1.2 Contact details of resource persons and institutions involved in the assessment and documentation of the Technology

Name of project which facilitated the documentation/ evaluation of the Technology (if relevant)

Manual of Good Practices in Small Scale Irrigation in the Sahel (GIZ )

Name of the institution(s) which facilitated the documentation/ evaluation of the Technology (if relevant)

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (GIZ) - Germany

Name of the institution(s) which facilitated the documentation/ evaluation of the Technology (if relevant)

Misereor - Germany

1.3 Conditions regarding the use of data documented through WOCAT

The compiler and key resource person(s) accept the conditions regarding the use of data documented through WOCAT:

Yes

1.4 Declaration on sustainability of the described Technology

Is the Technology described here problematic with regard to land degradation, so that it cannot be declared a sustainable land management technology?

No

2.1 Short description of the Technology

Definition of the Technology:

Zai planting pits are designed to collect rainwater and to conserve nutrients in order to improve crop production and food security.

2.2 Detailed description of the Technology

Description:

Zai or tassa planting pits are an old farming technique rediscovered after the great drought of 1973/74 and later perfected by development partners working with the farmers. It involves digging planting pits with a diameter of at least 30 to 40 cm and 10 to 15 cm deep. They are spaced 70 to 80 cm apart, resulting in around 10,000 pits per hectare. Staggered rows of holes are dug perpendicularly to the slope. The earth dug out of the hole is piled up to form a small ridge around the rim, which captures water. A couple of handfuls of organic fertiliser or compost are put into each pit. They are normally made in the dry season before the first rains start. However, it is recommended that the pits be made immediately after the rainy season, when the soil is still moist and the weather is not too hot. If the pits are in place early in the dry season, they act as traps during the windy period in February and March, retaining rich dust carried by the harmattan and wind-blown organic matter. At least 3 tonnes of compost per hectare is recommended.

Purpose of the Technology: The arrangement of the pits in staggered rows ensures the most efficient collection of rainwater and slows the flow of water over the surface. The zai technique concentrates and conserves nutrients and water near the roots of the plants grown in them. The application of organic fertiliser directly around the plants is an economical use of a factor of production to which most farmers have limited access. It also reactivates biological activity, increases fertility and loosens the soil.
As zai planting pits restore degraded, uncultivated land, they lessen the pressure to clear other land for farming. They also reduce the vulnerability of plants during dry spells and droughts, ensuring crop production and improving food security.
Plots with zai planting pits (with fertiliser) average yields of 409 kg of millet grain per hectare, compared to 195 kg per hectare registered on control plots. Millet yields can therefore be doubled with this technique.

Establishment / maintenance activities and inputs: The zai technique requires high labour input. It is estimated that between 40 and 60 man-days per hectare are required, depending on the density of the pits. There is a mechanised system for making the holes, using a special animal-drawn plough, which considerably reduces the number of man-days required to 7 per hectare.
If the pits are prepared each year or once every two years (using the same pits or making new ones in the spaces between the old ones), soil fertility is restored and the crop cycle can be resumed. The application of organic fertiliser in sufficient quantities enables the plot to be cultivated sustainably. After five years, it can be farmed in the normal way.
Covering extensive areas with zai planting pits requires a high level of community mobilisation and effective organisation and logistics. Apart from this, the technique is very simple to implement and easily mastered by the farmers.

Natural / human environment: Zai planting pits are used on marginal or degraded land that is no longer cultivated, such as low-gradient pediments and land with encrusted soil in areas with rainfall levels of less than 800 mm a year. They are not recommended for sandy soils, as they are not stable when dug in this type of soil, or for valley bottoms, where they risk being flooded. Zai planting pits are particularly useful in areas where land use pressure is high, as they permit the rehabilitation of unproductive land for farming.
From the point of view of climate change adaptation, zai planting pits are particularly useful in areas with erratic or low rainfall, as they prevent the loss of water. As the fertiliser is placed inside the pits, it is not washed away by heavy rain.

2.3 Photos of the Technology

2.5 Country/ region/ locations where the Technology has been applied and which are covered by this assessment

2.6 Date of implementation

If precise year is not known, indicate approximate date:

• 10-50 years ago

2.7 Introduction of the Technology

Specify how the Technology was introduced:

• through projects/ external interventions

Comments (type of project, etc.):

developed, implemented and disseminated as part of projects and programmes undertaken from the 1980s onwards to combat desertification and improve natural resource management. Implemented by GIZ (German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation), PDRT (Projet de développement rural de Tahoua - Tahoua Rural Development Project), PASP (Projet de protection intégrée des ressources agro-sylvo-pastorales Tillabéri-Nord - Project for the Integrated Protection of Agricultural, Forest and Rangeland Resources in Tillabéri-Nord)

3.1 Main purpose(s) of the Technology

• improve production
• create beneficial economic impact

3.2 Current land use type(s) where the Technology is applied

Land use mixed within the same land unit:

Yes

Specify mixed land use (crops/ grazing/ trees):

• Agro-silvopastoralism

Comments:

Major cash crop: Ground nut
Major food crop: Millet
Major other crops: Sorghum, cow pea and mangos

Major land use problems (compiler’s opinion): soil erosion, fertility decline, aridification, loss of limited rainwater by runoff
Type of cropping system and major crops comments: farmers are mainly agropastoralists with some communities specialised on pure pastoralism
Constraints of forested government-owned land or commons
Type of grazing land: Extensive grazing: Nomadism, semi-nomadism/pastoralism. Intensive grazing: Cut-and-carry/zero grazing and improved pasture

Livestock density: 1-10 LU / km2

3.4 Water supply

Water supply for the land on which the Technology is applied:

• rainfed

3.5 SLM group to which the Technology belongs

• minimal soil disturbance
• integrated soil fertility management

3.6 SLM measures comprising the Technology

3.7 Main types of land degradation addressed by the Technology

Comments:

Main causes of degradation: soil management (Unadapted landuse methods, reduced or abandoned fallow periods), crop management (annual, perennial, tree/shrub) (Neglect of fallow periods and crop rotation), droughts (due to heat waves), population pressure (rapidly growing population increasing pressure on land), land tenure (insecure access to land and collectively managed communal land), poverty / wealth (very poor population)

Secondary causes of degradation: deforestation / removal of natural vegetation (incl. forest fires) (deforestation through overgrazing and fire wood collection), over-exploitation of vegetation for domestic use (firewood collection), overgrazing (cattle, sheep and goats), change in temperature (Climate change: heat waves), change of seasonal rainfall (more variable onset of rain), Heavy / extreme rainfall (intensity/amounts) (more variable and intensive rains), wind storms / dust storms (frequent storms), floods (due to intensive rain storms), labour availability (some migration of men to nearby cities), education, access to knowledge and support services (high level of illiteracy)

3.8 Prevention, reduction, or restoration of land degradation

Specify the goal of the Technology with regard to land degradation:

• restore/ rehabilitate severely degraded land

4.1 Technical drawing of the Technology

4.2 General information regarding the calculation of inputs and costs

other/ national currency (specify):

CFA Franc

4.3 Establishment activities

	Activity	Timing (season)
1.	marking out the rows perpendicular to the slope
2.	digging pits in staggered rows
3.	forming a ridge on the downhill side
4.	A couple of handfuls of organic fertiliser or compost are put into each pit

4.4 Costs and inputs needed for establishment

	Specify input	Unit	Quantity	Costs per Unit	Total costs per input	% of costs borne by land users
Labour	labour		1.0	16.3	16.3
Labour	transport and planting trees		1.0	12.3	12.3
Equipment	machine use		1.0	23.6	23.6
Plant material	seedlings
Total costs for establishment of the Technology					52.2
Total costs for establishment of the Technology in USD					52.2

4.5 Maintenance/ recurrent activities

	Activity	Timing/ frequency
1.	the pits are prepared each year or once every two years (using the same pits or making new ones in the spaces between the old ones
2.	applying organic fertiliser every two years (1 to 2 hand-fuls per pit, amounting to around 3 tonnes per hectare).

4.7 Most important factors affecting the costs

Describe the most determinate factors affecting the costs:

Labour: 40 to 60 man-days per hectare
• marking out the rows perpendicular to the slope
• digging pits in staggered rows
• forming a ridge on the downhill side
• applying organic fertiliser every two years (1 to 2 handfuls per pit, amounting to around 3 tonnes per hectare).
Other costs: transportation of 30 cartloads of manure.

5.1 Climate

5.2 Topography

5.3 Soils

If available, attach full soil description or specify the available information, e.g. soil type, soil PH/ acidity, Cation Exchange Capacity, nitrogen, salinity etc.

Soil texture: Fine to medium (sandy to clayey loams)
Soil fertility: Very low to medium
Soil drainage/infiltration: Poor and medium (ranked 2)
Soil water storage capacity: Low and medium (ranked 2)

5.4 Water availability and quality

5.5 Biodiversity

5.6 Characteristics of land users applying the Technology

Indicate other relevant characteristics of the land users:

Population density: 10-50 persons/km2
Annual population growth: 3% - 4% (mostly poor households below poverty line).
Off-farm income specification: men migrate temporarily or permanently to cities for off-farm income, women and men seasonally carry out paid farm work
Market orientation of production system: subsistence (self-supply, Most households crop for subsistence, mainly for small agropastoralists ), mixed (subsistence/commercial, crop surplus is sold on market, medium agropastoralists) and commercial market (Some vegetable growing, pastoralists)
Level of mechanization: Menual work (ranked 1) and animal traction (ranked 2, ox, donkey)

5.7 Average area of land used by land users applying the Technology

5.8 Land ownership, land use rights, and water use rights

Comments:

traditional land use rights prevail. On fields individual land use rights, communal rights on pasture and forest land (collection of wood and other products (fruits, medicinal plants))

5.9 Access to services and infrastructure

6.1 On-site impacts the Technology has shown

Socio-economic impacts

Production

Income and costs

Socio-cultural impacts

Ecological impacts

Water cycle/ runoff

Soil

Biodiversity: vegetation, animals

Climate and disaster risk reduction

Other ecological impacts

6.2 Off-site impacts the Technology has shown

6.3 Exposure and sensitivity of the Technology to gradual climate change and climate-related extremes/ disasters (as perceived by land users)

Gradual climate change

Gradual climate change

	Season	increase or decrease	How does the Technology cope with it?
annual temperature		increase	well

Climate-related extremes (disasters)

Meteorological disasters

	How does the Technology cope with it?
local rainstorm	not well
local windstorm	well

Climatological disasters

	How does the Technology cope with it?
drought	well

Hydrological disasters

	How does the Technology cope with it?
general (river) flood	not well

Other climate-related consequences

Other climate-related consequences

	How does the Technology cope with it?
reduced growing period	not known

6.4 Cost-benefit analysis

How do the benefits compare with the establishment costs (from land users’ perspective)?

How do the benefits compare with the maintenance/ recurrent costs (from land users' perspective)?

6.7 Strengths/ advantages/ opportunities of the Technology

Strengths/ advantages/ opportunities in the compiler’s or other key resource person’s view
The arrangement of the pits in staggered rows ensures the most efficient collection of rainwater and slows the flow of water over the surface. The zai technique concentrates and conserves nutrients and water near the roots of the plants grown in them.
Zai planting pits are particularly useful in areas where land use pressure is high, as they permit the rehabilitation of unproductive land for farming. Therefore they lessen the pressure to clear other land for farming.
They also reduce the vulnerability of plants during dry spells and droughts, ensuring crop production and im- proving food security.
It permits a rational use of fertiliser. When fertiliser is spread on the surface of a plot without zai planting pits, it can be washed away by runoff.
very simple to implement and easily mastered by the farmers

6.8 Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks of the Technology and ways of overcoming them

Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks in the compiler’s or other key resource person’s view	How can they be overcome?
The zai technique requires high labour input.
Zai planting pits are not recommended for light soils, as they fill in too quickly

7.1 Methods/ sources of information

7.3 Links to relevant online information

Title/ description:

Good Practices in Soil and Water Conservation. A contribution to adaptation and farmers´ resilience towards climate change in the Sahel. Published by GIZ in 2012.

URL:

http://agriwaterpedia.info/wiki/Main_Page