1.2 Detalles de contacto de las personas de referencia e instituciones involucradas en la evaluación y la documentación de la Tecnología

Nombre de la(s) institución(es) que facilitaron la documentación/ evaluación de la Tecnología (si fuera relevante)

HELVETAS (Swiss Intercooperation)

Nombre de la(s) institución(es) que facilitaron la documentación/ evaluación de la Tecnología (si fuera relevante)

ICIMOD International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) - Nepal

1.3 Condiciones referidas al uso de datos documentados mediante WOCAT

¿Cuándo se compilaron los datos (en el campo)?

01/03/2013

El compilador y la/s persona(s) de referencia claves aceptan las condiciones acerca del uso de los datos documentados mediante WOCAT:

Sí

2.1 Breve descripción de la Tecnología

Definición de la Tecnología:

Smallholder farmers can use polyhouses to produce high demand vegetables, such as tomatoes, and can earn a substantial income from even a relatively small plot of land in a short time.

2.2 Descripción detallada de la Tecnología

Descripción:

During the wet season (June–October), the monsoon rains severely limit the type of crops that can be grown in open fields and they also restrict the production of seedlings. Low-cost polyhouses can be used to protect crops from excessive rainfall and can provide a sheltered environment for the production of better quality crops over the rainy season cropping period. For example, smallholder farmers who produce high demand vegetables such as tomatoes can earn as much as USD 350–500 from a plot of land which measures only 100 m2 in area over the short time period from June to November. This is much more than they can earn by growing any traditional crop by conventional methods. The Sustainable Soil Management Programme (SSMP) is promoting this technology in several mid-hill districts of Nepal.

Establishment / maintenance activities and inputs: Polyhouses should be situated in well-drained areas where sunshine is abundant and there is no shade throughout the cropping period. The bamboo frame can be constructed earlier in the year but the plastic roofing is not added until after one or two rainfall events. The height of the polyhouse frame varies depending on the altitude. At higher elevations, the polyhouses are lower to help trap more heat and moisture, whereas at lower elevations the polyhouses are higher to allow more air to circulate and moisture to evaporate. The preparations, which take place mid-May to early June, consist of fertilizing the soil and planting the tomato seedlings. Throughout the growing season the tomato plants are staked, trained, and pruned and a top dressing of fertilizer is added to produce a higher quality product.

2.3 Fotografías de la Tecnología

2.5 País/ región/ lugares donde la Tecnología fue aplicada y que se hallan comprendidos por esta evaluación

2.7 Introducción de la Tecnología

Especifique cómo se introdujo la Tecnología:

• mediante proyectos/ intervenciones externas

3.1 Propósito(s) principal(es) de la Tecnología MST

• mejorar la producción
• crear impacto económico benéfico

3.2 Tipo(s) actuales de uso de la tierra donde se aplica la Tecnología

Comentarios:

Major land use problems (compiler’s opinion): In the mid-hills of Nepal, the arable land of most farm households has been divided into very small plots. If this land is used to produce traditional crops such as maize, wheat, and millet using conventional farming methods, it cannot provide full employment for all of the householders and cannot yield sufficient cash income for the household. The risk of intense rainfall during the monsoon season, which can damage crops, has prevented these farmers from switching to more lucrative high value crops.

3.3 Información adicional sobre el uso de tierras

Número de temporadas de cultivo por año:

• 1

Especifique:

Longest growing period in days: 214; Longest growing period from month to month: May to November

3.4 Grupo MST al que pertenece la Tecnología

• Greenhouses

3.5 Difusión de la Tecnología

Especifique la difusión de la Tecnología:

• distribuida parejamente sobre un área

Si la tecnología se halla difundida homogéneamente en un área, indique el área aproximada que cubre:

• 1-10 km2

3.6 Medidas MST que componen la Tecnología

3.7 Principales tipos de degradación del suelo encarados con la Tecnología

Comentarios:

Main causes of degradation: Heavy / extreme rainfall (intensity/amounts) (During the summer monsoon (June-October), continuous or heavy rainfall can damage seedlings and erode the land; it is difficult to establish crops during this time.)

3.8 Prevención, reducción o restauración de la degradación del suelo

Especifique la meta de la Tecnología con relación a la degradación de la tierra:

• prevenir la degradación del suelo

4.1 Dibujo técnico de la Tecnología

4.2 Especificaciones técnicas/ explicaciones del dibujo técnico

Left: Sketch of a polyhouse. The optimum length is 20 m and the width 5 m. The height of the central and side poles varies depending on the elevation. Note that there should be a space of at least 1 m between polyhouses.

Right top: Cross sectional view of a planting bed showing row-to-row (RXR) and plant-to-plant (PXP) distances. Note that there should be a space of at least 90 cm between beds.

Right bottom: Inside the polyhouse, the tomatoes can be staked using bamboo poles; the plants are trained along these trellises.

Technical knowledge required for land users: moderate

Main technical functions: Increase Productivity, Introduce high value crop

Secondary technical functions: increase in nutrient availability (supply, recycling,…)

4.3 Información general sobre el cálculo de insumos y costos

Especifique cómo se calcularon los costos e insumos:

• por unidad de Tecnología

Especifique la moneda usada para calcular costos:

• dólares americanos

4.4 Actividades de establecimiento

	Actividad	Tipo de medida	Momento
1.	Labour for construction of the Polyhouse	Estructurales
2.	Labour for planting, training,pruning,stalking	Agronómicas
3.	Materials: Bamboo pole, plastics sheet, rope, nails, seed, poles
4.	Agricultural: seed, fertilizer, crop protection	Agronómicas

Comentarios:

Details for the establishment of Poly house. Establishment activities 1. Construction of the polyhouse using bamboo poles, wooden posts, clear plastic sheet, nails, and rope. 2. How long it takes to construct the polyhouse and plant the crops depends on how much labour is available. Depending on their level of expertise, four to five people can construct the structure in one day; and two people can complete the soil preparation and planting in one day. Technical guidelines for erecting a polyhouse The optimum length of a polyhouse is 20 m, and the width is 5 m; 400–500 gauge plastic sheeting is used. The height of the polyhouse depends on the elevation: at 1200–1600 masl, the optimum height of the central pole is 3 m and the side poles are 2 m high; at 1600–2000 masl, the central pole is 2.5 m high and the side poles are 1.6 m high. There should be an open space of at least 1 m between polyhouses. Technical guidelines for preparing the soil and planting tomatoes Per plant, at least 3–4 kg of well-decomposed farmyard manure and compost are worked into the soil. Before transplanting the seedlings, the soil around each is dressed with 10 g of DAP (diammonium phosphate) and 6 g of MoP (muriate of potash). The seedlings are transplanted when they are 20–25 days old. In an open row system, the suggested row to row (RxR) spacing is 90 cm and the suggested plant to plant (PxP) spacing is 60 cm; in a closed row system the row to row and plant to plant spacing can both be 60 cm. At least two top dressings of DAP and MoP (10:10 g) are necessary 20–25 and 40–45 days after transplanting; 1 kg per 0.05 ha of borax is also added at the time of the first top dressing. Alternatively, these two top dressings can be substituted by a mixture of cattle urine (50 ml) and water (200 ml water) per plant. The dressing with this mixture can begin 20–25 days after transplanting, and is repeated every 10–12 days.

4.5 Costos e insumos necesarios para el establecimiento

	Especifique insumo	Unidad	Cantidad	Costos por unidad	Costos totales por insumo	% de los costos cubiertos por los usuarios de las tierras
Mano de obra	Construction of the polyhouse	persons/unit	5,0	4,0	20,0	100,0
Mano de obra	Training, pruning, stalking	persons/unit	5,0	4,0	20,0	100,0
Material para plantas	Seed, fertilizer, crop protection	unit	1,0	10,0	10,0	50,0
Material de construcción	Bamboo pole, plastics sheet, rope, nails, seed, poles	unit	1,0	90,0	90,0	35,0
Costos totales para establecer la Tecnología					140,0

4.6 Actividades de establecimiento/ recurrentes

	Actividad	Tipo de medida	Momento/ frequencia
1.	There are no major maintenance costs during the cropping season; but occasionally some minor maintenance is required (e.g., replacing damaged stakes and plastic sheet, or securing with additional rope and nails).	Agronómicas

4.7 Costos e insumos necesarios para actividades de mantenimiento/ recurrentes (por año)

	Especifique insumo	Unidad	Cantidad	Costos por unidad	Costos totales por insumo	% de los costos cubiertos por los usuarios de las tierras
Mano de obra	Maintenance	persons/unit	1,0	5,0	5,0	100,0
Equipo	Equipment	unit	1,0	5,0	5,0	100,0
Fertilizantes y biocidas	Agricultural	unit	1,0	5,0	5,0	100,0
Material de construcción	Material	unit	1,0	10,0	10,0	100,0
Indique los costos totales para mantenecer la Tecnología					25,0

4.8 Factores más determinantes que afectan los costos:

Describa los factores más determinantes que afectan los costos:

All costs and amounts are rough estimates by the technicians and authors. Exchange rate USD 1 = NPR 71 in April 2011

5.1 Clima

5.2 Topografía

Comentarios y especificaciones adicionales sobre topografía :

Slopes on average: Also moderate (6-10%), rolling (11-15%) and hilly (16-30%)

Landforms: Also footslopes

5.3 Suelos

Si se halla disponible, adjunte una descripción completa de los suelos o especifique la información disponible, por ej., tipo de suelo, pH/ acidez de suelo, capacidad de intercambio catiónico, nitrógeno, salinidad, etc. :

Soil fertility is medium - high

Soil water storage capacity is medium - high

5.6 Las características de los usuarios de la tierra que aplican la Tecnología

5.7 Área promedio de la tierra que pertenece a o es arrendada por usuarios de tierra que aplican la Tecnología

5.8 Tenencia de tierra, uso de tierra y derechos de uso de agua

Tenencia de tierra:

• individual, sin título
• individual, con título

Derechos de uso de tierra:

• individual

Derechos de uso de agua:

• comunitarios (organizado)

6.1 Impactos in situ demostrados por la Tecnología

Impactos socioeconómicos

Producción

Ingreso y costos

Otros impactos socioeconómicos

Impactos socioculturales

Impactos ecológicos

Suelo

Biodiversidad: vegetación, animales

Reducción de riesgos de desastres y riesgos climáticos

6.2 Impactos fuera del sitio demostrados por la Tecnología

6.3 Exposición y sensibilidad de la Tecnología al cambio climático gradual y a extremos relacionados al clima/ desastres (desde la percepción de los usuarios de tierras)

Cambio climático gradual

Cambio climático gradual

	Estación	tipo de cambios climáticos/ climas extremos	¿Cómo es que la tecnología soporta esto?
temperatura anual		incrementó	no muy bien

Extremos (desastres) relacionados al clima

Desastres climatológicos:

	¿Cómo es que la tecnología soporta esto?
tormenta de lluvia local	bien

Otras consecuencias relacionadas al clima

Otras consecuencias relacionadas al clima

	¿Cómo es que la tecnología soporta esto?
High relative humidity	no muy bien

Comentarios:

optimize the plant density; train and prune plants often to avoid overcrowding; modify the structure to provide more ventilation (ventilated polyhouse) in especially hot areas

6.4 Análisis costo-beneficio

¿Cómo se comparan los beneficios con los costos de establecimiento (desde la perspectiva de los usuarios de tierra)?

¿Cómo se comparan los beneficios con los costos de mantenimiento/ recurrentes (desde la perspectiva de los usuarios de tierra)?

6.5 Adopción de la Tecnología

Comentarios:

There is a moderate trend towards spontaneous adoption of the Technology

Comments on adoption trend: Although the technology is only moderately expensive to implement and provides a higher rate of return than traditional crops, smallholder farmers often need technical support and encouragement to get started. This support can be in the form of improved seed varieties and plastic sheeting for the polyhouse.

Driver for adoption:
• relatively simple technology
• higher economic return
• provides on-farm employment
Constraints
• smallholder farmers and poorer households need initial support to establish the polyhouse
• farmers need technical support
• farmers need practical information and technical backstopping

6.7 Fuerzas/ ventajas/ oportunidades de la Tecnología

Fuerzas/ ventajas/ oportunidades desde la perspectiva del compilador o de otra persona de referencia clave
Cost effective in terms of output as compared to traditional crops How can they be sustained / enhanced? Identify other cash crops that can also provide improved income opportunities
This technology can be integrated to make maximum use of farm niches; it is especially beneficial for smallholder farmers How can they be sustained / enhanced? Provide training on the construction of polyhouses to experienced lead farmers so that they can provide technical support to others.
It mostly uses local materials How can they be sustained / enhanced? Ensure bamboo poles are available on the farm; encourage the use of silpaulin which is more durable than polyethylene
Uses local expertise, farmer knowledge, and practices How can they be sustained / enhanced? Farmers can make the most of their investment by linking with markets and by providing support for value chain development.

6.8 Debilidades/ desventajas/ riesgos de la Tecnología y formas de sobreponerse a ellos

Debilidades/ desventajas/ riesgos desde la perspectiva del compilador o de otra persona de referencia clave	¿Cómo sobreponerse a ellas?
Need to provide training and technical know-how and need on-farm research to identify alternative cash crops	Farmer-to-famer extension can help to identify other crops
Vulnerable to diseases and pests	Adjust planting time to local conditions; build the polyhouses in appropriate locations; plant resistant varieties; modify the structure to improve air circulation; prune and train plants throughout the cropping season; improve staking techniques; rotate crops or move polyhouse every three years
Some initial set-up cost	Silpaulin can be purchased at lower cost when farmers' groups buy in bulk.

7.2 Vínculos a las publicaciones disponibles

Título, autor, año, ISBN:

Construction of polyhouse and rainy season tomato cultivation inside polyhouse (in Nepali). Kathmandu, Nepal: Sustainable Soil Management Programme, Helvetas Nepal, SSMP (2010)