Fodder grain crop (Malgorzata Conder)
The farmer started to plant flax for oil production on his 0.2 hectare plot, which gave a good harvest. Since 1999 the farmer has cultivated wheat and feed grain, rotating year by year. According to the farmer, wheat and feed grain cropping does not provide a benefit on that plot, when money and labour inputs are considered. But as straw is scarce but is needed for his cows, the farmer gets that by-product from harvesting wheat. Furthermore, as that plot is accessible by the tractor for ploughing, he plants wheat and will continue doing that in future, even though the output is low. Though the farmer has a land user's certificate for that property, it becomes common for livestock grazing after the harvest. This causes overgrazing, bare soil, trampling and other issues.
Purpose of the Technology: The purpose of cropping wheat is to get straw for feeding. According to the farmer the bad quality of soil and the absence of water do not allow a different crop type than wheat.
Establishment / maintenance activities and inputs: Establishment and maintenance activities are almost the same. The crop must be ploughed, seeds planted and fertilizer applied. Though no fertilizer was needed at the beginning of crop cultivation, now its use is increasing. Between the time of planting and harvesting, the crop is regularly safe guarded from grazing livestock. If herds approach, the farmer or a family member will protect the crop. After the harvest, the crop is somehow declared as communal land, where cattle are allowed to graze there.
Natural / human environment: The crop is situated on a ridge above the village of Chargii bolo. It is a small sized terrace with a slight slope. Soil quality and moisture were already very poor when the crop was established, which results in a low output comparing to the input. The soil is compacted and shows a low level of organic matter, soil moisture and nutrients. The farmer complains about the small sharp stones of around 1-2 cm of diameter in the soil. They indicate a high level of soil degradation. Although the slope is slight, the vertical ploughing has caused small rills in the lower part of the plot and some more pronounced rills off-site. The plot is the property of the farmer, but is used as pasture after harvest for the livestock. Soil compaction, lowered vegetation cover and water infiltration result from trampling and overgrazing. There’s no agreement between cultivars and herders, reason why this crop continues to be grazed uncontrolled.
Location: Muminobod, Khatlon, Tajikistan, Tajikistan
No. of Technology sites analysed:
Spread of the Technology: evenly spread over an area (approx. < 0.1 km2 (10 ha))
In a permanently protected area?:
Date of implementation: 10-50 years ago
Type of introduction
| Specify input | Unit | Quantity | Costs per Unit (Somoni) | Total costs per input (Somoni) | % of costs borne by land users |
| Labour | |||||
| Plowing | Person days | 1.4 | 12.214 | 17.1 | 100.0 |
| Sowing wheat | Person days | 4.125 | 12.412 | 51.2 | 100.0 |
| Applying fertilizer | Person days | 1.4 | 12.214 | 17.1 | 100.0 |
| Cutting wheat | Person days | 13.5 | 12.422 | 167.7 | 100.0 |
| Equipment | |||||
| Petrol | liters | 14.0 | 1.14 | 15.96 | 100.0 |
| Machine use | hours | 2.0 | 2.6 | 5.2 | 100.0 |
| Plant material | |||||
| Seeds | 12.4 | 100.0 | |||
| Fertilizers and biocides | |||||
| Fertilizer | kg | 12.0 | 0.755 | 9.06 | 100.0 |
| Other | |||||
| Guarding | |||||
| Total costs for maintenance of the Technology | 283.32 | ||||
| Total costs for maintenance of the Technology in USD | 58.66 | ||||
less/ no guardening
