The document discusses land husbandry best practices for hillside areas in Jamaica. It notes that agriculture is an important sector but has faced losses from climate events. RADA aims to support sustainable agricultural production through several initiatives: RADA's Land Husbandry Unit provides training and tools to promote sound land husbandry. They use farmer field schools and demonstrations of techniques like agroforestry. Unsustainable practices that degrade land are identified, along with recommended crops and stabilization methods for different slopes. RADA collaborates with other groups and uses various communication methods to disseminate this information. The overall goal is to minimize environmental damage and losses to agriculture through adoption of sustainable land management.

1. Implementing Land Husbandry Best
Management Practices in Hillside
Areas
Peter Thompson, RADA

2. The Agricultural Sector
• The Agricultural sector remains an important
contributor to GDP, employment, foreign
exchange earnings and rural life in Jamaica. The
sector absorbs 20 percent of the country’s
employed labour force.
• The damage and loss to the agriculture sector
due to major climate events between 1994 and
2010 is estimated to have amounted to J$14.4
billion. Billions have been lost that could be
considerably minimized with adaptation of good
land husbandry technologies

3. Strategic Objectives of RADA
RADA Strategic Pillar
1. Organization
Re-Alignment
to reflect the
technical nature of
the Authority
Ensure a technically
efficient extension service
To support, increase and
modernize agricultural
production and productivity
Maintain, constantly
upgrade and document field
staff capabilities
To ensure utmost competence,
confidence, currency and
professionalism and support
comprehensive performance
evaluation
Monitor farming
community, agro-ecology,
infrastructure and
management practices.
To support productivity, food
safety, sanitary/phyto-sanitary,
environmental and human
health strategies and
standards.

4. Collaborative Approaches
• Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
• Ministry of Land Water Environment and Climate
Change
• GOJ adaptation Project
• GIZ programme
• FAO
• UWI-Mona
• USAID
– Ja REEACH- Climate Smart Agriculture

5. RADA’s Interventions:
Land Husbandry Unit
• Senior Land Husbandry Officer
Supported by parish Land Husbandry Officers
deployed across the Island:
– Capacity building for Extension staff in land
husbandry
– Development of training manuals
– Equipping of staff with land husbandry kits
– Target oriented approach the promotion of sound
land husbandry practices.

6. Objectives and Main Focus Of Land
Husbandry Unit 2015 – 2016
 Adoption of Farmer Field School methodology in the training
of farmers and extension staff.
 Continued training of extension staff and farmer’s in
determining land husbandry innovation suitable for location,
adaptable, affordable and sustainable.
 To train farmers in the establishment and construction of the
various innovations and treatments.
 Conduct farm tours to view innovations practiced by other
farmers.
 The use of Agro –forestry as an adoption tool in combating
the negative effects of climate change
 Officers should identify, prepare and submit project proposals
to protect the environment and address areas of degradation.
 Acquisition of the basic tools necessary to function effectively.

7. RADA interventions:
Communication with Target Audience
• RADA continues to update and adopt emerging
trends to training and dissemination of
information to stakeholders directly and
indirectly in the Agriculture industry. These
include:
– SMS
– Emails
– Publications
– FFS training approach
– Field monitoring

8. Collaborative Interventions
• FAO through funding from the Government of
Belgium approved an emergency recovery
project
• GOJ/IDB Adaptation Fund
• USAID Ja REEACH project – Agroforestry and
Land Husbandry, among others

9. Unsustainable Practices
• Deforestation
• Destruction of water sources
• Overgrazing
• Removing vegetative covering &
Slash and burn
• Mono cropping
• Disturbing or changing drainage
pattern
• Hillside farming without control
measures
• Poor maintenance of drains and
waterways
• Improper disposal of waste
• Destabilizing slopes
• Unsafe developmental activities
• Poor planning
• Bush fires
• Blocked waterway
• Improper excavating or grading
on slopes
• Unsustainable farming practices
• Poor site selection and farm
building construction

10. Strategies for Sustainable Land
Management
1. Study of traditional methods for managing water, soil
and soil fertility
2. Study of the feasibility, acceptability, effectiveness and
economic viability of erosion control methods
3. Study of the costs of erosion and of erosion control at
the individual plot and watershed levels
4. Regional adaptation of methods of managing water,
nutrients and biomass.
5. Develop and implement action plans to close gaps that
come to the fore and exploit opportunities identified

11. Major Focus Areas
• Land Capability Classification
• Understanding Land degradation, and Climate
Hazards
• Soil Erosion diagnostics and design of land
stabilization options
• Soil Conservation Innovations
• Cropping Systems using weather forecast data.
• Sustainable land and soil fertility Management
practices

12. Cropping and Interventions for
Specific Slope Conditions
Recommended Crops and Farming Systems for Specific Slope Conditions
Slope Recommended Crops Recommended Practices
Very Steep (more than >60 %) Forest (protection for natural
growth)
Natural regeneration
Steep (between 30-60 %) Trees and perennial crops Agroforestry, gully plug, check dam,
stone barrier, log barrier, Coffee, fruit
trees, individual basins
Hilly (16-30%) Trees and perennial crops Vegetative strips, agroforestry,
orchard terrace, individual basins
Rolling (8-16%) Trees, grazing, permanent crops
Moderate slope (5-8) Permanent and annual crop Trash line, conservative agriculture,
multi-storey cropping
Gently slope (2-5%) Annual crops, livestock Soil conservation practices according
to geomorphological characteristics of
the plot (i.e., the type of landforms
present and soil structure)

13. Land Husbandry Farmer Field School
Training – Training of Trainers

14. Development of Practical Skills in Land
Husbandry
St. Thomas, 2015

15. Demonstrating
Land Husbandry Best Practices
(In-Field)

17. Field Day, Coopers Hill, Portland

18. Thank you