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

Nombre del proyecto que financió la documentación/ evaluación de la Tecnología (si fuera relevante)

ICARDA Institutional Knowledge Management Initiative

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

International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) - Líbano

1.3 Condiciones referidas al uso de datos documentados mediante WOCAT

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

Sí

1.4 Declaración de la sostenibilidad de la Tecnología descrita

¿La Tecnología aquí descrita resulta problemática en relación a la degradación de la tierra, de tal forma que no puede considerársela una tecnología sostenible para el manejo de la tierra?

No

2.1 Breve descripción de la Tecnología

Definición de la Tecnología:

This technology is based on the natural advantages and the multi-purpose usage of spineless cactus pear (Opuntia fiscus-indica), to cultivate marginal lands in Jordan, generating environmental and socio-economic benefits.

2.2 Descripción detallada de la Tecnología

Descripción:

In the arid parts of Jordan with limited rainfall, little irrigation, high water evaporation, poor soil quality and unsustainable land management result in land degradation (erosion and salinization) and productivity loss. Therefore, the International Center Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and National Agricultural Research Centre of Jordan (NARC) organized field days (started in 2014) to disseminate knowledge regarding the cultivation of the cactus pear, Opuntia ficus-indica, cactus crop. Cacti can cope with high temperatures and grow well in (semi)-arid areas with 250-600mm annual rainfall or where irrigation is available. Additionally, the plant is very resilient as it can withstand a long dry season due to its high water-content and water-use -efficiency, which are a result of its morphology (waxy cuticle, no actual leaves) and the Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM). In CAM plant, stomata in the leaves remain shut during the day to reduce evapotranspiration, but open at night to collect and fix carbon dioxide (CO2). In general, cacti have multiple products that benefit local livelihoods, these are for example stable production of fodder for livestock and fruits for human consumption. Also, cactus can grow and produce requiring few inputs such as fertilizers, therefore marginal lands are well suited for cactus cultivation.

The market for cactus fruits is very promising in Jordan. Nowadays, there is high demand for cactus fruits as people grow fond of the fruits but also for medicinal uses. This documentation is focused on a farm covering roughly 10 hectares, where cactus was planted due to its socio-economic and environmental advantages i.e. the high prices for cactus fruits and the ability of cactus to grow in marginal lands with little input and cover the soil hence preventing soil erosion. However, the farm is not located ideally for cactus cultivation. Therefore, the farm is currently intensively managed in terms of fertilizer application and the irrigation. The previous land use was poor cultivation of barley to feed (grazing) sheep and goats. This led to little soil cover resulting in land degradation in the form of erosion. The farmer paid for the establishment of the cactus-plantation. The cacti are spaced by 4 meters between plants and 3 meters between rows. This spacing is specific for fruit production, in case of fodder production a higher crop density is recommended. The cacti are planted on the contours in pits (40 centimetres depth and diameter) to ensure rain-water collection and efficient fertilizer application as the farm is situated on a 15% slope. The cacti reduce erosion as the roots hold the soil together. Field preparation for the establishment of the cactus field includes: (1) soil scrapping; (2) deep soil ploughing; (3) surface soil ploughing; and (4) pit digging. No fertilizer was applied in the establishment stage. Recurrent activities and costs are weeding, applying fertilizer and organic manure, maintaining the pits and harvesting. 200 kilograms per hectare of inorganic fertilizer (NPK) is applied between March and May. A total of 4 tons per hectare of organic manure is applied in September-November. These activities are non-mechanized, and therefore labour intensive.

The farm receives less than 200mm of annual rainfall and a public dam for irrigation is available. Therefore, the farmer invests in three water tanks to store water brought from the dam using his own truck, and in a drip irrigation system for high irrigation efficiency. The farm is irrigated by 360 cubic meter per month, divided in three events. The costs per cubic meter is 0.95 Jordanian Dinar (JOD) (including transportation costs). Before the realization of the drip irrigation system, the cacti were watered by hand (19991-2015). During the initial three years, cacti produce no fruits making the short-term return on investment rather negative. Currently, the cactus-plantation produces 32.5 ton/ha, equivalent to 65 kg /plant. The average net income per hectare varies between 1650 JOD to 2750 JOD. This makes the farmer relatively medium- wealthy with respect to the area. Most costs are induced by labour as the farmer uses manual weeding, harvesting and fertilizer application.

Even though the cultivation of cacti for its fruits on marginal lands has many benefits like the reduction in erosion, stable production, high output/input efficiency and good prices. There are some weaknesses, for example the relative young market of cactus products in Jordan compared to Tunisia. The Tunisian market for cactus products has a longer history, a high demand for other cactus-products like oil and juice and a better infrastructure (e.g. processing units) exist. These create more consistent prices for farmers, so less price drops during harvesting periods. Another weak point is the fact that cacti are cultivated in mono-culture. This significantly increases the risk of new pests and potential damage of the cultivated crop.

To conclude, this documentation shows that even though the selected farm does not represent an ideal site for cactus pear cultivation, the implementation of cacti is socio-economically and environmentally appropriate to cultivate dry marginal lands as cacti uses water and nutrients highly efficient while reducing land degradation. Therefore, the out-scaling of cacti is very valuable and a practical option to fight land degradation and enhance smallholder’s income.

2.3 Fotografías de la Tecnología

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

2.6 Fecha de la implementación

Indique año de implementación:

2014

2.7 Introducción de la Tecnología

Especifique cómo se introdujo la Tecnología:

• durante experimentos/ investigación
• mediante proyectos/ intervenciones externas

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

• mejorar la producción
• reducir, prevenir, restaurar la degradación del suelo
• adaptarse al cambio climático/ extremos climáticos y sus impactos
• crear impacto económico benéfico
• crear impacto social benéfico

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

Mezcla de tipos de uso de tierras dentro de la misma unidad de tierras: :

No

3.3 ¿Cambió el uso de tierras debido a la implementación de la Tecnología?

¿Cambió el uso de tierras debido a la implementación de la Tecnología?

• Sí (Por favor responda las preguntas de abajo referidas al uso de la tierra antes de implementar la Tecnología)

Mezcla de tipos de uso de tierras dentro de la misma unidad de tierras: :

Sí

Especifique el uso combinado de tierras (cultivos/ pastoreo/ árboles):

• Agropastoralismo (incluyendo cultivo-ganado integrados)

3.4 Provisión de agua

Provisión de agua para la tierra donde se aplica la Tecnología:

• totalmente irrigada

Comentarios:

360m^3 of water applied through drip irrigation. The annual precipitation is less than 200mm

3.5 Grupo MST al que pertenece la Tecnología

• cobertura de suelo/ vegetal mejorada
• Manejo de irrigación: (incl. provisión de agua, invernaderos)

3.6 Medidas MST que componen la Tecnología

3.7 Principales tipos de degradación del suelo encarados con la Tecnología

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
• reducir la degradación del suelo

4.1 Dibujo técnico de la Tecnología

4.2 Información general sobre el cálculo de insumos y costos

Especifique cómo se calcularon los costos e insumos:

• por área de Tecnología

otra / moneda nacional (especifique):

JOD

Si fuera relevante, indique la tasa de cambio de dólares americanos a la moneda local (ej. 1 U$ = 79.9 Reales Brasileros): 1 U$ =:

0,71

4.3 Actividades de establecimiento

	Actividad	Momento (estación)
1.	Soil scrapping	Prior to planting
2.	Deep soil ploughing	Prior to planting
3.	Surface soil ploughing	Prior to planting
4.	Pit digging	Prior to planting
5.	Planting cacti	Last third of the dry season (August - October)
6.	Establishment of drip irrigation	If feasible (This case 2015)

Comentarios:

Drip irrigation can be establishment when feasible (e.g. funds available). It would greatly enhance cactus-production but cacti can survive and produce without it.

4.4 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	Pit Digging & Planting	Person Hour	47,0	100,0	4700,0	100,0
Mano de obra						100,0
Mano de obra						100,0
Equipo	Soil Scrapping (Jackhammer)	Machine-Hour	35,0	200,0	7000,0	100,0
Equipo	Deep Soil Ploughing (Tractor)	Machine-Hour	9,0	250,0	2250,0	100,0
Equipo	Surface Soil Ploughing	Machine-Hour	9,0	250,0	2250,0	100,0
Material para plantas	Cactus Pads	Pad	5000,0	0,1	500,0	100,0
Material de construcción	Drip Irrigation (including labour for installation: 14 person days)	Whole System	1,0	13700,0	13700,0	100,0
Material de construcción	Water Tanks (including labour for construction: 10 person days)	Tank	3,0	500,0	1500,0	100,0
Costos totales para establecer la Tecnología					31900,0
Costos totales para establecer la Tecnología en USD					44929,58

Comentarios:

The cacti are planted in pits. The digging of pits and planting of the cactus pads into the pits is done simultaneously, hence this is grouped in terms of labour. For soil preparation (scrapping and ploughing), the costs of labour are included in the machine costs as this was a hired service. The installation of the irrigation system and the construction of the tanks was each offered as a package and hence include the costs of labour.

4.5 Actividades de establecimiento/ recurrentes

	Actividad	Momento/ frequencia
1.	NPK Fertilizer (1x)	March - May
2.	NPK Fertilizer (1x)	September - November
3.	NPK Fertilizer (1x)	December - February
4.	Organic Manure Application	September - November
5.	Manual Weeding (2x)	March - May
6.	Maintenance of planting pits	April
7.	Harvesting	August - September

4.6 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	NPK Fertilizer Application	Person-Day	9,0	20,0	180,0	100,0
Mano de obra	Organic Manure Application	Person-Day	7,0	20,0	140,0	100,0
Mano de obra	Total Weeding	Person-Day	200,0	15,0	3000,0	100,0
Mano de obra	Harvesting / Fruit Grabbing	Person-Day	280,0	20,0	5600,0	100,0
Equipo	Irrigation Management	Person Hour	252,0			100,0
Fertilizantes y biocidas	NPK Fertilizer	Ton	2,0	1000,0	2000,0	100,0
Fertilizantes y biocidas	Organic Manure	Ton	40,0	30,0	1200,0	100,0
Otros	Pit Maintenance	Per Pit	4550,0	0,25	1137,5	100,0
Otros	Water for Irrigation (360m3 per month)	Kubic Metre	4320,0	0,95	4104,0	100,0
Indique los costos totales para mantenecer la Tecnología					17361,5
Costos totales para mantener la Tecnología en USD					24452,82

Comentarios:

Irrigation Management consists of filling the tanks and using the drip irrigation.

4.7 Factores más determinantes que afectan los costos:

Describa los factores más determinantes que afectan los costos:

On the farm most work (e.g. weeding) is done manually. Therefore, the cost of labour contributes significantly to the total cost.

5.1 Clima

5.2 Topografía

Indique si la Tecnología se aplica específicamente en:

• no relevante

5.3 Suelos

5.4 Disponibilidad y calidad de agua

¿La salinidad del agua es un problema?

Sí

¿Se está llevando a cabo la inundación del área? :

No

5.5 Biodiversidad

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

5.7 Área promedio de la tierra usada 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:

• grupal

Derechos de uso de tierra:

• individual

Derechos de uso de agua:

• comunitarios (organizado)

¿Los derechos del uso de la tierra se basan en un sistema legal tradicional?

Sí

Especifique:

Most government land is open access.

Comentarios:

The water comes from a public dam.

5.9 Acceso a servicios e infraestructura

6.1 Impactos in situ demostrados por la Tecnología

Impactos socioeconómicos

Producción

Disponibilidad y calidad de agua

Ingreso y costos

Impactos socioculturales

Impactos ecológicos

Suelo

Biodiversidad: vegetación, animales

Reducción de riesgos de desastres y riesgos climáticos

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	Incremento o reducción	¿Cómo es que la tecnología soporta esto?
temperatura anual		incrementó	muy bien

Extremos (desastres) relacionados al clima

Desastres climatológicos:

	¿Cómo es que la tecnología soporta esto?
granizada local	no muy bien
tormenta de nieve local	no muy bien

Desastres climatológicos

	¿Cómo es que la tecnología soporta esto?
ola de calor	muy bien
ola de frío	no muy bien
condiciones extremas de invierno	no muy bien
sequía	muy bien

Desastres biológicos

	¿Cómo es que la tecnología soporta esto?
enfermedades epidémicas	no muy bien

Comentarios:

Hail storms and snow storms may occur, but very rarely. An example of an epidemic disease is black spot or rots.

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)?

Comentarios:

The Net Income per hectare varies between 1650 and 2750 JOD.

6.5 Adopción de la Tecnología

• 1-10%

Si tiene la información disponible, cuantifique (número de hogares y/o área cubierta):

200 ha

De todos quienes adoptaron la Tecnología, ¿cuántos lo hicieron espontáneamente, por ej. sin recibir nada de incentivos/ materiales:

• 91-100%

Comentarios:

All farmers who planted cactus started after requiring knowledge about the good prices for cactus fruits and the natural advantages of the cacti. So, this specific technology (Irrigated Cactus plantation) is not necessarily adopted by many farmers. But the use of cacti as a resilient, efficient and profitable crops is however adopted among many other farmers.

6.6 Adaptación

¿La tecnología fue modificada recientemente para adaptarse a las condiciones cambiantes?

Sí

Si fuera así, indique a qué condiciones cambiantes se adaptó:

• mercados cambiantes

Especifique la adaptación de la Tecnología (diseño, material/ especies, etc.):

The market demands increase for cactus pears. This results in different crop-spacing because cactus for pear production requires wider spacing, while cactus for fodder production can be planted more dense. Hence, changing market demands for the different products of cactus require different agronomic practices.

6.7 Fuerzas/ ventajas/ oportunidades de la Tecnología

Fuerzas/ ventajas/ oportunidades desde la perspectiva del usuario de la tierra
The cacti are highly productive with minimum inputs.
It does not require much water, which is important as irrigation water availability is a bottleneck for the farmer as well as for most areas in Jordan.
The cacti are even productive in poor soil and by growing cacti on these soils, it also reduces erosion.
The reduced risk of drought deteriorated yields is important as climate change leads to more extreme weather event, such as droughts. This will only increase in the future. Therefore the cactus's ability to cope with climate change (resilience to climate fluctuations) is a great advantage and increasingly important.

Fuerzas/ ventajas/ oportunidades desde la perspectiva del compilador o de otra persona de referencia clave
Due to the suitability of cacti to be cultivated in marginal lands, the soil is partly covered permanently by vegetation in these areas which protects these degraded lands. Therefore, cacti cultivation could offer incentive to prevent land degradation.
The technology offers increased resilience of the environment and its involved livelihoods. This is because cacti are more resilient to climate change induced effects such as increased droughts and increasing (summer) temperatures, as result of their high-water content and efficiency. Therefore, this technology is better suited for the future.

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

Debilidades/ desventajas/ riesgos desde la perspectiva del usuario de la tierra	¿Cómo sobreponerse a ellas?
The significant cost related to labour.	According to the farmer there were no alternatives.
Marketing can be considered a weakness as during harvest, the supply of cactus fruits was high and thus the selling-prices were low.	By investing in manufacturing/ processing the cacti and stably provide the market with other cactus-products, such as the Tunisian market.
The increased risk of new pests.	More awareness is required so the new pests can be identified, allowing proper and timely action.
The absence of agro-industrial processing units. Currently, the market demand is mostly related to the cactus fruits. However, cacti offer more such as seeds for oil extraction (such as the Tunisian cactus value chain) .	Investments to enhance cactus-value chain as is done in Tunisia.

Debilidades/ desventajas/ riesgos desde la perspectiva del compilador o de otra persona de referencia clave	¿Cómo sobreponerse a ellas?
The possible knowledge gap for farmers to switch from their conventional/traditional agricultural practices to a more innovative one could be a bottleneck for out-scaling the technology.	This bottleneck can be overcome, by developing social capital such as (e.g.) institutions or farmers networks to disseminate knowledge. A good example is the field days for farmers organized by NARC and ICARDA.
The risks of pests and diseases is a weakness of the cacti as these plants are vulnerable to this. Also, due to the density and mono-cropping of the cacti, the pest/ disease may spread easily and rapidly over the field. Eventually, risking the production of the cacti, thus possibly reducing the income of local farmers.	A solution may be found in changing the agricultural activities. An example of such a possible solution is the introduction of intercropping, this could increase bio-diversity and reduce the potential loss of income in case of a pest-outbreak.

7.1 Métodos/ fuentes de información

7.3 Vínculos a la información relevante disponible en línea

Título/ descripción:

Fethi Ghouhis, Mounir Louhaichi, Ali Nefzaoui. (12/8/2019). Cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) utilization for rehabilitating rangelands in arid regions of Tunisia. Acta Horticulturae, 1247, pp. 95-102.

URL:

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11766/10394

Título/ descripción:

Mounir Louhaichi, Sawsan Hassan, Giorgia Liguori. (30/12/2019). Manual: Cactus Pear Agronomic Practices.

URL:

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11766/10558

Título/ descripción:

HO de Waal, Mounir Louhaichi, Makiko Taguchi, Herman Fouché, Maryna de Wit. (25/1/2015). Development of a cactus pear agro-industry for the sub-Sahara Africa Region. Bloemfontein, South Africa: HO de Waal (Curator).

URL:

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11766/7109

Título/ descripción:

Mounir Louhaichi, Sawsan Hassan. (7/10/2018). Managing rangelands: promoting sustainable shrub species: Opuntia ficus-indica (L. ) Mill: a sustainable fodder plant for the dry areas. Beirut, Lebanon: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).

URL:

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11766/9048

Título/ descripción:

Mourad Rekik, Mounir Louhaichi. (9/3/2014). Cactusnet: Promoting the social and ecological benefits of cactus production: Enhancing sheep reproduction through cactus-based feed diets. Beirut, Lebanon: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).

URL:

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11766/8523

Título/ descripción:

Hichem Ben Salem, Mounir Louhaichi. (30/11/2014). Cactusnet: Promoting the social and ecological benefits of cactus production: Promoting Cactus as an alternative and sustainable livestock feed. Beiurt, Lebanon: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)

URL:

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11766/5454

Título/ descripción:

Ali Nefzaoui, Mounir Louhaichi, Hichem Ben Salem. (30/1/2014). Cactus as a Tool to Mitigate Drought and to Combat Desertification. Journal of Arid Land Studies, 24(1), pp. 121-124.

URL:

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11766/7319

Título/ descripción:

Mounir Louhaichi (Producer), Sawsan Hassan (Director). (17/1/2021). Best Agronomic Practices for establishing cactus Orchard. Jordan: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) (Executive Producer).

URL:

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11766/12374