General information
Name of best practice	Tractor cultivation - Restoration of denuded areas by active soil disturbance/cultivation treatments
Geographic distribution (countries)	South Africa – Western Cape Province - (very similar principles to Vallerani)
Origin of practice		indigenous/traditional or 100+ yrs old
		traditional, but improved
		recently introduced
		new technology
For what type of land use		livestock/fish farming
		cropping
		ecosystem conservation
Main purpose		water availability
		nutrient availability
		soil conservation
		others (please specify):
		Breaking of hard soil surface with cultivation practices to increase water retention and stimulate soil seed bank. Increase vegetation cover and density to control erosion, better the veld condition and grazing capacity for small live-stock

 

Type / Description of practice
Short description of practice (if possible with figures/drawings/photo)	Large bare and denuded areas in the semi- and arid Karoo region of South Africa are formed by long term overgrazing and increased soil erosion. These areas can become very large and form so-called “pans” (plains) with no or very little vegetation in small islands. One of the most common treatments is to cultivate these areas by a tractor and agricultural implement to break the hard soil surface thereby forming pits (hollows) or furrows of 1-2 meter long and 50cm deep. Erosion is controlled and water infiltration increased. Often farmers do not have the finances to buy seed that can be used in re-seeding practices. Seed can be sown into the furrows for faster increase of vegetation cover and density. In this case however, the farmer did not have the finances to purchase seed. He only cultivated the large denuded pans with a tractor and plough. After the first year and approximate “normal” rainfall of 271mm/a, only annual, non-palatable shrubs and herbaceous plants established (so-called r- type of species). That showed that the soil seed bank mostly had these type of plants. As time progressed, the already established annual vegetation created favourable conditions and micro-habitats for the establishment of more palatable and perennial plants. Seed  was transported over the open plains and got caught in the standing vegetation, as well as the furrows made by the cultivation treatment. It is very important that the cultivation is rather deep and that the soil layers are mixed. If the furrows are shallow, they will close after the first rains and slight flow of water. The farmer doubled his stocking rate after a period of approx. 5 years.

 

Natural resources prerequisites
Soil	Sandy and silt.	Relief	flat
Climate	Semi-arid  - 271mm/a	Vegetation	denuded, open plains, dwarf shrub veld of the Karoo region in SA
Other prerequisites		- -
Time requirements to restore land/water/nutrients		Restoration in arid and semi-arid regions take very long. > 5 years
Reference level in this comparison		- -

 

Socio-economic factors / prerequisites
Land ownership/tenure		Commercial farmer (privately owned)
Farm sizes		from 10 000 ha
	Supports shifting cultivation			Supports rangeland management
	Supports sedentary farming			Supports uncontrolled grazing
	Supports livestock production			Supports others (please specify):
	Transhuman system			Increase in vegetation cover, density and general biodiversity
Usually requires credit:			no		yes
Machine requirements:			no		yes (name what), specify
					Cultivator (Agricultural implement) and tractor
Labour requirements:			hired		family labour
Investment phase:			high		moderate		low
Maintenance:			high		moderate		low
Do quantifications exist? (give data or reference)		Yes, good quantitative data exists. Part of post graduate study (MSc)
Requires/supports division of labour (gender, age, ethnic group ...).			no		yes (name what), specify
			No specific gender, age or any ethnic group requirements
Requires/supports participation of communities (e.g. joint field preparation):		Full farmer participation

 

Advantages of the practice
Yields, profit	Better rangeland condition by increase of vegetation cover, density and biomass. Better live-stock production and management.
Biophysical	Yes – higher plant density and cover and biomass production. Better soil conditions
Labour economic	Very low. Farmer does control the restoration him/herself
Socio-cultural, religious	Farmer involved in the project. Increases socio-cultural participation. Better income and livelihoods for farmer.
Skill/knowledge requirements	Very low. Most farmers have all the implements available and know how to use them. No special training needed
Ecological (on-site, off site)	As mentioned
Others (please specify)	- -

 

Disadvantages / Constraints of the practice
Yields, profit	If area where restoration is done is not properly managed, can be a waste of money and time. Grazing has to be controlled for the first 2 years if possible. - Tenure of land potentially problematic. People are reluctant to invest if land is communally owned
Biophysical	Soil cultivation has to be deeper if more than one soil layer exists. This causes some great soil disturbances. If not cultivated deep for best soil water retention, then furrows or hollows will close and silt up again.
Labour economic	None
Socio-cultural, religious	None
Skill/knowledge requirements	None. Contour ploughing to avoid erosion is important. This may require training
Ecological (on-site, off site)	None
Others (please specify)	- -

 

Dissemination
Dissemination		was/is a success
		was/is slow
		still in test stage
If successful for new technologies: Was it so far		“early adoption” (curiosity, testing)
		“verified adoption” (farmers repeat practice still in third year)
Any data/reference on adoption and dissemination (where, how many farmers/ rangers/ herdsmen):	Farmers’ days were held by research team who evaluated the project. Most farmers were impressed with results. Most farmers adopted the technology and many tried it on their own farms. What the results were is still unknown.
If disseminated, then how		Farmer-Farmers		Media
was it done?		Extension service		Research project
		Others (specify)
If via research, was it		Technology Transfer		Participatory On-farm Research
If via research/ extension or others, was it		free or with incentives		without incentives
Name at least 2-3 crucial conditions for successful adoption by farmers
Farmers must be aware of the degradation problem and how long term overgrazing by small live-stock can be detrimental to the natural resource in the long term. Farmers must realize how useful any restoration technology can be, even if it is only the simple disturbance of the scalded soil surface. The denuded and open patches are of no use. Simply by cultivating the soil surface, the condition of the land can be increased which can lead to a better grazing capacity (increase better live-stock production) in the long-term. Farmers and other community members must participate in the planning and execution of restoration technology. They must take ownership so that the technology is maintained. Farmers must see how they can benefit from this restoration technology. There must be some spin-offs for the farmers in the long-term. Accessibility to tractor at affordable rate. Secure tenure rights Farmer’s perception of the degree of degradation problem.
Who adopted it (describe typical adopters)?	Local farmers – large and small scale – communal (with Govt assistance) and commercial (without Govt assistance).
In which region(-s)?	semi- and arid regions of the dwarf shrub veld in the Karoo regions of SA
Name at least 2-3 important dissemination/adoption constraints/blocker.
Unwillingness of community or farmers to participate, as well as very little awareness of the problem. No incentives in the short term. Loose interest if quick results are not visible. Communal ownership may prevent investment in this technique. It can be done communally or individually
Who did not adopted it (describe typical non-adopters)?	Nearly all the commercial farmers believed in the technology and adopted it.
In which region(-s)?	as mentioned

 

Evaluation
How was its restoration ability evaluated so far?		on station		on farm
References, if known:	In literature published and as results in post-graduate thesis.
How could remote sensing/ GIS contribute to monitor restoration success?	YES – large areas of the “open and denuded plains” have been cultivated. Through improved GIS system the change in rangeland condition can be mapped and evaluated and results described on small and large scales. All possible factors contributing to the change of the natural resource (soil, vegetation, stocking rates, climatic conditions, etc.) can be documented.
How could adoption and dissemination be improved?
Better awareness and understanding of the problem explained to more farmers. More research, especially of how the condition of the land improves over time and space (also on large scales). Results have to be communicated to farmers. Better promotion of successes. Tell the people what has been succeeded!! Get more farmers involved. More Government involvement, especially policy makers. Tractors may not be available in certain countries – utilizing animals for ripping soil (draught animal) is a possible alternative What communication tools do we have? Perhaps utilizing pictures could be beneficial, e.g. contour ploughing, important to enable visualisation.
Rank three crucial research needs.
1.	How the restoration process can be enhanced. What type of management is needed for optimum increase in production (live-stock and vegetation
2.	How can the technology still be improved. Do more demonstrations plots. Better understanding of the species that can be used to improve the condition of the land by restoration technologies, i.e. to increase vegetation cover of the herbaceous layer. How can these species be cultivated to produce more seed for possible over-sowing treatments.
3.	Socio-economic impacts of the program.
4.	Economic incentives and spin-offs for the farmer over the long-term.
	Is tractor mechanization an option for similar zai/ tassa technique in West Africa? Are there relations to Vallerani?
Key literature on the practise (biophysical as well as socio-economic)	Available on request. Much literature already published about this restoration technique.
Submitted initially by	Prof. Klaus Kellner School of Environmental Sciences and Development, North-West University (Potchefstroom campus), Potchefstroom, South Africa, 2520