Land and soil management for a greener future
Land constitutes one of the most important biophysical factors for agricultural
production. Land provides nutrients and water for plants and poses the constraints
and opportunities for different land use functions (nature, agriculture,
housing). Sustainable management of natural resources belongs to the core
activities of Resilience; the judicious management of land resources being
vital.
Building
on strong agronomic disciplinary knowledge, Resilience explores novel
possibilities for reducing nutrient losses in developed countries, while
improving soil fertility in developing countries. Subsequently, we assist
in and execute land evaluations and exploratory scenario studies. In exploring
alternative land use options, we strongly invest in participatory, interactive
process management in which stakeholders decide on project design and
procedures.
Soil fertility management by small-holder farmers in northern Ghana
March 2008-April 2009
Many organisations (governmental and non-governmental) are actively promoting soil fertility
measures like composting, agro-forestry, and increased manure use in Northern Ghana.
Adoption rates are generally low. Resilience studied the constraints that farmers have when trying to adapt those measures. Almost all (94 percent) of the farmers perceive a decline in their soil fertility. The lack of fallow is seen as the main cause for this decline.
Compared to the old generation the new generation of farmers pracices less fallowing (-30%) and use more manure, compost, and fertilizers. The use of manure and compost is especially higher in densely population regions. Applying the measures seems not sufficient to stop the trend in soil fertility decline, as the farmers who adopt them are still unsatisfied with their soil quality. Read more in our report.
Alternative
land use options for the South African land resettlement program Kranspoort,
Limpopo, South Africa.
July 2007
Resilience facilitated
the workshop on Alternative land use options for the Kranspoort resettlement
area and provided an exploration and assessment of alternative land use
options. The latter were constructed interactively with the stakeholders.
Cost-benefit
analysis of increasing nutrient use efficiency in Dutch agriculture towards
2030
January 2006—March 2007
Options for
increasing nutrient use efficiency in Dutch dairy and arable farming towards
2030: An exploration of cost effective measures at farm and regional level.
We produced a
research report in collaboration
with the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and
WUR-Alterra.
Terra
Preta: Ancient technology as a tool for sustainable management of tropical
soils
April 2005 —
December 2006
Deciphering ancient
technology for sustainable management of Tropical soils. Resilience set
up a large scale research programme for Wageningen University and studied
nutrient balances in these ancient manmade soils of inconceivable fertility. Resilience wrote a book chapter on Terra Preta.
Cost-benefit
analysis of increasing nutrient use efficiency in Dutch agriculture towards
2030
January 2006—March 2007
Options for
increasing nutrient use efficiency in Dutch dairy and arable farming towards
2030: An exploration of cost effective measures at farm and regional level.
We produced a
research report in collaboration
with the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and
WUR-Alterra.
Terra
Preta: Ancient technology as a tool for sustainable management of tropical
soils
April 2005 —
December 2006
Deciphering ancient
technology for sustainable management of Tropical soils. Resilience set
up a large scale research programme for Wageningen University and studied
nutrient balances in these ancient manmade soils of inconceivable fertility. Resilience wrote a book chapter on Terra Preta.
Read more in our publications & presentations
Van Vliet & Van der Kamp, 2009 Van Hofwegen et al, 2008 Van den Broek & Van Hofwegen, 2008 Van den Broek et al, 2007 Stoorvogel & Van den Broek, 2007 Van den Broek & Oenema, 2007 Meddens, 2006 Van Hofwegen et al, 2006 Van den Broek et al 2006 Van den Broek 2005People @ Resilience Soil
Joris van der Kamp Joep van den Broek Arjen Oord Michiel Woittiez Guido van Hofwegen Dirk van Apeldoorn