FFTC Annual Report 2005
Finding solutions to secure Asia's soil and water
resources for sustainable agricultural production
Newly developed innovative
technologies for soil and water
conservation
SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION technologies and approaches are critical factors
toward the sustainable use of the natural resource base for agriculture in Asia. It is
estimated that about 80 percent of all available water supply in the region is mainly used
for irrigation. Increasing withdrawals of water for food production is one of the main causes
of water scarcity, which several countries are facing today. Meanwhile, soil erosion
continuously places many parts of the world in a critical situation. Estimates show that
about 35 percent of the earth's total land surface is significantly degraded. Low crop
productivity is also traced to low soil fertility levels.
The widespread concern over the degradation of soil and water resources has led to
great efforts by governments and scientists in the Asian region to develop technologies
appropriate for small-scale farmers. These scientific solutions to preserve and conserve
the natural resource base for agriculture involves strategies that cut across social,
environmental, and political boundaries.
However, while technologies are abundant, their relevance and effectiveness still
very much depend on whether the major needs and pressing concerns facing our smallscale farmers are dealt with. Most importantly, while some developed countries have
gained technological advancement in soil and water conservation, even using information
technology (IT) following modern consumer-oriented agriculture, other developing
countries have yet to achieve appropriate measures in maximizing soil and water supply
capacities to increase their agricultural produce.
Innovative techniques or solutions must be extended to create learning and sharing
environments, and to improve the transfer of scientific and technological advancement to
the users. Hence, this workshop proved to be timely and fitting, inasmuch as there are now
sufficient information, knowledge, and experiences to share among countries in the region
on the conservation of soil and water resources in the agricultural environments. It served
as a venue to extend and disseminate these new innovative technologies, which are
deemed vital in improving agricultural production, providing better livelihood opportunities
to resource-poor farmers, and ameliorating or preventing further degradation of the natural
resource base for agriculture.
Scientific and technological trends in soil and water conservation
In reducing water use and water losses, on-site approaches to conservation include
retention of rainfall by decreasing runoff and increasing infiltration under rainfed culture,
and reducing irrigation water applications under irrigated culture. Historical approaches to
conserving water in irrigation practices include reducing losses during conveyance of
water from the source to irrigated area, such as canal leakage and evaporation, and pipe
leakage. More recent technologies like micro-irrigation systems have been developed. In
the US, a recent innovation under paddy rice culture is the multiple-inlet irrigation.
Irrigation-induced erosion has been fairly studied for furrow irrigation, and one
method to reduce this is through the injection of polyacrylamide (PAM) in the irrigation
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FFTC Annual Report 2005
water. PAM has been proven to also improve
infiltration rates for soils, and therefore reduce
nutrient or other soluble chemical loss. Recently,
new information has been gathered regarding the
action and efficacy of buffers and other conservation
practices to prevent nutrient removals.
An emerging concept in soil and water
conservation is the "precision agriculture approach
to conservation" or "precision conservation". Two
approaches were described namely: the
quantitative approach that assesses the needs for
spatial conservation measures, and the consensusbased approach that evaluates spatial profitability,
water, and soil quality for a research field.
Some critical points to consider in developing
soil and water conservation technologies include:
economic productivity being an important factor in
conservation; that spatial variation is a key to
targeting vulnerable areas at all scales; and that
complex problems across landscapes, across
farming enterprises, and across conflicting
objectives require integrated, multidisciplinary team
of expertise.
Innovative technologies for soil
and water conservation management
Soil conservation management. Increasing
land pressure to improve the socioeconomic
standard of the people, decreasing availability of
arable land, and government support to
development of peatland have been encouraged in
some countries. Studies showed that some of the
requirements for land clearing include: comparisons
on techniques for land clearing and cost estimates;
description of the amount of woody debris based on
various parameters — measured and calculated
weight and volume of biomass; and effects of
clearing on wood decomposition process and
surface subsidence, plant/arthropod/microbial/fish
diversity, carbon dioxide flux, and water pollution.
Other soil conservation studies in Asia include:
tree crops for steep land conservation; soil erosion
measurement and control techniques and
identification of controllable and non-controllable
factors; vegetation engineering methods for erosion
control and slope stabilization such as staking,
wattling, spray seeding with net placement, cave
vegetation, and artificial scattering seeding.
Water conservation management. Effective
water management for agriculture basically refers to
the suitability of various irrigation methods based on
such factors as natural conditions, type of crop, type
of technologies available, previous experiences in
irrigation, labor inputs, costs and benefit estimates,
among many others.
In many Asian countries, addressing the
problems brought about by water pollution sources
is also a major concern. Agricultural production,
which is divided generally into crop production and
animal production, has accelerated soil and water
pollution because of intensive use of fertilizer and
agricultural chemicals for higher productivity. To
address this problem, the pollution contribution of
livestock and crop production areas must be
calculated, and environment-friendly practices must
be assessed and adopted.
New approaches focusing
on socio-economic dimensions
Soil and water conservation not only entails
understanding the biophysical aspects of soil and
water, but also the socio-economic dimensions
surrounding the generation, validation and
utilization of the technologies and approaches. This
is necessary considering the complexity of soil and
water processes and the extent of problems at
hand.
In some Asian countries, governments play a
big role in alleviating the plight of the resource-poor
farmers as well as in reducing the pressure on the
upland soil resources. Some of the approaches
introduced with due consideration to socioeconomic factors include: the Conservation Farming
Village or Communities (CFV/CFC), a modality for
promoting soil and water conservation
technologies; and the New Theory Farming (NTF)
System Application on the National Water Grid
System Plan.
The Philippines' CFV/CFC is a community
resource-based management/ integrated
community development approach, which aims to
contribute to the attainment of higher production
and income, and addresses the concerns on land
degradation in the sloping areas.
Meanwhile, Thailand's New Theory Farming
(NTF) System Application on the National Water
Grid System Plan aims to improve local water
shortage situation by converting 30 percent of farm
land into farm ponds. This is expected to solve the
drought problem facing about 5.65 million
households of farmers, increasing their accessibility
to clean water, and increasing income generation
from agriculture.
Technologies for soil and water conservation
must emphasize the benefits of better management
to small-scale farmers and other less-privileged
groups who are directly or indirectly dependent on
agriculture for their livelihood . Development
workers must always determine "who wins and who
loses" in the process by considering: proper/accu-
FFTC Annual Report 2005
Lysimeter Facilities
of NIAST, RDA, Korea
Participants visit the Lysimeter
facilities of the National
Institute for Agricultural
Science and Technology
(NIAST), RDA, Korea,
intended for the formulation
of a soil loss equation for
Korea’s condition, and the
study of water and nutrient
balance on hilly upland.
rate zoning methods; appropriate identification of
problems; and acceptability of technologies to be
used.
Conclusions and recommendations
Scientific and technological solutions
beneficial to small-scale farmers. Conservation
and sustainable utilization of soil and water are
essential in safeguarding agricultural food
production in Asia, as well as in improving the
economic conditions of small-scale farmers in the
region.
Under the principle of sustainable agriculture,
farming must not in any way contribute to the
degradation of the environment, particularly of soil
and water resources. To enable small-scale farmers
to contribute to the development of a sustainable
agricultural environment in the region, conservation
technologies should be easily accessible, available,
low-cost and simple to apply. In developing
countries, efforts must be geared toward
technologies that can help alleviate the plight of the
resource-poor upland and lowland farmers, whose
desire to earn a better living for the household often
outweighs the need to conserve resources.
Exchange and sharing of scientific
information. Technological interests in conserving
soil and water resources among the participating
countries in the workshop differ significanlty, due
primarily to differences in the geographical and
meteorological conditions, and the stage of
economic development in each country. There may
not be a unique interest and solution which is
applicable to all nations.
However, in better managing soil and water
resources for agriculture, each country has much to
gain in engaging in mutually benefiting
collaborative projects with other countries, where
exchanges of knowledge, technologies and
information could be effected. In addition,
environmental problems of global extent such as
eutrophication and global warming could be jointly
addressed and resources could be pooled together
to lessen the transaction costs of development.
Toward this end, the use of advanced
information technologies such as the geographic
information system (GIS) is now becoming a
necessity. The system can provide information for
soil management, fertilization, crop selection and
land use recommendations according to soil
physicochemical properties, among others. This, as
well as a sound database on many aspects of soil
and water conservation for proper decision-making
and responsive planning, should be a long-term
target in any country.
Policy initiatives. Other recommendations
during the workshop focus on the need for policy
initiatives, particularly in improving water
management, such as quantification of
environmental impacts of water use in paddy field,
water pricing for agricultural use, and other
institutional and development aspects. With water
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FFTC Annual Report 2005
Source: http://www.karico.co.kr/saemangeum/
and soil resources becoming more and more
limited, new policies for agriculture, new institutions,
technologies and better management options will
be needed to sustain agricultural production.
In other countries, participatory integrated
approaches, such as socio-economic and extension
programs involving nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs), are contributing to the conservation of soil
and water resources in farming villages. Community
participation through meetings, consultations,
regular reporting, socioeconomic surveys, and welldefined rules and regulations enhanced adoption of
soil and water conservation measures. Technology
promotion, as well as continuous capacity building
through various information, education and
communication media and strategies were also
found effective in sustaining community
participation and farmers' involvement in soil and
water conservation projects.
Systematic management approach. Finally,
it is fundamental to set up a systematic
management approach for soil and water
conservation in each country. This approach must
be able to integrate technological innovations with
policy initiatives and interdisciplinary,
socioeconomic and participatory approaches to
sustain the natural resource base for agriculture,
particularly soil and water. This, in effect, will lead to
enhanced food production, while improving the
overall sustainability of rural livelihoods and
economies.
International Workshop on Newly Developed
Innovative Technologies for Soil and Water
Conservation
Held at the International Technical Cooperation
Center (ITCC) Conference Hall, RDA, Suwon,
Korea on May 31 - June 03
No. of countries participating: 9 (Indonesia, Japan,
Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan ROC,
Thailand, USA, and Vietnam)
No. of papers presented: 14
No. of participants: 100 (official participants and
observers)
Co-sponsor: Rural Development Administration
(RDA), Suwon, Korea
List of Papers
Keynote paper
1. Newly Developed Technologies for Soil and
Water Conservation
- Edward John Sadler, USDA-ARS Cropping
Systems & Water Quality Research Unit, USA
Country reports
2. Research Barrier against Water, Gas and Solute
Movement in Soils
- Shuichi Hasegawa, Hokkaido Univ., Japan
3. New Theory Farming System Application on the
National Water Grid System Plan
- Somkiat Prajamwong, Ministry of Agriculture
and Cooperatives, Thailand
4. Impact of Various Land Clearing Techniques on
Peat Eco-System
- Ismail bin Abu Bakar, MARDI, Malaysia
5. The Role of Tree Crops for Steep Land
Conservation: Case Study in Southern
Sumatera, Indonesia
- Ai Dariah, Center for Soil and Agroclimate
R&D, Indonesia
6. Soil Erosion Measurement and Control
Technique
- Joongdae Choi, Kangwon National
University, Korea
FFTC Annual Report 2005
7. Vegetation Engineering Methods for Erosion
Control and Slope Stabilization on Landslide
Area
- Li-Ling Lin, National Chung-Hsing University,
Taiwan ROC
8. Effective Water Management in Korean
Agriculture
- Ki-Cheol Eom, Rural Development
Administration, Korea
9. Conservation Farming Village as a Modality for
Promoting Soil and Water Conservation
Technologies
- Digna O. Manzanilla, PCARRD, Philippines
10. Innovative Technologies for Soil and Water
Conservation in the Coastal Area of Mekong
delta
- Duong Van Ni, Cantho University, Vietnam
11. Water Pollution Sources and Management in
Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture Site
- Ji-Yong Choi, Korea Environment Institute,
Korea
12. Technology and Know-how Related to Creek
Restoration and Erosion Control from the
Viewpoint of Ecolo gic Engineering
Development in Taiwan
- Chia-Chun Wu, National Pingtung University
of Science and Technology, Taiwan ROC
13. Present Status and Plan for Agricultural
Environment Conservation in Korea
- Seung-Oh Hur, National Institute of
Agricultural Science & Technology, Korea
14. Validation and Modification of Soil Organic
Matter Models Using Data from Long-term
Experiments in Asia
- Yasuhito Shirato, National Institute for AgroEnvironmental Sciences, Japan
For further information, contact:
Mr. In-Woo Lee, FFTC Agricultural Economist
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