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)

Scaling-up SLM practices by smallholder farmers (IFAD)

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

Uganda Landcare Network (ULN) - Uganda

1.3 Conditions regarding the use of data documented through WOCAT

When were the data compiled (in the field)?

11/05/2017

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:

Pine-based shelter belt is used to protect an orchard of mangoes against strong winds in order to prevent abscission of generative organs such as flower buds, flowers, small fruits and ripened fruits

2.2 Detailed description of the Technology

Description:

Falling of flower buds and young fruits are brought about by strong winds common in northern Uganda. This can significantly reduce the number of fruits harvested and therefore cause a reduction in income to the farmer.

Fruit trees (mainly mangoes and oranges) are protected from strong winds by establishing a pine plantation beside the orchard. The plantation of pine is established in the direction from where the strong winds come and the fruit trees are established on the opposite side so that the wind velocity is reduced by the pines before it damages the fruit trees. This is because pine trees generally grow taller than the fruit trees and thus provide a shield against strong winds. Individual plants of the fruit trees are planted at a spacing of 6 x 6 m within and between rows. The spacing between the fruit trees and pine trees is approximately 10 meters. Within five years, pine trees reach a size of about 8 meters high and a diameter of about 15 cm. The fruit trees and the pines are established at the same time and all management activities such as weeding, pruning and thinning are done in a manner similar to conventional management practice for individual orchards or pine plantations.

The most important inputs for this technology are the seedlings, labour for planting and periodic activities such as weeding, thinning and pruning. On average, a seedling of a fruit tree costs about UGX 3,000 while a pine tree costs UGX 500. Approximately 500 trees are planted in an acre of land in the ratio of 3:1 for fruit tree to pine tree, respectively. This technology is suitable for farmers who have extra land besides that for the orchards, in order to plant pine shelterbelts.

One great advantage of this technology to farmers is that it provides benefits from both pine plantation and from the orchard. According to the farmer, controlling wind speed using pine shelterbelts can improve the yield of the fruit trees by up to 50% which compensates for the number of fruit trees being reduced by 30%. Nonetheless, the return on investment is high, mainly due to the high price fetched for the fruits from the orchard. This technology is also a climate change adaptation strategy because it guards against extreme weather events such as strong winds, diversifies farmers income and mitigates climate change through carbon sequestration in pine plantation.

Despite the advantages, the farmer was abhorrent of the high establishment costs that are also relatively high compared to the costs a farmer has growing only orchards. The payback period is also fairly long, approaching 5 years for the orchard and 15-20 years for the timber from the pines. A further challenge is how to manage drought and heavy winds that are becoming more frequent and extreme.

Shielding orchards is done where the land is generally flat and the winds are strong such as in the plains of northern Uganda. It is suitable where both fruit trees and timber provide equally important products for the market.

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

Indicate year of implementation:

2013

If precise year is not known, indicate approximate date:

• less than 10 years ago (recently)

2.7 Introduction of the Technology

Specify how the Technology was introduced:

• through land users' innovation

3.1 Main purpose(s) of the Technology

• reduce, prevent, restore land degradation
• reduce risk of disasters
• adapt to climate change/ extremes and its impacts
• mitigate climate change and its impacts
• create beneficial economic impact

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

3.3 Further information about land use

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

• rainfed

Number of growing seasons per year:

• 2

3.4 SLM group to which the Technology belongs

• forest plantation management
• agroforestry
• windbreak/ shelterbelt

3.5 Spread of the Technology

Specify the spread of the Technology:

• evenly spread over an area

If the Technology is evenly spread over an area, indicate approximate area covered:

• < 0.1 km2 (10 ha)

3.6 SLM measures comprising the Technology

3.7 Main types of land degradation addressed by the Technology

Comments:

Climate extremes (Winds)

3.8 Prevention, reduction, or restoration of land degradation

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

• reduce land degradation
• adapt to land degradation

Comments:

Reduces land degradation through C sequestration in tree biomass

4.1 Technical drawing of the Technology

4.2 Technical specifications/ explanations of technical drawing

Pine trees spaced at 3 x 3 meters throughout the plantation
Approximately 500 trees per acre
Mango trees planted 10 meters away from the Pine trees
spacing of mangoes is 6 x 6 meters

4.3 General information regarding the calculation of inputs and costs

Specify how costs and inputs were calculated:

• per Technology area

other/ national currency (specify):

Uganda Shillings

Indicate exchange rate from USD to local currency (if relevant): 1 USD =:

3500.0

4.4 Establishment activities

	Activity	Type of measure	Timing
1.	Clearing of land	Management	At the beginning of the season
2.	Planting	Management	Once at the start of the establishment
3.	Weeding	Management
4.	Thinning of pine plantation	Management
5.	Pruning of the pine plantation	Management	At age 3 and 7 years

4.5 Costs and inputs needed for establishment

	Specify input	Unit	Quantity	Costs per Unit	Total costs per input	% of costs borne by land users
Labour	Land preparation	Acre	1.0	200000.0	200000.0	100.0
Labour	Planting	Acre	1.0	100000.0	100000.0	100.0
Plant material	Seedlings of Pine	Acre	500.0	500.0	250000.0	100.0
Plant material	Seedlings of Mangoes	Acre	300.0	3000.0	900000.0	100.0
Total costs for establishment of the Technology					1450000.0

4.6 Maintenance/ recurrent activities

	Activity	Type of measure	Timing/ frequency
1.	Weeding	Agronomic	Twice a year for the first year and once a year thereafter
2.	Pruning	Agronomic	At age 3 and 7 years
3.	Thining	Agronomic	At age 4 and 8 years

4.7 Costs and inputs needed for maintenance/ recurrent activities (per year)

	Specify input	Unit	Quantity	Costs per Unit	Total costs per input	% of costs borne by land users
Labour	Weeding	Acre	1.0	100000.0	100000.0	100.0
Labour	Pruning of Pine	Acre	1.0	20000.0	20000.0	100.0
Labour	Thinning of Pine	Acre	1.0	200000.0	200000.0	100.0
Plant material	Seedlings for beating-up - Pine	Number	100.0	500.0	50000.0	100.0
Plant material	Seedlings for beating-up - Mangoes	Number	50.0	3000.0	150000.0	100.0
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology					520000.0

4.8 Most important factors affecting the costs

Describe the most determinate factors affecting the costs:

Land preparation and planting

5.1 Climate

5.2 Topography

Indicate if the Technology is specifically applied in:

• not relevant

5.3 Soils

5.4 Water availability and quality

Is water salinity a problem?

No

Is flooding of the area occurring?

No

5.5 Biodiversity

5.6 Characteristics of land users applying the Technology

5.7 Average area of land owned or leased by land users applying the Technology

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

Land ownership:

• individual, not titled

Land use rights:

• individual

Water use rights:

• communal (organized)

5.9 Access to services and infrastructure

6.1 On-site impacts the Technology has shown

Socio-economic impacts

Income and costs

Socio-cultural impacts

Ecological impacts

Soil

Climate and disaster risk reduction

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)

Climate-related extremes (disasters)

Other climate-related extremes (disasters)

other (specify)	How does the Technology cope with it?
Wind speed	moderately

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)?

6.5 Adoption of the Technology

• single cases/ experimental

Of all those who have adopted the Technology, how many have did so spontaneously, i.e. without receiving any material incentives/ payments?

• 0-10%

6.6 Adaptation

Has the Technology been modified recently to adapt to changing conditions?

No

6.7 Strengths/ advantages/ opportunities of the Technology

Strengths/ advantages/ opportunities in the land user’s view
Improvement in income
Increase production diversification
Increased social security because trees provide benefits over long periods of time

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

Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks in the land user’s view	How can they be overcome?
Very high cost of establishment, not affordable by many farmers	Do gradual planting instead of embarking on larger area than one can afford
There is high risk of damage to young trees by grazing animals in the areas, especially during dry season	Fence-off the area, especially the orchard
Pest and disease of mangoes result in severe damage to the orchard	Treat according to recommended schedule

Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks in the compiler’s or other key resource person’s view	How can they be overcome?
The technology requires large areas of both orchard and pine plantation, which are not available among a majority of farmers in the area.	Joint land-use planning at community level to determine appropriate cropping mixtures in the landscape.
Timing of establishment of the orchard has to be done after the pine has grown to a height of 3-4 meters (about 2 years). This is a fairly heavy investment for low-income farmers in a very short time before the actual benefits begin to accrue.	Sourcing for low-interest loans from commercial banks and other microfinance institutions

7.1 Methods/ sources of information

7.2 References to available publications

Title, author, year, ISBN:

N/a

7.3 Links to relevant information which is available online

Title/ description:

N/A