Sloping Land

Agricultural
Technology
Introduction to SALT
In early 1970’s Harold Watson (Baptist Missionary,
Mississippi) who worked
with the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center
(MBRLC) in Kinuskusan, Bansalan,
Davao del Sur observed the problems of agriculture
in the upland areas in the
province. Among the problems observed by Harold
Watson are the following;
a. sloppy areas
b. slash and burn/swidden causes rapid degradation and erosion.
c. no proper crop rotation causes soil unproductive
d. Philippines is a tropical area, heavy monsoon rains and
typhoons causes
massive amounts of erosion, loss of nutrient-rich topsoil and
landslides
with disastrous result.
Based on his observation, he concludes that there is need for
the introduction
of more sustainable form of farming, through observation,
experimentation, and
innovation SALT.
SALT was developed on a hectare of marginal land as a test
site in
Kinuskusan, Bansalan, Davao del Sur by the MBRLC. With
local upland farmers with
farm problems and needs typically with a slope steeper than
15 degrees, had been
farmed for five years or more, and had soils similar to those
of most farms in the
area. With the motivation to work out it was started to
employ contour terraces in
its sloping areas. Contour lines were established carefully
with the aid of an A-frame
and planting of hedgerows and permanent crops was
begun.
Testing of different intercropping schemes, identifying
of nitrogen fixing
trees/shrubs (Gliricidia sepium or leucana commonly
known as ipil-ipil-based
farming systems) was observed in Hawaii and at the
Center. After several years of
observation of experiment, the SALT was finally
verified and completed
Essential guidelines of SALT
a. adequately controls soil erosion
b. help restores soil structure and fertility
c. be efficient in food crop production
d. be applicable to at least 50 percent of hillside
farms
e. be easily duplicated by upland farmers with the
use of local resources and
preferably f. without making loans
f. be culturally acceptable
g. the small farmer as the focus and food
production as the top priority
h. be workable in a relatively short time
i. requires minimal labor
j. be economically feasible
The Asian Rural Life Development Foundation recognizes
that:
- SALT is not a perfect farming system
- There is not and never will be one system for all
farmers
- SALT is not a miracle nor a panacea
- To establish a one-hectare SALT farm requires much
hard work and discipline
- There is no easy way, It takes three to ten years to
deplete the soil of
nutrients and to lose the topsoil; no system can bring
depleted, eroded soil
back into production in a few short years.
- Soil loss leads to low yields and poverty, but land can
be restored to a
reasonable level of productivity by using SALT.
Various Form of SALT
a. SALT 1 (Sloping Agricultural Land Technology)
b. SALT 2 (Simple Agro-Livestock Land Technology)
c. SALT 3 (Sustainable Agroforestry Land Technology)
d. SALT 4 (Small Agro fruit Livelihood Technology)

SALT I. Sloping Agricultural Land Technology

A one-hectare model of agroforestry technology with agricultural
and forestry
crops at a percentage of 75:25. A technology decreases erosion by
50%, as
compared to the traditional upland farming system. This technology
was developed
for farmers with few tools, small capital and little knowledge in
agriculture. It is less
laborious than the traditional method of upland farming.
It is a simple, applicable,
low-cost and timely method of farming the uplands. It
increases com yield by about
five times and income by six times, findings of show that a
hectare of SALT farm can
provide an income of P1,300/ha/ mo as against the
P200/ha/mo in upland farms of corn cultivated the
traditional way (MBRLC). SALT is a package technology on
soil
conservation and food production, integrating different soil
conservation measures
in just one setting.
Basically, SALT is a method of growing field and permanent
crops in 3-meter
to 5-meter-wide bands between contoured rows of nitrogen
fixing trees. The
nitrogen fixing trees are thickly planted in double rows to
make hedgerows. When a
hedge is 1.5 to 2 meters tall, it is cut down to about 75
centimeters and the cuttings
(tops) are placed in alley-ways to serve as organic fertilizers.
The ten steps on how to establish SALT – 1
Step 1. Use of A-frame
a. Making the A-frame
Use 3 wooden or bamboo poles about 4 cm in diameter. Join
the poles
securely with notches and string so that the joints do not
slip. Tie a string to the top
of the A-frame. Tie a rock or other weight to the other end of
the string. The weight
must be heavy enough that it will not be blown by the wind.
The weight should hang
about 20 cm below the crossbar

b. Calibrating the A-frame

Place the A-frame on nearly level ground. Mark the
spots where the legs (A
and B) touch the ground. Mark the crossbar where
the weighted string passes it.
Figure 1. Illustration of A-frame
Step 2. Locate the contour lines
One leg of the A-frame is planted on the ground;
then, the other leg is swung
until the carpenter's level shows that both legs are
touching the ground on the
same level. A helper drives a stake beside the A-
frame's rear (first) leg. The same
level-finding process is repeated with stakes every
five-meter distance until one
complete line is laid out.
The distance of contour lines is three to five meters
apart.
Figure 2. Marking the contour line
Sloping Agriculture Land Technology (SALT 1)

Since the mid-1970’s, the SALT 1 technology

has utilized a number of fast growing
nitrogen-fixing trees and shrubs (NFT/S) for
soil conservation and a biological fertilizer
source in the uplands. These NFT/S are
planted in double hedgerows along the
contour of a sloped area every four to five
meters apart. The rich nitrogen fixing hedges
act as a physical barrier to soil erosion, which
enhances the soil erosion control potential for
the system while providing a good source of
organic nutrients and soil covering
conditioner.
The major NFT/S hedgerow species utilized
are Desmodium rensonii, Flemingia
macrophylla, Gliricidia sepium, Indigofera
tyesmani, Leucaena sp. and Calliandra sp.