Collaboration for Agriculture and Rural Development CARD ProgramIMPROVING CAPABILITY FOR ASSESSING SOIL CONSTRAINTS USING THE SCAMP DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM Project title: Improving capab
Trang 1Collaboration for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) Program
IMPROVING CAPABILITY FOR ASSESSING SOIL CONSTRAINTS USING
THE SCAMP DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM
Project title: Improving capability of provincial extensionists for assessing soil constraints
to sustainable production through the use of the SCAMP decision support system
Project code: CARD 009/06 VIE
Author(s): Dr Phan Thi Cong 1 ; Dr Philip W Moody 2
Project implementing organizations:
1 Institute of Agricultural Sciences of Southern Vietnam 2
Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management Sydney University, Australia
SUMMARY
Rural poverty reduction in Vietnam will not be achieved unless the capacity of farmers to adopt profitable and sustainable agricultural systems is enhanced through technology and knowledge products Vietnam has an effective national extension network, and this network is widely accepted by farmers as a source of information and advice However, agricultural extensionists often lack a basic background in soil science making it difficult for farmers to obtain information on sustainable soil management The result is ‘one size fits all’ advice on cropping and tillage management Fertiliser recommendations follow a recipe book based on the crop without regard to existing levels of soil fertility or inherent soil characteristics However, the key to sustainable and profitable cropping is a soil-specific approach to soil management and nutrient inputs This CARD project addressed the capacity gap in the soils knowledge of extensionists by providing basic training in soil and fertiliser management.
In a previous ACIAR-funded project, the decision support package (‘SCAMP’- Soil Constraints and Management Package) was developed to identify soil constraints from simple field observation of soil features, supported by simple field and laboratory chemical analyses SCAMP uses this soil-specific assessment to develop sustainable practices for soil and nutrient management In the CARD project, SCAMP training courses were held for district and provincial extensionists in Gia Lai, Ninh Thuan and Tay Ninh Provinces The workshops comprised in-field training to determine field texture, pH, and EC of soils and to observe and record properties such as position in the landscape, drainage, permeability, colour, structure and compaction The implications of these properties for soil management were explained and discussed At the Gia Lai and Tay Ninh workshops, participants visited local field experiments that had been set up to demonstrate how soil constraints identified in the SCAMP assessment could be addressed with management practices Benefit/cost analysis of these practices demonstrated the benefits of using SCAMP to assess soil constraints to productivity.
In total, 167 participants were trained at the workshops and answers to questionnaires indicated that over 90% of participants would apply the knowledge and concepts presented at the workshops to their local situation by organising training workshops and one-on-one interactions with farmers In addition, the IAS project team provided SCAMP training to project staff involved in the Agricultural
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project staff then trained over 500 smallholder farmers in basic soil management, thus efficiently extending the SCAMP training to individual farmers.
Outputs from the project included reports that identified soil constraints to crop production in the target areas of the Central Highlands, South Central Coast and South East Regions Site-specific management guidelines for sustainable production of focus crops on major soil groups in these areas were documented In addition, the SCAMP manual has been translated into Vietnamese and is used as resource material at the workshops.
1 Project contents, methodology and
results
1.1 Training Workshops
The training workshops consisted of one day
of lectures on basic soil properties, how they
are measured and what they mean The second
day consisted of a field trip to local sites on
different soil types Soil pits were dug to 150
cm depth to examine soil profile characteristics
and to discuss the soil constraints and
sustainable management using SCAMP
Participants were then split into groups to
undertake their own SCAMP assessments at
different sites The local demonstration field
experiments were also visited, and
observations made on crop growth responses
to the farmer’s practice and the SCAMP treatments On the last day of the workshop, teams reported back their results and these were discussed
1.2 Demonstration Field Experiments
The workshops in Gia Lai and Tay Ninh were supported by demonstration field experiments that compared SCAMP-assessed treatments with local farmer practice Maize was grown at both sites SCAMP treatments (balanced fertilisation using fertiliser ‘straights’ such as FMP and urea, and the application of locally available plant amendments) had higher benefit cost ratios than farmer practice (Fig 1)
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
Farmer Practice SCAMP Farmer Practice SCAMP
Yr 1
Yr 2
Yr 3
Figure 1 Benefit/Cost ratios of SCAMP treatments and Farmer Practice applied to maize at Gia Lai
(Ferralsol) and Tay Ninh (Acrisol)
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1.3 Documentation of Soil-specific
Regional Soils
Based on available information on regional
soils and cropping systems, SCAMP
assessments were prepared on soil constraints
to crop production in the target areas of the
Central Highlands, South Central Coast and
South East Regions These reports also
provided site-specific management guidelines
for sustainable production of focus crops on
major soil groups within the regions
1.4 Capacity Building
The questionnaires at the training courses
indicated some major changes in the
perceptions of extensionists as a result of the
workshops In particular there was increased
understanding of the impacts of key soil
properties such as field texture on soil
management, and greater awareness of the
reasons for the beneficial effects of green
manure residues on soil productivity In
particular, a better understanding of the effects
of specific soil properties on constraints
resulted in specific, rather than general,
suggestions for sustainable management
practices It was also recognised that
application of fertilisers was not the answer to
all soil productivity problems
All participants indicated their intention to
train local farmers in sustainable soil
management using the SCAMP framework as
the basic resource tool It is expected that this
will lead to widespread dissemination of
knowledge A mobile soil testing laboratory
was identified by the participants as a high
priority to improve fertiliser management
A very notable achievement of the Vietnamese
project staff was the close interaction with the
agricultural development projects of the NGO
World Vision, particularly in Bac Binh The
IAS project staff ran a special SCAMP
workshop in Ho Chi Minh City in 2007 for
project managers from several World Vision agricultural development projects in Vietnam
2 Recommendation
It was clearly identified by the extensionists that there was a high priority need for a national mobile soil-testing service This was because fertiliser recommendations currently follow a recipe approach based on crop type without consideration of the existing soil fertility status This situation leads to over-application of inorganic fertilisers or unbalanced nutrient addition To counteract this, on-site soil analyses for nitrate, phosphorus and potassium are required IAS staff have been trained to do these analyses rapidly in the field with a minimum of equipment National mobile soil testing services are funded by the national governments in Thailand (Dr Soils Program) and the Philippines In these countries, rapid soil analyses are undertaken on farmers’ soil samples at farmer field days, and on-the-spot fertiliser recommendations are given in conjunction with advice on other issues such as plant disease and pest management
It is strongly recommended that such an approach be adopted in Vietnam as a national agricultural initiative SCAMP assessment of local soils in association with a mobile lab to undertake analyses on farmer samples has tremendous potential for extending sustainable land management practices throughout the country
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Some pictures from a training course
Participants from the Southern Central Coast at
Phan Rang Thap Cham on 25-27 June 2008
Australian Project Leader, Dr Philip Moody and the IAS Director, Prof Dr Bui Chi Buu at
the training course
Dr Philip Moody and Dr Phan Thi Cong were
explaining soil constraints to crop production of
an alluvial soil where surface runoff is the main
water supply mean practiced
Group discussion on soil texture, pH, EC
An Extremely compacted alluvial soil from
Phan Rang Thap Cham, Ninh Thuan where
custard apples and grapes are grown
In contrast, so easy to make a soil pit on a sandy soil grown to onion and garlic from Phan Rang Thap Cham, Ninh Thuan Participants from each group examined the soil by
themselves.