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)

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

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

HELVETAS (Swiss Intercooperation)

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

1.5 Referencia al (los) Cuestionario(s) de Enfoques MST

2.1 Breve descripción de la Tecnología

Definición de la Tecnología:

Riverbed farming can be used to increase household income and to improve the food security of landless and land-poor households in the Terai area of Nepal.

2.2 Descripción detallada de la Tecnología

Descripción:

It is estimated that about 8,000 hectares of riverbed land would be suitable for agricultural cultivation in the Kailali and Kanchanpur Districts in the Western Terai areas of Nepal. After the river water recedes in the post-monsoon season, vegetables are planted in ditches dug into the seasonal sand banks; the crops are harvested before the onset of the next monsoon. In 2006, Elam Plus of HELVETAS Swiss Inter-cooperation Nepal, assessed local practices of riverbed farming and piloted an improved approach with 670 farmers, mostly from the indigenous Tharu community. During the first year they cultivated 43 hectares. Since the initial results indicated that riverbed farming could increase the target population’s income significantly, the programme was expanded from the initial two districts (Kailali and Kanchanpur) to two new districts (Banke, and Bardiya). The number of households was increased to 2000 in 2008 and 3165 in 2012 after the initiative won a Global Development Market Place award from the World Bank.

Establishment / maintenance activities and inputs: Requirements for riverbed farming:
• On average, the water table should not be lower than 1 m; when the water table is lower than this, too much labour is required.
• Plots are allocated perpendicular to the river flow in order to give each farmer access to a variety of land types (and moisture levels) suitable for different crops.
• Ditches are up to 1 m deep and 1 m wide. The length depends on how much land is available.
• A row-to-row spacing of 2–3 m (between the ditches) and plant-to-plant spacing of 0.5–1 m is required depending on the crop.
• The ditches are dug in an east-west orientation to maximize the amount of sunshine they receive and to minimise the collection of sand carried by the prevailing winds.
• Riverbed farmers can build shelters close to their plots so that they can be close at hand to fend off thieves and wild animals.

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

• crear impacto económico benéfico
• crear impacto social benéfico

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

Comentarios:

Major land use problems (compiler’s opinion): Rivers in the Terai region change their course frequently and when they do, the adjacent lands are flooded. The riverbeds are flooded annually, while the riverbanks are only flooded during extreme events. The annually flooded riverbeds are seasonally dry (from September to May) and are a generally unused land resource. Landless and land- poor farmers can use this land to cultivate seasonal vegetables that are adapted to the environmental conditions prevalent on riverbeds.

3.3 Información adicional sobre el uso de tierras

Número de temporadas de cultivo por año:

• 1

Especifique:

Longest growing period from month to month: November to May

3.4 Grupo MST al que pertenece la Tecnología

• cobertura de suelo/ vegetal mejorada

• use different type of land for cultivation

3.5 Difusión de la Tecnología

Especifique la difusión de la Tecnología:

• distribuida parejamente sobre un área

Comentarios:

Total area covered by the SLM Technology is 4 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: floods

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:

• reducir la degradación del suelo

4.1 Dibujo técnico de la Tecnología

4.2 Especificaciones técnicas/ explicaciones del dibujo técnico

Plots for riverbed farming are allocated perpendicular to the river flow and the ditches are dug in an east-west orientation.

Technical knowledge required for land users: moderate

Main technical functions: increase / maintain water stored in soil, Support Income Generation

Secondary technical functions: improvement of ground cover, increase in organic matter, Stabilizes the soil

4.3 Información general sobre el cálculo de insumos y costos

Especifique cómo se calcularon los costos e insumos:

• por área de Tecnología

Especifique la moneda usada para calcular costos:

• dólares americanos

4.4 Actividades de establecimiento

	Actividad	Tipo de medida	Momento
1.	Dig ditches in an east-west direction about 2 to 3 m apart. The ditches can be up to 1 m deep and 1 m wide; the length will depend on the shape of the land.	Estructurales
2.	Apply fertilizer: farmyard manure/compost about 12 tonnes; urea about 100 kg; di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) about 120 kg; and potash about 30 kg per ha.	Estructurales
3.	Plant seeds/seedlings using the appropriate row-to-row (RXR) and plant-to-plant (PXP) distance for at least one crop. A row-to-row distance of 3 m is required for bottle gourd, pumpkin, and water melon and 2 m for bitter gourd and cucumber; a plant-to-plant distance of 0.5 m is needed for cucumber and bitter gourd and 1 m for water melon, bottle gourd, and pumpkin.	Estructurales

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	Dig ditches and applying fertilizer and manure	ha	1,0	232,0	232,0	100,0
Equipo	Sprayer, watering cans,spade	ha	1,0	42,0	42,0
Fertilizantes y biocidas	Seeds, chemical fertilizer	ha	1,0	267,0	267,0
Material de construcción	Plastic bags,mulching material	ha	1,0	21,0	21,0
Costos totales para establecer la Tecnología					562,0

4.6 Actividades de establecimiento/ recurrentes

	Actividad	Tipo de medida	Momento/ frequencia
1.	Water new plots every 2 to 3 days; as the seedlings mature, water weekly or as needed depending on the weather and the soilconditions.	Estructurales
2.	Replace seedlings that have died and replant seeds in places where they have not germinated	Estructurales
3.	Top dress with nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium	Estructurales
4.	Mulch with straw and grass	Estructurales
5.	Weed and protect plants as needed	Estructurales
6.	Protect the riverbed areas throughout the growing season as they are prone to attacks by thieves and wild animals, mainly jackals and monkeys. However, note that the reported losses to date have been very minimal.	Estructurales

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	Maintaining plots	ha	1,0	42,0	42,0	100,0
Equipo	Sprayer, watering cans,spade	ha	1,0	28,0	28,0	25,0
Fertilizantes y biocidas	Seeds, chemical fertilizer	ha	1,0	84,0	84,0	25,0
Material de construcción	Plastic bags, mulching material	ha	1,0	11,0	11,0	50,0
Indique los costos totales para mantenecer la Tecnología					165,0

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.

5.1 Clima

5.2 Topografía

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

Soil drainage / infiltration is good

Soil water storage capacity is low

5.4 Disponibilidad y calidad de agua

Comentarios y especificaciones adicionales sobre calidad y cantidad de agua:

Ground water table: 30-50 m

5.5 Biodiversidad

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

Indique otras características relevantes de los usuarios de las tierras:

Population density: 200-500 persons/km2

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

• landless

5.9 Acceso a servicios e infraestructura

6.1 Impactos in situ demostrados por la Tecnología

Impactos socioeconómicos

Ingreso y costos

Otros impactos socioeconómicos

Impactos socioculturales

Impactos ecológicos

Ciclo de agua/ escurrimiento de sedimento

Suelo

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	bien

Extremos (desastres) relacionados al clima

Desastres hidrológicos

	¿Cómo es que la tecnología soporta esto?
inundación general (río)	no muy bien

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: The majority of riverbed farmers among the first few groups to learn the technique continued riverbed farming after support for the project ended. In the third year, 55 of the original 61 groups were still farming on the riverbed even though they did not receive any agricultural inputs with the exception of support from the local resource persons. The local resource persons have organized themselves into an independent organisation that now provides technical support through the Micro Enterprise Development Fund and through individual channels. Now that Nepali farmers have started to farm the riverbeds in the Kailali and Kanchanpur Districts, the number of Indian farmers who previously farmed these riverbeds has drastically diminished.

6.7 Fuerzas/ ventajas/ oportunidades de la Tecnología

Fuerzas/ ventajas/ oportunidades desde la perspectiva del compilador o de otra persona de referencia clave
Riverbed farming provides a new source of income for landless and land-poor households How can they be sustained / enhanced? Continue to provide technical support through local resource persons. These persons can be supported through district-based instruments such as the Micro Enterprise Development Fund. Local governing bodies such as the district development committees, municipalities, and village development committees, can support riverbed farming with their own funds; can support farmers with the land leasing process, can help to identify primary stakeholders, and can also help by promoting policies that are favourable towards riverbed farming.
Riverbed farming has a very high cost-benefit ratio and a very low investment requirement. How can they be sustained / enhanced? Continue to promote this technology among primary stakeholders.
All services including the supply of quality seeds, tools, and materials are now processed through the local agrovets and agricultural extension is available through local resource persons. These are locally available and of high quality. How can they be sustained / enhanced? Agrovets, local resource persons, and their associations may need further capacity building through different channels such as the Micro Enterprise Development Fund, and/or the District Agricultural Development Office

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?
Competition from riverbed products originating in India and a glut during the season	Riverbed farmer groups need to improve their understanding of the value chain and their access to markets.
Mineral fertilizer and biopesticides are now used to ensure a good harvest	Promote sustainable soil management practices including the use of farmyard manure, urine collection, and bio-pesticides
Land ownership of riverbed land is often contested	Long term leasehold agreements need to be negotiated with land owners

7.2 Vínculos a las publicaciones disponibles

Título, autor, año, ISBN:

Riverbed farming manual and local resource person training modules. Kathmandu, Nepal, HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Nepal