Project
LTRA-3: Watershed-based Natural Resource Management for Small-scale Agriculture
Details
Project Code:
LTRA-3
Start Date:
2005
End Date:
2009
CRSP Phase:
Phase 3
Budget:
$1,190,000
Participants
Lead University:
Virginia Tech
Other Partners:
International Food Policy Research Institute,Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, ECOCIENCIA, Sistema de Informacion Geografica Agropecuaria,
ECOPAR, Fundacion Promocion e Investigacion de Productos Andinos , Programa Manejo Integrada de Cuencas, Programa Agro Ecologica Universidad de Cochabamba, World Cocoa Foundation, Rainforest Alliance
Principal Investigator(s):
Jeffrey Alwang
Co-Principal Investigator(s):
Brian Benham, Darrell Bosch, Carola Haas, George Norton, Mary Wolfe, Paul Backman, Jonathan Lynch, Duane Chapman, Willis Flowers, Sally Hamilton, Stan Wood, Victor Barrera, Mario Gandarillas
Overview
Most households in rural watershed regions of the Andes rely on agriculture or other natural-resource based activities for their livelihoods. SANREM researchers monitored the social, economic, and environmental effects of livelihood changes in watersheds of Chimbo, Ecuador, and Tiraque, Bolivia. The aim of this project was to improve farm families’ lives and incomes by finding profitable alternatives, to identify constraints to adopting these alternatives, and to encourage genetic diversity in crop selection.
Objectives
Coming soon
Outcomes
Reducing soil erosion: SANREM scientists evaluated soil erosion in the region and its effects on agricultural productivity. They worked with community members to establish monitoring procedures, test different management practices, identify high value agricultural product marketing chains, and develop and implement local land use management plans. Research on these themes, especially the relationship between farming and soil loss, resulted in recommendations for raising incomes by 20 to 30 percent. Training students in watershed management: In 2009, the SANREM team took a group of five undergraduates to Ecuador. In less than four weeks, the students interviewed nearly 100 male and female farmers about conservation agriculture and their planting and harvesting practices. At the end of the trip, the students presented their research findings at a field day attended by farmers and representatives from local organizations in the Chimbo River watershed.
