In Spain earth-banked terraces are constructed on moderately gentle slopes by agricultural machines to reduce slope gradient and length and improve soil organic matter and structure. Terraces reduce the formation of gullies and retain water from upslope and often stones are used to reinforce the terrace ridge. The terrace ridges...

Bench terraces with narrow beds are built on hillsides cleared from forests and used for growing tea, coffee and horticultural crops. This technology describes how terraces can be used to improve crop cultivation on hillsides.

• Soybeans are a major food crop in the world and they are grown in some parts of Uganda and form an integral and important component in the human and animal nutrition. • It is successful in areas where rainfall is moderate to light during the latter part of the growing...

Ce fichier contient une série de vidéos de formations sur l’aviculture familiale. Elles contiennent des informations sur la nutrition et alimentation en aviculture familiale dont le système de divagation, le système de liberté, le système semi-intensif et le système intensif à petite échelle. D’autres vidéos se focalisent sur l’aviculture familiale,...

A cause d’une baisse de fertilité des sols, les petites exploitations agricoles en Afrique orientale souffrent d’insécurité alimentaire, d’une chute de rendements de cultures, et d’une pauvreté accrue. Une technique abordable est de produire de soi un compost de bonne qualité, à partir des déchets provenant de d’exploitations et de...

Tomato is an annual plant, which can reach a height of over two metres. Three di"erent types of tomato plants can be distinguished: • tall or indeterminate type • semi-bush or semi-indeterminate type • bush or determinate type The tall varieties are the best choice for a long harvest period. They keep growing...

En Afrique de l’Ouest, l’importance économique des dégâts des mangues causés par les mouches des fruits s’accroît. Le manguier doit faire face à de nombreux problèmes phytosanitaires. L’introduction et la dispersion en Afrique d’une espèce de mouche originaire du Sri Lanka pourrait remettre en question les succès commerciaux engrangés récemment...

A grassroots innovation that offers most of the advantages of conventional micro-irrigation at a much lower establishment cost. Pepsee micro-irrigation systems slowly and regularly apply water directly to the root zone of plants through a network of economically designed plastic pipes and low-discharge emitters. Technically speaking pepsee systems use low-density...

Rehabilitation of degraded land can be achieved through manured planting pits, in combination with contour stone lines. Planting pits are used to prevent water runoff and thereby increase infiltration and reduce erosion. This method is suitable on soil with low permeability, such as silt and clay and applicable for semi-arid...

A Tip-tap is a simple water conserving hand-washing device, which helps to diminish the risks of infection contamination, improves hygiene, and reduces disease spreading. Tip-taps reduce water usage and can be operated by foot, avoiding the risk of picking up germs from tap handles. It is used to clean hands...

Runoff collection has been used to plant olive orchards in north-west Syria in areas, which are considered too dry for olives. In one trial, trees were planted 8 m apart, within and between rows. Around individual trees ‘fish-bone’ shaped furrows were dug to harvest runoff water. The furrows were constructed...

La loque américaine est considérée comme la maladie infectieuse des abeilles la plus répandue et destructrice ; elle peut causer de graves pertes économiques pour l'apiculture. Le terme «américaine» ne fait pas référence au fait que la maladie serait originaire des États-Unis d'Amérique, mais plutôt au fait qu'elle a d’abord...

This practice consists of rectangular excavations in streambeds, named dohs, to provide temporary storage of runoff to enhance groundwater recharge, increasing water yields from shallow wells for supplementary irrigation. They also collect and impound subsurface flow. The technology is used in conjunction with shallow wells (odees), which enable farmers to...

Fuel-saving stoves have many advantages. They save wood resources, time, money, and improve health conditions by reducing fumes in homes. Foods that are not adequately cooked can transmit food-borne diseases. Families that cannot purchase sufficient fuel might be even unable to consume their food. Farmers can increase household incomes by...

The rooftop rainwater harvesting system uses a concrete tank designed to improve household access to water during the hot and dry seasons. A 16 cubic metre concrete tank situated in the shadow of the house is constructed to retain rainwater collected by the roof guttering. The purpose of the tank...

Un sistema acuapónico es la integración de un sistema de recirculación en acuicultura con hidroponía en un sólo sistema de producción. En un sistema acuapónico, los efluentes de la acuicultura no se liberan en el medio ambiente, sino que se redirigen a las raíces de las plantas, al mismo tiempo...

Water shortage is one of the most limiting factors for sustainable agriculture in large parts of South East Spain. Part of the solution of this problem may come from the restoration of traditional water harvesting structures. This technology describes small earthen or stone-built bund that diverts flood water, during runoff...

Using the hay-box chick brooder is a simple technique which conserves the metabolic heat produced by the chicks, and thus keeping them warm. Unlike other brooders, this device does not require coal, oil, or electricity for heating. The following description gives detailed information on how to build and manage the...

Shade-grown coffee is an agroforestry system which combines coffee with shade trees, including fruit, timber and leguminous species, in a systematic fashion. Shade-grown coffee is a traditional and complex agroforestry system where coffee is associated with various other species in different storeys (or ‘levels’). This provides ecologically and economically sustainable...

The practice described here can be introduced to smallholder goat farmers to reduce their vulnerability to risks and disasters, such as disease outbreaks, drought, floods, etc. The practice consists of raising goats in controlled areas instead of letting them roam freely. It allows for better livestock management and reduces the...