1.2 Coordonnées des personnes-ressources et des institutions impliquées dans l'évaluation et la documentation de la Technologie

Nom du projet qui a facilité la documentation/ l'évaluation de la Technologie (si pertinent)

ICARDA Institutional Knowledge Management Initiative

Nom du ou des institutions qui ont facilité la documentation/ l'évaluation de la Technologie (si pertinent)

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

1.3 Conditions relatives à l'utilisation par WOCAT des données documentées

Le compilateur et la(les) personne(s) ressource(s) acceptent les conditions relatives à l'utilisation par WOCAT des données documentées:

Oui

1.4 Déclaration sur la durabilité de la Technologie décrite

Est-ce que la Technologie décrite ici pose problème par rapport à la dégradation des terres, de telle sorte qu'elle ne peut pas être déclarée comme étant une technologie de gestion durable des terres?

Non

2.1 Courte description de la Technologie

Définition de la Technologie:

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 Description détaillée de la Technologie

Description:

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 Photos de la Technologie

2.5 Pays/ région/ lieux où la Technologie a été appliquée et qui sont couverts par cette évaluation

2.6 Date de mise en œuvre de la Technologie

Indiquez l'année de mise en œuvre:

2014

2.7 Introduction de la Technologie

Spécifiez comment la Technologie a été introduite: :

• au cours d'expérimentations / de recherches
• par le biais de projets/ d'interventions extérieures

3.1 Principal(aux) objectif(s) de la Technologie

• améliorer la production
• réduire, prévenir, restaurer les terres dégradées
• s'adapter au changement et aux extrêmes climatiques et à leurs impacts
• créer un impact économique positif
• créer un impact social positif

3.2 Type(s) actuel(s) d'utilisation des terres, là où la Technologie est appliquée

Les divers types d'utilisation des terres au sein du même unité de terrain: :

Non

3.3 Est-ce que l’utilisation des terres a changé en raison de la mise en œuvre de la Technologie ?

Est-ce que l’utilisation des terres a changé en raison de la mise en œuvre de la Technologie ?

• Oui (Veuillez remplir les questions ci-après au regard de l’utilisation des terres avant la mise en œuvre de la Technologie)

Les divers types d'utilisation des terres au sein du même unité de terrain: :

Oui

Précisez l'utilisation mixte des terres (cultures/ pâturages/ arbres):

• Agropastoralisme (y compris les systèmes culture-élevage intégrés)

3.4 Approvisionnement en eau

Approvisionnement en eau des terres sur lesquelles est appliquée la Technologie:

• pleine irrigation

Commentaires:

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

3.5 Groupe de GDT auquel appartient la Technologie

• Amélioration de la couverture végétale/ du sol
• gestion de l'irrigation (incl. l'approvisionnement en eau, le drainage)

3.6 Mesures de GDT constituant la Technologie

3.7 Principaux types de dégradation des terres traités par la Technologie

3.8 Prévention, réduction de la dégradation ou réhabilitation des terres dégradées

Spécifiez l'objectif de la Technologie au regard de la dégradation des terres:

• prévenir la dégradation des terres
• réduire la dégradation des terres

4.1 Dessin technique de la Technologie

4.2 Informations générales sur le calcul des intrants et des coûts

Spécifiez la manière dont les coûts et les intrants ont été calculés:

• par superficie de la Technologie

autre/ monnaie nationale (précisez):

JOD

Indiquez le taux de change des USD en devise locale, le cas échéant (p.ex. 1 USD = 79.9 réal brésilien): 1 USD = :

0,71

4.3 Activités de mise en place/ d'établissement

	Activité	Calendrier des activités (saisonnier)
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)

Commentaires:

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 Coûts et intrants nécessaires à la mise en place

	Spécifiez les intrants	Unité	Quantité	Coûts par unité	Coût total par intrant	% des coût supporté par les exploitants des terres
Main d'œuvre	Pit Digging & Planting	Person Hour	47,0	100,0	4700,0	100,0
Main d'œuvre						100,0
Main d'œuvre						100,0
Equipements	Soil Scrapping (Jackhammer)	Machine-Hour	35,0	200,0	7000,0	100,0
Equipements	Deep Soil Ploughing (Tractor)	Machine-Hour	9,0	250,0	2250,0	100,0
Equipements	Surface Soil Ploughing	Machine-Hour	9,0	250,0	2250,0	100,0
Matériel végétal	Cactus Pads	Pad	5000,0	0,1	500,0	100,0
Matériaux de construction	Drip Irrigation (including labour for installation: 14 person days)	Whole System	1,0	13700,0	13700,0	100,0
Matériaux de construction	Water Tanks (including labour for construction: 10 person days)	Tank	3,0	500,0	1500,0	100,0
Coût total de mise en place de la Technologie					31900,0
Coût total de mise en place de la Technologie en dollars américains (USD)					44929,58

Commentaires:

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 Activités d'entretien/ récurrentes

	Activité	Calendrier/ fréquence
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 Coûts et intrants nécessaires aux activités d'entretien/ récurrentes (par an)

	Spécifiez les intrants	Unité	Quantité	Coûts par unité	Coût total par intrant	% des coût supporté par les exploitants des terres
Main d'œuvre	NPK Fertilizer Application	Person-Day	9,0	20,0	180,0	100,0
Main d'œuvre	Organic Manure Application	Person-Day	7,0	20,0	140,0	100,0
Main d'œuvre	Total Weeding	Person-Day	200,0	15,0	3000,0	100,0
Main d'œuvre	Harvesting / Fruit Grabbing	Person-Day	280,0	20,0	5600,0	100,0
Equipements	Irrigation Management	Person Hour	252,0			100,0
Engrais et biocides	NPK Fertilizer	Ton	2,0	1000,0	2000,0	100,0
Engrais et biocides	Organic Manure	Ton	40,0	30,0	1200,0	100,0
Autre	Pit Maintenance	Per Pit	4550,0	0,25	1137,5	100,0
Autre	Water for Irrigation (360m3 per month)	Kubic Metre	4320,0	0,95	4104,0	100,0
Coût total d'entretien de la Technologie					17361,5
Coût total d'entretien de la Technologie en dollars américains (USD)					24452,82

Commentaires:

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

4.7 Facteurs les plus importants affectant les coûts

Décrivez les facteurs les plus importants affectant les coûts :

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

5.1 Climat

5.2 Topographie

Indiquez si la Technologie est spécifiquement appliquée dans des:

• non pertinent

5.3 Sols

5.4 Disponibilité et qualité de l'eau

La salinité de l'eau est-elle un problème? :

Oui

La zone est-elle inondée?

Non

5.5 Biodiversité

5.6 Caractéristiques des exploitants des terres appliquant la Technologie

5.7 Superficie moyenne des terres utilisées par les exploitants des terres appliquant la Technologie

5.8 Propriété foncière, droits d’utilisation des terres et de l'eau

Propriété foncière:

• groupe

Droits d’utilisation des terres:

• individuel

Droits d’utilisation de l’eau:

• communautaire (organisé)

Est-ce que les droits d'utilisation des terres sont fondés sur un système juridique traditionnel?

Oui

Précisez:

Most government land is open access.

Commentaires:

The water comes from a public dam.

5.9 Accès aux services et aux infrastructures

6.1 Impacts sur site que la Technologie a montrés

Impacts socio-économiques

Production

Disponibilité et qualité de l'eau

Revenus et coûts

Impacts socioculturels

Impacts écologiques

Sols

Biodiversité: végétale, animale

Réduction des risques de catastrophe et des risques climatiques

6.3 Exposition et sensibilité de la Technologie aux changements progressifs et aux évènements extrêmes/catastrophes liés au climat (telles que perçues par les exploitants des terres)

Changements climatiques progressifs

Changements climatiques progressifs

	Saison	Augmentation ou diminution	Comment la Technologie fait-elle face à cela?
températures annuelles		augmente	très bien

Extrêmes climatiques (catastrophes)

Catastrophes météorologiques

	Comment la Technologie fait-elle face à cela?
averse de grêle locale	pas bien
tempête de neige locale	pas bien

Catastrophes climatiques

	Comment la Technologie fait-elle face à cela?
canicule	très bien
vague de froid	pas bien
conditions hivernales extrêmes	pas bien
sécheresse	très bien

Catastrophes biologiques

	Comment la Technologie fait-elle face à cela?
maladies épidémiques	pas bien

Commentaires:

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

6.4 Analyse coûts-bénéfices

Quels sont les bénéfices comparativement aux coûts de mise en place (du point de vue des exploitants des terres)?

Quels sont les bénéfices comparativement aux coûts d'entretien récurrents (du point de vue des exploitants des terres)?

Commentaires:

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

6.5 Adoption de la Technologie

• 1-10%

Si disponible, quantifiez (nombre de ménages et/ou superficie couverte):

200 ha

De tous ceux qui ont adopté la Technologie, combien d'entre eux l'ont fait spontanément, à savoir sans recevoir aucune incitation matérielle, ou aucune rémunération? :

• 91-100%

Commentaires:

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 Adaptation

La Technologie a-t-elle été récemment modifiée pour s'adapter à l'évolution des conditions?

Oui

Si oui, indiquez à quel changement la Technologie s'est adaptée:

• évolution des marchés

Spécifiez l'adaptation de la Technologie (conception, matériaux/ espèces, 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 Points forts/ avantages/ possibilités de la Technologie

Points forts/ avantages/ possibilités du point de vue de l'exploitant des terres
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.

Points forts/ avantages/ possibilités du point de vue du compilateur ou d'une autre personne ressource clé
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 Faiblesses/ inconvénients/ risques de la Technologie et moyens de les surmonter

Faiblesses/ inconvénients/ risques du point de vue de l’exploitant des terres	Comment peuvent-ils être surmontés?
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.

Faiblesses/ inconvénients/ risques du point de vue du compilateur ou d'une autre personne ressource clé	Comment peuvent-ils être surmontés?
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 Méthodes/ sources d'information

7.3 Liens vers les informations pertinentes en ligne

Titre/ description:

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

Titre/ description:

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

URL:

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

Titre/ description:

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

Titre/ description:

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

Titre/ description:

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

Titre/ description:

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

Titre/ description:

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

Titre/ description:

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