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Case study 1: Assessment of approaches for improving soil fertility - conservation agriculture in Sinnar State, Sudan, ICARDA, Land and Water Days in Near East & North Africa, 15-18 December 2013, Amman, Jordan
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ICA
RD
A 2
013
T9: Building resilience in agricultural systems: soil conservation and fertility management
December 17th, 2013
Case study 1: Assessment of approaches for improving soil fertility - conservation agriculture in Sinnar State, Sudan.
Supporting the Small-Scale Traditional Rainfed Producers in Sinnar State (SUSTAIN)
Project Rationale:
• Responding to ↑ levels of land degradation
• Introduction of environmentally friendly and productivity enhancing technical packages
Location:• 3 of 7 localities in Sinnar State
• Dinder, Abu Hajar, & Dali/Mazmoum
Project Beneficiaries:• 100 villages over 3 localities
Target:• Smallholders (9 fed & ≤5 SR)• Settled pastoralists• Destitute women
Thirty years ago..
2012…
Constraints
•low and erratic rainfall
• severe drought (1-3 years, 15-21 days in-season)
•lack of soil and water conservation practices
•minimum inputs - ↓ soil fertility
Wide level disc (WLD)• 1° tillage, designed for 2°
tillage (pulverization)
• shallow (3 – 5 cm), thus ↓ water conservation.
• 1st - dry disking (after 100 – 150 mm) - seal cracks; incorporate trash, weeds.
• 2nd - green disking – seeding, 1 – 2 weeks later - dependent on rainfall.
Recurrent use has caused:
• clay pan and compacted soil surface - ↓ water infiltration
• late planting - missing more than 30 – 40 % of annual rainfall
Poor water infiltration – leading to runoff/erosion
Compaction
Crusting
Promotion of minimum tillage – prior to 1st rain - water harvesting
Under minimum tillage: – 133% increase in sorghum grain yield – 355mm rainfall average
Assumed that creating furrows would collapse cracks and improve water retention into the surface layer.
Following chisel ploughing Following first rainfall
Crusting and Poor water Infiltration
Thank you