Rehabilitation of degraded pastures with alfalfa

Restoring degraded pastureland with alfalfa, a fast-growing plant, and putting the area under quarantine for three years to allow for the pasture to restore sufficiently, which requires the agreement of community members.

The restoration measures include levelling the soil with a rack to soften the soil and prepare the seedbed. Fertilizer (mineral or organic) applied and the area is protected from grazing during the three years. During this quarantine period the alfalfa has to grow sufficiently in order to be harvested for livestock fodder, although it may be possible to harvest some areas earlier.

Note: For this SLM technology case, the SPI report on Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change refers to: Sghaier, M., et al. Context of oum zessar watershed Tunisia. Afromaison project. In: Observatoire du Sahara et du Sahel.