Endangered Terraced Farming: Problems and Possible Solutions [Archives:1998/28/Business & Economy]

Ahlam Al-Mutawakel,
Yemen Times
Organized by the Agriculture Research and Extension Authority (AREA) and the International Development Research Center (IDRC) of Canada, a special workshop was held at Sanaa University on 29 and 30 June on the project of mountain terraces research.
The Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Abdul-Rahman Ba-Matraf, indicated that the project to study mountain terraces in the Kohlan and Sharis areas is “very important because its results can be used to deal with the problems plaguing terraced farming nation-wide.”
The study found that about 50% of the surveyed area was not suitable for agriculture, 25% has incurred medium damage, and the remaining 25% regularly undergoes extensive erosion because of flash floods.
“The project, therefore, aims to improve terraced farming and natural pastures through better understanding of the reasons behind the deterioration of resources,” said Ba-Matraf.
Dr. Ahmed M. Abdul-Haq, Manager of the Northern Uplands Project, said that the mountain terraces project (April, 1995 – March, 1998), which was jointly funded by the Yemeni government and IDRC, has three main components:
– diagnostic studies,
– technique evaluation, and
– dissemination of information and data management.
Dr. Mahasin Munaibari, lecturer in the Faculty of Agriculture at Sanaa University, submitted a paper analyzing rural family labor in Hajja. “I tried to find out more about the role of rural women in theworkforece – the number of hours they spend, their problems, and possible solutions,” explained Dr. Munaibari.
The paper found that Hajja women spend on average 6 to 7 hours a day collecting firewood, and bringing water. The chores inside the home generally took as much time. Work is distributed almost evenly among the female members of the household, although the male members have much lighter tasks. In some villages, almost all work is done by women as the men have gone to work in the city or abroad.
“In some places, men bring jerrycans filled with water by car. As a rule, the men bring the water to the doorsteps of the house, and it is up to the women to carry it to the top of the house. Men consider it beneath them to do that.
“Also, if farming is done by both men and women, marketing is the men’s responsibility. It is shameful for women to go to market, except those who have no menfolk available to do so. Actually, men monopolize the marketing of products partly because that way they control the proceeds (money).
Dr. Munaibari made suggestions to reduce the reliance on firewood and canned liquid gas such as increasing the efficiency of the Yemeni “tannour” or oven by increasing its oxygen intake. She also recommended the planting of special trees to produce firewood so as to save other endangered species of plant. Dr. Abdulrashid Y. Ibrahim of the Agricultural Research Corporation’s Kode station in Aden, said: “The Wadi Yaharr study is a two-year survey that covers animal wealth, crop production, regarding many issues that could reduce the burden on women. “Rural women can be saved a lot of effort if provided with small agricultural equipment such water pumps, etc.” Farmers in Wadi Yahar suffer from lack of water (there are only 5 wells in the area), water pollution, epidemics, soil erosion, and overgrazing.” he also discussed the impact of cutting down too many trees for firewood on the soil, water, natural pastures, and economic and social aspects.
Mr. Mohammed Moqbil Mofrih is a researcher and coordinator for Pastures, Fodder, and Animal Wealth at the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Guidance in Dhamar. His research concentrated on mountain terraces and pastures in Kohlan because of its topographic diversity. “During the first year of this study, fuel consumption was analyzed. It was found that natural woodlands and pastures were being quickly depleted through over-wooding and overgrazing,” said Mr. Mofrih.
He also cited lack of road maintenance as a cause of soil erosions and land slides. “Debris left from road building into the mountains increases the mountainside slope, a factor leading to more severe landslides,” he explained.
Dr. Zaynul-Abidin, an expert working for the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), said, “ICARDA aims to conduct field studies with the participation of the farmers. This project gives priority to proper management of natural resources.”
“This main conclusion of the workshop was that Yemeni farmers are able to protect their terraced farms from erosion, if there are financial incentives to farm the fallow fields.”He indicated that abandoned arable land can be planted with pasture bushes that will help protect the soil from erosion and provide grazing grounds for farm animals.
“In Kohlan, for instance, the good results achieved by planting pulses made the farmers more enthusiastic and has helped to hold the soil together. But farmers need more information and better guidance by the media and the Ministry of Agriculture to be able to sustainably exploit the land,” added Dr. Zaynul Abidin.
Ms. Marleen Belder, FAO soil scientist currently working in Dhamar, pointed out the importance of maintaining terraced farms as “they are a major part of the agricultural land in Yemen.” She emphasized the need to resort to the age-old traditional methods of protecting these terraces from violent landslides and soil erosion.

Dr. Aden Aw-Hassan of ICARDA stressed the importance for farmers to “adopt modern methods of agriculture so as to make terraced farming a viable economic endeavor and induce the farmers to continue working on the their lands.”
Eng. Ali Abdul-Malik, researcher at the Agricultural Research Corporation in the Northern Highlands, said, “The second phase of this project is divided into three stages: research, agricultural crop intervention and water consumption rationalization.”Eng. Abdul-Malik submitted a paper on domestic water consumption. He indicated that if water supplies are modernized and regulated, farmers will have more time to look after their terraced farms. He cited the use of special home cisterns in Taiz and the southern highlands as a good example for storing water on roof tops or mountain sides.
Finally, Dr. Mohammed Al-Khowlani of the Faculty of Agriculture at Sanaa University, added, “As part of the project, which costs around $400,000, improved international strains of lentil, peas, wheat and barley have been introduced. These seeds were delivered to the farmers, who were also given the necessary information on their optimal use. In addition, vital information on proper use of chemical and organic fertilizers in order to increase soil productivity was provided.”

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