Grassland Management and Livelihood Development in NW China:

Some Observations from Agroecology

Norman Uphoff, Cornell UniversityCOHD Workshop,

Yinchuan, Ningxia, August 7-8, 2005

Two Comments I Heard that are Reinforced by Much Experience

(1) As much as possible, use power of nature (Cheng Shu)

• Mechanical or engineering solutions often favored – terraces, fences as windbreaks, etc.

• Chemical solutions also favored – use of fertilizers, agrochemical control, etc.

• These have their place in most strategies – but as much as possible – and increasingly over time – mobilize biological processes

Two Comments I Heard that are Reinforced by Much Experience

(2) The biological foundations of grasslands are the fundamental issue (Ma Ming)

The life in the soil is basic to success – bacteria, fungi, earthworms, plant roots, and other organisms aggregate soil, retain water, mobilize nutrients, etc.

• Control erosion, resist effects of wind & rain

• Absorb and use rainfall, make it productive

• Maintain soil fertility – BNF, P solubilization

Two Concerns becoming Evident

(1) Climate change – will probably become worse --• This has a two-way effect with grasslands• This makes it even more important that we nurture

biological capacities to resist these changes, with:– Attention to the growth and health of roots– Attention to abundance and diversity of soil biota

(2) Uses of regulation and coercion – are often unsuccessful, and even counterproductive

(1) Should consider alternatives, e.g. rotational grazing, limitations on stocking, local regulation, pasture improvement, etc.

Community-Based Natural Resource Management

Depends on (a) government willingness to work out effective system with communities, and (b) local community management capacities

Some form of local organization is needed, probably combining formal and informal:

Four essential functions (of all organizations):• Decision-making for planning, implement, etc.• Resource mobilization and management• Communication and coordination• Conflict resolution and management

Carrying-Capacity as Concept

This has been a central concept for rangeland and grassland management – for decades

But it is being reconsidered in some circles

• Too mechanical, too deterministic,

• Not dynamic enough, biology is more variable

Rangelands/grasslands are renewable resources if managed within appropriate limitations

More intensive use can be, if managed correctly, more productive and more sustainable

Less Can Be MORE?I appreciated this suggestion very much – more

intensive and better management can pay off

Need strong government and local control so that nobody takes unfair advantage of the resources being created by better management

In the irrigated rice sector, we are seeing that LESS CAN BE MORE – fewer plants per m2, fewer plants per hill, younger and smaller plants, LESS WATER (25-50% reduction), better to use compost (biomass) than chem. fertilizer

Cambodian farmerwith rice plant

from single seedusing SRI methods

Roots of a single rice plant (MTU 1071) grown at Agricultural Research Station

Maruteru, AP, India, kharif 2003

SRI field in Cuba-- 2003CFA Camilo Cienfuegos14 t/ha – Los Palacios 9

Cuba – 52 DAP, Variety VN 2084

Cuba: Rice plants at same age (80 days) and same variety

SRI rice field, hybrid variety, Yunnan province, 2004 – 18 t/ha

Normal 3-S

Liu Zhibin, Meishan Institute of Science & Technology, inraised-bed, no-till SRI field with certified yield of 13.4 t/ha

Principles being adapted to other CropsWinter wheat in Poland; sugar cane, finger millet

and cotton in India; chickens in Cambodia

Not a technology but rather a methodology

• A set of concepts and principles for

• Mobilizing and capitalizing upon biological potentials that already exist in plants and animals and in the soil – if we understand and manage the soil as a living thing

• Our mismanagement makes it inert, dead