Best practices in sustainable land management

Strip tillage is a cropping system for maize which reduces the reworking of the soil to the stripes, in which the seeds are planted. Strip tillage is a mixture between no tillage and conventional agriculture. Instead of ploughing and harrowing, a special rotary tiller including a grubber is used; it is used to avoid soil erosion or for economic reasons. The reworking of the soil, manuring, seeding and applying of herbicides can be done at once.

Maintenance of continuous soil cover; alternating crops and cover crops as a practice to improve soil quality and reduce diffuse agricultural water pollution. Continuous cover cropping has been promoted as an agro-environmental measure to extend sustainable land management and reduce diffuse water pollution. The type of crop species depends on the crop succession. Compared with systems that do not use cover crops, continuous soil cover provides long-term agronomical and environmental benefits due to a reduction of negative impacts on agro-ecosystems.

Growing crops (or pastures) without disturbing the soil through tillage; direct seeding/planting and residue management (partial soil cover). No till technology reduces soil erosion and soil compaction while conserving water in the soil. It also makes optimum use of scarce and low rainfall to stabilise/increase crop yields. A special no-till drill was developed to simultaneously seed and fertilize annual crops. Seeding is earlier than in the case of conventional tillage, which requires seedbed preparation. Spacing between rows is adjusted according to crop type; tillage depth depends on soil workability and moisture content. Application of special herbicides replaces tillage for weed control, and enables the farmer to have a fallow period.

Leaving crop residues on the soil surface and subsequent planting through the mulch. The mulch layer has several important functions: it helps to increase and maintain water stored in the soil, reduces soil erosion, contributes to improve soil fertility and it efficiently controls weeds by hindering their growth and preventing weeds from producing seeds.

Mulching involves spreading waste crop after harvesting. Covering the soil with mulch protects it against wind and water erosion and provides nutrients which have a positive effect on yields and food security. Mulching also helps to improve the infiltration of water and reduce the evaporation of moisture from the soil. 

Integrated production and pest management (IPPM) curbs environmental degradation caused by current farming practices (intensive and extensive), reducing the negative impact of pesticides on the environment and on human health. IPPM works with all available techniques for combatting pests, while eliminating or keeping pesticide use at economically justified levels.

Use of biological agents (various types of symbiotic mycorrhizae fungi) as plant salt tolerance facilitators and soil amendments. The technology is applied as an effective agronomic measure to increase plant salt tolerance, reduce soil-borne diseases that affect plant roots, and increase of water and nutrient absorption. The technology prevents or mitigates soil degradation by improving the subsoil structure and can potentially decrease agricultural inputs, increase subsoil faunal diversity, and combat soil salinity, one of the main soil degradation problems in coastal zones. Application of biological agents helps to keep plants healthy, thus increasing crop production and reducing production risks.

Using environmentally friendly phyto-pesticides, made from natural plant extracts to help combat pests and diseases. Plant extracts include potatoes, onions or tomato stalks, garlic, pepper, dandelion, common wormwood and thorn apple extracts. The overall goal of phyto-pesticides is to combat pests and diseases, using an environmentally friendly, natural method without the need for chemical pesticides. They do not affect the surrounding flora and fauna and preserve biological organisms in the soil. This is an easy-to-use and low-cost technology, which mainly requires the collection and drying of plant parts to make the pesticides. It can be used in any environment during the growing period.

Ecological engineering is aimed primarily at the regulation of pest species, through the provision of habitats for their natural enemies, thereby increasing biodiversity. Other ecosystem services, such as pollination and cultural services, may simultaneously be enhanced by using the same measures.

Trees are planted at strategic locations; indigenous trees – “wildlings", which are considered endangered species, were preserved. Trees serve as shelter/habitat for wildlife species such as birds and can absorb carbon from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Trees also provide an aesthetic value as well as temporary shade for workers.