I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this important discussion. My main comments are detailed in the attached document. I summarize two key points below that I flag for further consideration.
1. Many of the guidelines are based on principles, which is fine in theory, but they can be quite subjectively interpreted. I would suggest adding a section on relatively easy to measure and monitor indicators of sustainable soil management, that can be implemented by practitioners. Simply applying principles to one's farm or lands is a great start, but in order to assure that soils are being well managed and contributing to the flow of ecosystem servives, simple indicators and monitoring is necessary, and I believe should be made a policy objective in many countries, particularly where soils are fragile, and where farmers rely heavily on them (in low-input situtations) for their subsistence.
2. As others have commented, there appears to be a very strong emphasis on conservation agriculture and no-tillage, with only a brief discussion of the trade-offs and limited adoption of CA by smallholders at the end of the document. To be more balanced, a number of other soil-building approaches and techniques could also be highlighted, to give practioners a suite of options to choose from should CA or no-till be less feasible in their respective environments. I believe it is useful to present a complete toolbox of different methods that can be used to maintain and improve soil quality, which in additon to CA and no-till may include techniques like agroforestry, smart livestock integration practices, stonelines (as used in the Sahel), more emphasis on green manures where appropriate, and so on.
With that said, congratulations on the zero-draft. I hope that these and others' valuable comments will help improve this important document substantially.
I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this important discussion. My main comments are detailed in the attached document. I summarize two key points below that I flag for further consideration.
1. Many of the guidelines are based on principles, which is fine in theory, but they can be quite subjectively interpreted. I would suggest adding a section on relatively easy to measure and monitor indicators of sustainable soil management, that can be implemented by practitioners. Simply applying principles to one's farm or lands is a great start, but in order to assure that soils are being well managed and contributing to the flow of ecosystem servives, simple indicators and monitoring is necessary, and I believe should be made a policy objective in many countries, particularly where soils are fragile, and where farmers rely heavily on them (in low-input situtations) for their subsistence.
2. As others have commented, there appears to be a very strong emphasis on conservation agriculture and no-tillage, with only a brief discussion of the trade-offs and limited adoption of CA by smallholders at the end of the document. To be more balanced, a number of other soil-building approaches and techniques could also be highlighted, to give practioners a suite of options to choose from should CA or no-till be less feasible in their respective environments. I believe it is useful to present a complete toolbox of different methods that can be used to maintain and improve soil quality, which in additon to CA and no-till may include techniques like agroforestry, smart livestock integration practices, stonelines (as used in the Sahel), more emphasis on green manures where appropriate, and so on.
With that said, congratulations on the zero-draft. I hope that these and others' valuable comments will help improve this important document substantially.
Regards,
Tim