and prevents erosion. In addition, organic materials attract earthworm activity, which provides even more nutrients to the soil. Organic materials in compost help to maintain soil moisture and as a result rain water and irrigation water are held more closely to the roots, so that the impact of dry spells and agricultural drought is reduced (Helen Keller International, 2003). However, all studies, including studies by IRRI and Helen Keller International, recommend compost usage for relatively small plots (especially vegetable gardens). The high volume required for rice production (10 to 20 tons per hectare) make it unrealistic for most farmers with the exception of those with large herds of animals and mechanical means of spreading the manure. Thus, considering the relatively small amount of land under vegetable production in Cambodia compared to the size of land under rice and other crops, the contribution of composting to soil conservation will be low on a national scale but it can be very important to smallholder farmers. So we will include a short explanation in the DCA Farmers Booklet, focusing on two techniques heap composting and liquid compost making. V.3b Crop diversification and rotation Crop diversification is seen as an effective measure in strengthening smallholder farmers' resilience to climate change impacts according to CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (proceedings from workshop on Crop Diversification Strategies for Cambodia, Laos & Vietnam held in Vientiane in 2014). Page 28

29 Crop diversification and Crop Rotation are often used interchangeably both by farmers and in many studies on these subjects. But technically there is a distinct difference and, while worded differently in most articles, the generally agreed distinction is: Crop diversification means growing a variety of crops in an area, not just one. If one crop fails this year, the area can still survive. The growth and spread of predators is limited. Crop rotation means not growing the same crop in the same place year after year, depleting the soil of the nutrients needed to grow that crop. In fact the models discussed above under integrated farming systems are examples of diversification (but the diversity is in the combination of water, fish, crops and livestock). Those models should also have an element of crop diversification (e.g. variety of vegetable types in the vegetable garden). So diversification can be divided into two categories: a. diversification of vegetable types on home gardens and b. crop diversification in the context of the farm outside of the homestead where currently many farmers practice mono-cropping (mainly rice but more recently also cassava - but as cassava crop diversification has already been discussed under V1.d above, the focus here will be on diversification on rice farms). a) Crop diversification and rotation in home gardens It is rare to see vegetable gardens without some form of crop diversification. From visits to farms of many vegetable growers during the course of this study (coupled with the experience of the consultants over the last 20 years in Cambodia), it is clear that most farmers grow at least three to four different types of vegetables. What is less noticeable is the practice of rotating the vegetables in the plot according to the main four types (leafy, fruit-bearing, legumes and root vegetables). The main benefits of rotating these groups of vegetable types are: Soil fertility: Different crops have different nutrient requirements. Changing crops annually reduces the chance of particular soil deficiencies developing as the balance of nutrients removed from the soil tends to even out over time. Weed control: Some crops, like potatoes, with dense foliage or large leaves, suppress weeds, thus reducing maintenance and weed problems in following crops. Pest and disease control: Soil pests and diseases tend to attack specific plant families over and over again. By rotating crops between sites the pests tend to decline in the period when their host plants are absent which helps reduce build-up of damaging populations of spores, eggs and pests. In order to practice rotation in the vegetable garden, farmers should maintain a crop calendar of what they plan to grow and where they will plant the crop. A simple example that could be used by a farmer who divides his vegetable garden into four parts is shown in the picture to the right. A visit by the consultants to a woman farmer (Mrs. Chea Chin) in Batheay district of Kompong Cham showed a good example of this type of rotation. She concentrates on various types of vegetables because her husband is old so cannot farm so she finds it easier to do vegetables Page 29

30 close to her house rather than rice farming far away. She did not learn about crop rotation from any technical people (agriculture department or NGOs). She has developed her rotation system from experience. She divides her land into three plots, one at the back of the house (10 x 15 meters) and a plot of 30 x 15 meters on each side of her house. Her crops are a mixture of leafy vegetables (cabbage, morning glory), fruit bearing (water melons, cucumber), legumes (beans), and root vegetables (onions, garlic). Every year she rotates the crops among the three plots. She does experience much problems with pests. Many of her neighbors now see that her crops are healthier because of the system she uses and have now started to follow her practice. Even many neighbors come to her for seeds because they know she has good quality because she does not use any chemicals. As she has a small pond, she grows her vegetables throughout the year. In the dry season she gets the most benefit (almost one million Riels per season). She gets about half of that in the wet season so her average annual income from vegetable growing is 1.5 million Riels ($375), not counting what she eats (and gives away freely to her neighbors). This is sufficient for her as she and her husband are old and have little expenses. She likes to spend her free time going to the pagoda. Some pictures of Mrs. Chea Chin s garden (back and sides of house), September 2015: b) Crop diversification and rotation on rice farms While some farmers in Cambodia produce upland rice, the vast majority of Cambodian farmers farm lowland rain-fed rice. Those who produce upland rice have the possibility to practice both crop rotation and crop diversification and many already do, especially in the indigenous areas of Ratanakiri and Mondolkiri where they rotate their rice growing with soybeans and groundnuts. But there is little diversification practiced by farmers growing lowland rice. For the vast majority, who don t have access to irrigation schemes, water is normally the main constraint. But even where irrigation water is available, farmers will often choose to do a second rice crop rather than (or in conjunction with) another crop. For many years, government agencies and NGOs have promoted green manure, suggesting farmers to plant nitrogen-fixing crops (such as mungbeans) before or after planting their rice. But Page 30

31 the uptake by farmers has been low. While farmers appreciate the potential benefit of doing this, they have faced two key constraints: - Traditionally farmers planted medium or long term rice species which meant harvesting did not take place until late in the year (December or even sometimes into January of the following year) so there is no more rain - Lack of labor to plant another crop as many household members use the post-harvest period to migrate for other work or for social engagements Now, due to changing climatic conditions, more farmers opt for short term or medium term rice varieties which may offer more opportunities for planting a leguminous crop after harvest. In fact this is one area where climate change may work positively as the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology predicts that, whereas dry seasons may be longer, rainfall in the wet season may be more intense. The feasibility of growing leguminous crops after rice was tested through a study by The Regional Institute (Australia), funded by ACIAR (The Australian Center for International Agriculture Research), in association with CARDI and the Provincial Departments of Agriculture of Kompong Cham, Kompong Speu and Takeo. The first study took place in the growing season of Their modified cropping system proposed to sow legumes immediately after the rice is harvested, to maximize the use of residual soil moisture. These legumes included mungbeans, soybeans and groundnuts. This first year of testing proved inconclusive due to very low yields of soybean from insect damage, and poor mungbean growth. Only the groundnuts showed some potential. Therefore they proposed to test again the following year. We did not get any specific feedback from CARDI on follow up to this project. However, although there is little published information about the benefits of growing a leguminous crop before or after rice, discussions with staff from Provincial Departments of Agriculture suggest their strong support for the inclusion of such a topic in our booklet. Therefore we will include a short chapter on this. **************************************** From the discussion above we conclude that the best practices to include in the DCA Farmers Booklet on this topic are: - Crop rotation in vegetable gardens - Crop diversification in lowland rice production V.3c Plastic mulching and other soil covering We have noted under the discussion on DRIP irrigation above that mulching is normally a key feature of the system (generally using plastic but sometimes straw). Also the visits to HOM target farmers in Kompong Thom (discussed under integrated farming V1b above) showed farmers using plastic mulch on their vegetable gardens. Although mulching (either plastic or other types) is most effective when linked with irrigation systems such as DRIP and even more so when integrated into the farming system, it will be included as an independent technique in the booklet as farmers who do not yet have integrated farming systems or DRIP irrigation can still put this into practice. The FAO Good Practice Options for Disaster Risk Reduction (2014) noted the importance of mulching as a DRR strategy: Natural mulches, e.g. plant leaves and rice straw, and water hyacinth, etc. have traditionally been used in Cambodia for many years. However, recently, plastic mulches are introduced and replaced natural ones because of its easiness for installation and management. They are later considered as an effective drought mitigation strategy. Plastic mulches are Page 31

32 impermeable, and they retain moisture in the soil as well as prevent soil erosion and nutrient and fertilizer leaching. This practice requires less labor and increases yields, and thereby contributes to people s food and nutrition security. As long ago as 1993 plastic mulching had already become popular in the US and other countries. An article that year by the Assistant Professor of the Department of Horticulture at Kansas State University found that plastic mulches provide many positive advantages for the user, such as: - increased yields, - earlier-maturing crops, - higher-quality produce, - insect management, and - weed control - as well as allowing other components such as drip irrigation to achieve maximum efficiency. Plastic mulch Natural mulch One of the key advantages of plastic mulches over natural ones is that, even though they cost more, they can be used for a greater number of growing cycles. The only drawback to the use of plastic mulch is the issue of disposal. If the use of such plastic expands widely in Cambodia, it will potentially add to the increasingly problematic issue of solid waste disposal. For this topic, the booklet will present the key steps in setting up the mulch on the field (with pictures) and the costs involved for various options and land sizes. V.3d Reduced (or no) tillage (DMC) From discussions with farmers it is clear that if SRI required a major change in mindset (to plant less and get more ), Direct Seeding Mulch-based Cropping systems (DMC) will be an even greater challenge to their traditional ways of farming. Nevertheless the experiences from other countries show that DMC is one of the most sustainable farming systems from an agro-ecological perspective. One of the most comprehensive guides to DMC is the book produced by AFD (Agence Françaises de Développement) and FFEM (Fonds Français pour l Environnement Mondial) in The description of this technique below is summarized from that book as follows: a) Key principles of DMC b) Benefits (environmental, agricultural and economical) c) Factors that impede DMC adoption d) Factors conducive to DMC development a) Key principles of DMC DMCs are new cropping systems that have been developed and disseminated in developing countries by CIRAD and partners since DMCs are classified within the broad agro- Page 32