|
Time |
Topics |
Propositions for discussion |
|
15-20 November 2004 |
Topic 1 - Causes and consequences of soil moisture scarcity |
Poor yields are often related to an insufficiency of soil moisture rather than to an insufficiency of rainfall. Conventional farming accelerates loss of soil moisture through reduced ability of the soil to capture, drain and store rainwater. Soil moisture monitoring is usually a better decision-making tool for farmers than rainfall predictions and weather forecasts. Disasters, like floods and landslides, and also the costs for road maintenance and water treatment would be minimized where rainwater infiltration and storage in agricultural soils were maximized. Farmers cannot cope with strong climate trends and their consequences for agricultural practices because their production systems are not flexible enough. |
|
22-27 November 2004 |
Topic 2 - Creating drought-resistant soil: technologies and impacts of improved soil moisture management at field level |
Restoration of soil porosity by mechanical means is less satisfactory than by biological means. Runoff farming and water harvesting aim to concentrate rainfall water and favour local crop growth through more effective use of rainwater. However, they are restricted to specific conditions (environmental and socio-economic) for their effectiveness in improving water-use efficiency. Soil moisture management practices and organic matter decomposition processes have a major impact on vegetal, animal and soil biodiversity. Although the principles that lead to good soil moisture management are not new, farmers do not apply them widely, mainly because adapted technologies are not developed by researchers. "Good practices", like those limiting runoff and favouring water infiltration, may have negative environmental effects at farm and watershed level. |
|
29 November - 4 December 2004 |
Topic 3 - Environmental consequences of drought-resistant soil and improved soil moisture management |
Local soil moisture management practices will only modify water redistribution towards rivers, aquifers, etc. at local scale. The production of biomass for soil cover, as is recommended for local soil moisture management, will also have costs in terms of water use, and have a negative influence on the water balance. Soil moisture management practices do not only influence the hydrologic regime but modify nutrient cycling and organic matter decomposition processes as well. Improved soil moisture management practices can have such an impact on the biodiversity of a soil that even where people thought that certain species were never there, they appear or re-appear after several years. There is no holistic representation thinkable that could allow a real analysis of benefits (social, financial, biophysical and environmental) of the impact of soil moisture management practices. |
|
6-11 December 2004 |
Topic 4 - Adequate tools and technologies to support efficient soil moisture management |
Available equipment and techniques are not adequate for on-farm measurement of plant-available soil water. It is difficult to combine weather or seasonal forecasts and soil moisture measurements or predictions for better cropping-system management. The type of model for on-farm estimation of plant-available soil water does not secure reliable results. Soil moisture monitoring needs trained people to measure or simulate and process the information. Measured (laboratory) or simulated concepts, variables or indicators are needed to generate information to support soil moisture monitoring. The short-term benefits and long-term externalities induced by good soil moisture management must be evaluated, discussed and published. |
|
13-18 December 2004 |
Topic 5 - Conditions for adoption of drought-proofing practices by farmers |
Technology adoption and adaptation has only been successful where adequate attention was paid to farmers' initiatives and their interactions on "products" released by research, extension services and the private sector. The implementation of improved soil moisture management systems will be hindered by government legislation, incentives and subsidies. The main reason for farmers and communities not to implement appropriate soil moisture management is lack of information, education and training. As there are alternatives to feeding livestock, farmers do not really have to choose between using crop residues for soil cover or as feed for cattle in arid regions. In general, conservation agriculture is perceived as more profitable by farmers, while researchers and extensionists perceive it as more risky. |
Mr Osman Alfadni
Land and Water
Researcher
Alobeidå Agricultural Research Station, Sudan
E-mail:
[email protected]
M. Twewaadha Elingaus Alweåendo
Senior Researcher in
Soil Fertility and Cotton
Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Rural
Development
Private Bag 13184
Windhoek
Namibia
Tel.:(+264) 61
2029111
Fax: (+264) 61 229961
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr John Ashburner
Senior Agricultural Engineer
FAO
Regional Office for Africa
Accra, Ghana
Tel.:(+233) 21 7010930
Fax:
(+233) 21 7010943
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr John Baker
Scientist at Massey University
No-Tillage
Limited 50
Nannestad Line
RD 5 Feilding 5600
New Zealand
Tel.: (+64)
6 3292784
Fax: (+64) 63292774
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr York-Th Bayer
Special soil fertility and direct drilling
consultant
Berlin, Germany
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Dwayne Beck
Dakota Lakes Research Farm
PO Box
2
Pierre, SD 57501
United States of America
Tel.: (+1) 605
2246357
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr José Benites
FAO Land and Water Development
Division
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome
Italy
Tel.:(+39)
6 57054825
Fax: (+39) 6 57056275
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site:
http://www.fao.org
Mr Elijah K Biamaha
University of
Nairobi
Nairobi
Kenya
Tel.: (+254) 722 723485
E-mail:
[email protected]
Ms Alexandra Bot
c/o AP
298
Iquitos
Peru
Tel.:(+51) 65 262211
E-mail:
[email protected]
Mr Daleanne Bourjaily
KIT, Mauritskade 63 (main
entrance)
P.O. Box 95001
1090 HA Amsterdam
Netherlands
Tel.:(+31) 20
5688711
Fax: (+31) 20 6684579
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Henk Breman
IFDC - Belgium, c/o Africa
Museum
Leuvensesteenweg 17
3080 Tervuren
Belgium
Tel.:(+32) 2
7695607
Fax: (+32) 2 769 56 42
E-mail: [email protected];
www.ifdc.org
Mr Peter Buss
Manager Irrigation & Hydrology
Sentek
Pty Ltd
77 Magill Road
Stepney SA 5062
Australia
E-mail:
[email protected]
Mr Carlos Crovetto
No Tillage Development
Center
CEDECELA
Concepción
Chile
E-mail:
[email protected]
Mr Hamid Custovic
Agricultural
Faculty
Sarajevo
Bosnia and Herzegovina
E-mail:
[email protected]
Mr Rolf Derpsch
Senior Technical Advisor
International
Consultant
Conservation Agriculture & No-tillage
CC 13223 Shopping del
Sol
Asunción
Paraguay
Tel./Fax: (+595) 21 601580
E-mail:
[email protected]
Web site: www.rolf-derpsch.com
Mr Julian Dumanski
Consultant
16 Burnbank St.
Ottawa
K2G 0H4
Canada
Tel.: (+1) 613 2263911
E-mail:
[email protected]
Mr. Dougbedji Fatondji
Scientific Officer
Soil and Water
Conservation
ICRISAT - Niamey
BP 12404, Niamey
Niger
Tel.: (+227)
722626
Fax: (+227) 734329
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Jean-Marc Faurès
FAO Water Resources, Development
and Management Service
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00100
Rome
Italy
Tel.:(+39) 6 57053949
E-mail:
[email protected]
Mr Michel Ferry
Research Station on Date Palm and
Oasis
Farming Systems
Apartado 996
03201 Elche
Spain
Tel.:(+34)
965421551
Fax: (+34) 965423706
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Richard Fowler
Agricultural Research Council of South
Africa
Grain Crops Institute
South Africa
E-mail:
[email protected]
Mr Theodor Friedrich
FAO Agricultural and
Food
Technologies Engineering Service
Viale delle Terme di
Caracalla
00100 Rome
Italy
Tel.:(+39) 6 57055694
Fax: (+39) 6
57056798
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site:
http://www.fao.org
Mr Fernando Garcia-Préchac
Dep. de Suelos y Aguas,
Fac. De Agronomía
Univ. de la Rep. O. del Uruguay
Montevideo,
Uruguay
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Tom Goddard
Alberta Agriculture
Food and Rural
Development
#206, 7000 - 113 Street
Edmonton
Alberta T6H
5T6
Canada
Tel.: (+1) 780 4273720
Fax: (+1) 780 4220474
E-mail:
[email protected]
Mr Mohammad H.Golabi
College of Natural and Applied
Sciences
University of Guam
Mangilao Guam
United States of
America
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Iam M.Gorji
Faculty of Agriculture
University of
Tehran
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
E-mail:
[email protected]
Mr Ken Hargesheimer
Consultant
E-mail:
[email protected]
Ms Beata Houskova
Soil & Waste Unit
Institute for
Environment & Sustainability
Joint Research Centre
TP 280 Ispra (VA)
21020
Italy
Tel.: (+39) 332 786329
Fax: (+39) 332 786394
E-mail:
[email protected]
Ms Peta A. Jones
Member of National Steering
Committee,
SANAT
Member of ATNESA
PO Box 414
Tshitandani/Makhado 0920
South
Africa
Tel.: (+27) 15 5177011
Fax: (+27) 15 5177034
E-mail:
[email protected]
Mr Sjef Kauffman
ISRIC - World Soil Information
P.O. Box
353
6700 AJ Wageningen
Netherlands
E-mail: [email protected]
Web
site: www.isric.org
Mr Benjamin Kiersch
FAO Regional Office for Latin America
and the Caribbean
Santiago
Chile
E-mail:
[email protected]
Mr Paul Koch
Bowie
Maryland
United States of
America
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Parviz Koohafkan
FAO Land and Plant
Nutrition
Management Service & LADA Manager
Land and Water Development
Division
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome
Italy
Tel.:(+39)
6 57053843
Fax: (+39) 6 57056275
E-mail: [email protected]
Web
site: http://www.fao.org
Mr Eric Kueneman
FAO Crop and Grassland Service
Viale
delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome
Italy
Tel.:(+39) 6 57054930
Fax:
(+39) 6 57056305
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Surinder S. Kukal
Associate Professor Soil
Conservation
Editor-in-Chief (Indian Journal of Ecology)
Department of
Soils
Punjab Agricultural University
Ludhiana 141 004
India
E-mail:
[email protected]
Mr Vijay K. Labhsetwar
International Commission and
Irrigation and Drainage
New Delhi
India
E-mail:
[email protected]
Ms Florent Maraux
CIRAD
Visiting scientist in
FAO
Water Resources
Development and Management Service
Viale delle Terme di
Caracalla
00100 Rome
Italy
Tel.:(+39) 6 57053931
Fax: (+39) 6
57056275
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Des McGarry
Department of Natural Resources and
Mines
Block B
80 Meiers Road
Indooroopilly QLD
4068
Australia
Tel.: (+61) 412 057934
E-mail:
[email protected]
Mr John Morrison
Consultant,
Adjunct
Professor
University of Tennessee Unicoi, TN
United States of
America
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr David A. Okunade
Department of Agricultural
Engineering
Obafemi Awolowo University
Ile-Ife
Nigeria
Tel.: (+234)
8033567534
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Dov Pasternak
Principal Scientist System
Diversification
ICRISAT Centre sahélien
B.P.
12404
Niamey
Niger
Tel.: (+227) 722626
Fax: (+27)
227734329
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Roberto Peiretti
President CAAPAS
Member of the Board
of Directors of
AAPRESID
Paraguay 777
8th. Floor, Of.
4
Argentina
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Raul, DPhil Ponce-Hernandez
Environmental
Program/Geography
Trent University
Peterborough
Ontario K9J
7B8
Canada
Tel.: (+1) 705 7481011 x 1646 & 1037
E-mail:
[email protected]
Web site: http://www.trentu.ca
Mr Alim Pulatov
Head of International
Department
Director of EcoGIS Center
Tashkent Institute of Irrigation
and
Melioration
Kary-Niyazova, 39
Tashkent,
700000
Uzbekistan
Tel.: (+998) 71 1370958
Fax: (+998) 71
1331439
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Bruno Rapidel
Programme Cotton
CIRAD / IER, BP
1813
Bamako
Mali
Tel.: (+223) 221 1557
E-mail:
[email protected]
Mr José Miguel Reichert
Professor of Soil
Physics
Department of Soil Science
Federal University of Santa
Maria
97105-900 Santa Maria
Brazil
Mr Sawaeng Ruaysoongnern
Faculty of Agriculture
Khon
Kaen University
Thailand
Tel.:(+66) 43 364639
Fax: (+66) 43
330362
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Fintan Scanlan
FAO SPFS Monitoring and Coordination
Service
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome, Italy
Tel.:(+39) 6
57055736
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Francis Shaxson
Independent consultant and member of the
Tropical Agriculture Association
United Kingdom
E-mail:
[email protected]
Mr Alvin J.M. Smucker
Department of Crop and Soil
Sciences
Michigan State University
East Lansing
MI 48824-1325
United
States of America
Tel.: (+1) 517 3550271
Fax: (+1) 517 355 0270
E-mail:
[email protected]
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~smucker
Mr Kurt G. Steiner
GTZ - Senior Technical
Advisor
Sustainable Land Management
Goethestr. 7, D-69250
Schönau
Germany
Tel.: (+49) 6228 8457
Fax: (+49) 6228
911386
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: www.gtz.de
Mr Bob Stewart
Dryland Agriculture Institute
West Texas
A&M University
Canyon, TX 79016
United States of America
E-mail:
[email protected]
Mr Rod Storer
Consultant Agronomist
Lincoln
United
Kingdom
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr M. Suleimenov
Assistant Regional
Coordinator
ICARDA-CAC
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
E-mail:
[email protected]
Mr Christian Thierfelder
Soil Conservationist
University
of Hohenheim
c/o CIMMYT
P.O. Box MP 163
Mount Pleasant
Harare,
Zimbabwe
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Meleko Thumpe
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Jeff Tullberg
Agricultural Mechanisation
The
University of Queensland Gatton
Gatton, Queensland
4343
Australia
Tel.:(+61) 7 54601354
Fax: (+61) 7 54601367
E-mail:
[email protected]
Web site: http://www.aghort.uq.edu.au
Mr Godert W.J. van Lynden
ISRIC - World Soil
Information
P.O. Box 353
6700 AJ Wageningen
Netherlands
E-mail:
[email protected]
Web site: www.isric.org
Mr Marcos Vieira
Paraná, Brazil
Mr Roelf L. Voortman
Centre for World Food Studies
Vrije
Universiteit
De Boelelaan 1105
1081 HV
Amsterdam
Netherlands
Tel.:(+31) 20 4449321
Fax: (+31) 20
4449325
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site:
http://www.sow.vu.nl
Mr Patrick Wall
Rainfed Wheat Systems
CIMMYT
P.O. Box
MP 163
Mount Pleasant
Harare, Zimbabwe
Tel.: (+263) 4
301807/334181/334199/
301945
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Xiao Bin Wang
Soil and Fertilizer Institute
Chinese
Academy of Agricultural Sciences
12 Zhongguancun Nandajie
Beijing
100081
China
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Adam White
Drylandscope
710 Gaskill St.
SE
Atlanta, Georgia 30316
United States of America
Tel.: (+1) 404
2233699
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site:
http://www.drylandscope.org
Mr Richard L. Wittman
PNDSA
37737 McCormack Ridge
Road
Culdesac, ID 83524
United States of America
Tel.: (+1) 208
8435595
Fax: (+1) 208 8435095
E-mail: [email protected]
