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ACF - INTERNATIONAL LOW INPUTS AGRICULTURE PRACTICAL MANUAL LEGAL NOTICES Statement on Copyright © Action contre la Faim – International Network Reproduction is permitted provided the source is credited unless otherwise specified. If reproduction or use of textual and multimedia data (sound, images, software, etc.) are submitted for prior authorization, such authorization will cancel the general authorization described above and will clearly indicate any restrictions on use. Disclaimer The present document aims to provide public access to information concerning the actions and policies of Action contre la Faim International Network. Our objective is to disseminate information that is accurate and up-to-date on the day it was initiated. We will make every effort to correct any errors that are brought to our attention. However, ACF bears no responsibility for information contained in the present document. This information: • Is solely intended to provide general information and does not focus on the particular situation of any physical person, or person holding any specific moral opinion; • Is not necessarily complete, exhaustive, exact or up-to-date; • May refer to external documents or sites over which ACF has no control and for which ACF declines all responsibility; • Does not constitute legal advice. The present disclaimer is not aimed at limiting ACF’s responsibility contrary to requirements of applicable national legislation, or at denying responsibility in cases where this cannot be done in view of the same legislation. Acknowledgements This manual was written by Isabelle NOIRARD and Viktor KIAYA in November 2011. We should like to thank all those who have helped prepare this document for sharing information with us, for their contributions to this work, their observations and their advice. And, in this respect, we particularly thank : a All our food security coordinators in the Paris and Madrid Head Offices for their reactivity and their interest in this project; a ACF’s missions, whose years of experience also facilitated the drafting of this document; a All those who read the report before publication for their remarks and their contributions. Cover photograph: © Victor Kiaya-ACF Mongolia TABLE OF CONTENTS Legal Notices ........................................................................................................................................... p.1 Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................... p.2 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. p.4 Glossary ................................................................................................................................................... p.6 Chapter 1: Choose the right site and fit out it .................................................................................... p.8 Flier 1: Planning of site layout (« garden designing») ............................................................................... p.25 Flier 2: An alternative to land: bag/sack gardens ..................................................................................... p.26 Flier 3: Protected cultivation ...................................................................................................................... p.28 Chapter 2: Selecting and sowing the best seeds ................................................................................ p.10 Flier 4: Produce and select the best seeds: locally adapted seeds .......................................................... p.31 Flier 5: Sowing to transplantation: benefits of nurseries ........................................................................... p.33 Flier 6: System of Rice Intensification (SRI) .............................................................................................. p.35 Chapter 3: Sustainable soil conservation techniques and agricultural practices ............................ p.13 A. Soil management and conservation ................................................................................................. p.13 Flier 7: Conservation Agriculture ............................................................................................................... p.38 Flier 8: Minimum Tillage or « Conservation Tillage» ................................................................................ p.40 Flier 9: Manual weeding, hoeing and ridging ............................................................................................. p.43 Flier 10: Cultivation in pits or « Zaï » system............................................................................................. p.46 Flier 11: Mulching, cover crops and Ramial Wood Chippings ................................................................... p.49 B. Renewing soil fertility ........................................................................................................................ p.16 Flier 12: Supply of local compost .............................................................................................................. p.55 Flier 13: Recycling manure ........................................................................................................................ p.59 Flier 14: Green manures ............................................................................................................................ p.61 Flier 15: Biochar ......................................................................................................................................... p.63 Flier 16: Rizi-pisciculture, an example of the integration of agriculture and breeding ............................... p.66 Flier 17: Micro-dosing ................................................................................................................................ p.68 Flier 18: Crop succession and rotation ...................................................................................................... p.70 Flier 19: Crop association or « intercropping » .......................................................................................... p.74 C. Preserving water resources ............................................................................................................... p.19 Flier 9: Manual weeding, hoeing and ridging ............................................................................................. p.43 Flier 10: Cultivation in pits or « Zaï » system............................................................................................. p.46 Flier 11: Mulching, cover crops and Ramial Wood Chippings ................................................................... p.48 Flier 19: Crop association or « intercropping » .......................................................................................... p.74 Flier 20: Landshaping and rainwater harvesting ....................................................................................... p.77 Flier 21: Drip irrigation .............................................................................................................................. p.83 Flier 22: Hedging (live hedges and windbreaks) ........................................................................................ p.86 D. Protecting crops from diseases, pests, and weeds ........................................................................ p.21 Flier 9: Manual weeding, hoeing and ridging ............................................................................................. p.42 Flier 11: Mulching, cover crops and Ramial Wood Chippings ................................................................... p.48 Flier 18: Crop succession and rotation ...................................................................................................... p.69 Flier 22: Hedging (live hedges and windbreaks) ........................................................................................ p.86 Flier 23: Natural phytosanitary treatments................................................................................................. p.88 2 Chapter 4: Proper storage and conservation of seeds and productions .......................................... p.23 Flier 24: Post-harvest management ......................................................................................................... p.91 Flier 25: Food processing .......................................................................................................................... p.97 3 INTRODUCTION Sustainable intensification of agricultural production: the challenge Notwithstanding the efforts of the international community, and despite the progress that has been made, under-nutrition still persists on a massive scale in the countries of the South. In 2010, FAO estimated the number of people suffering from malnutrition at 925 million, in other words 13.6% of the world‟s population, approximately 6.8 billion inhabitants1. The bulk of this poverty-stricken and undernourished population lives in rural environments and is composed primarily of small producers who are often forced into exile in cities where their situation does not improve, to say the least. There are countless causes of malnutrition. The rising price of cereals in 2007-2008 plunged a significant section of the population into a situation of food insecurity. Natural disasters, conflict and