Báo cáo nghiên cứu khoa học IMPROVING CAPABILITY FOR ASSESSING SOIL CONSTRAINTS USING THE SCAMP DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM

Xóa đói giảm nghèo nông thôn ở Việt Nam sẽ không thể đạt được trừ khi năng lực của nông dân thông qualợi nhuận và bền vững hệ thống nông nghiệp được tăng cường thông qua công nghệ và kiến thứcsản phẩm. Việt Nam có hiệu quả mạng lưới khuyến nông quốc gia, và mạng này được chấp nhận rộng rãinông dân như một nguồn thông tin và tư vấn. Tuy nhiên, cán bộ khuyến nông thường thiếu một cơ bảnnền khoa học đất làm cho nó khó khăn cho nông dân để có được thông tin về đất bền...
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Báo cáo nghiên cứu khoa học " IMPROVING CAPABILITY FOR ASSESSING SOIL CONSTRAINTS USING THE SCAMP DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM "Collaboration for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) ProgramIMPROVING CAPABILITY FOR ASSESSING SOIL CONSTRAINTS USING THE SCAMP DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMProject title: Improving capability of provincial extensionists for assessing soil constraints to sustainable production through the use of the SCAMP decision support systemProject code: CARD 009/06 VIE Dr. Phan Thi Cong1; Dr. Philip W Moody2Author(s):Project implementing organizations: 1 Institute of Agricultural Sciences of Southern Vietnam 2 Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management Sydney University, AustraliaSUMMARYRural poverty reduction in Vietnam will not be achieved unless the capacity of farmers to adoptprofitable and sustainable agricultural systems is enhanced through technology and knowledgeproducts. Vietnam has an effective national extension network, and this network is widely accepted byfarmers as a source of information and advice. However, agricultural extensionists often lack a basicbackground in soil science making it difficult for farmers to obtain information on sustainable soilmanagement. The result is ‘one size fits all’ advice on cropping and tillage management. Fertiliserrecommendations follow a recipe book based on the crop without regard to existing levels of soilfertility or inherent soil characteristics. However, the key to sustainable and profitable cropping is asoil-specific approach to soil management and nutrient inputs. This CARD project addressed thecapacity gap in the soils knowledge of extensionists by providing basic training in soil and fertilisermanagement.In a previous ACIAR-funded project, the decision support package (‘SCAMP’- Soil Constraints andManagement Package) was developed to identify soil constraints from simple field observation of soilfeatures, supported by simple field and laboratory chemical analyses. SCAMP uses this soil-specificassessment to develop sustainable practices for soil and nutrient management. In the CARD project,SCAMP training courses were held for district and provincial extensionists in Gia Lai, Ninh Thuanand Tay Ninh Provinces. The workshops comprised in-field training to determine field texture, pH,and EC of soils and to observe and record properties such as position in the landscape, drainage,permeability, colour, structure and compaction. The implications of these properties for soilmanagement were explained and discussed. At the Gia Lai and Tay Ninh workshops, participantsvisited local field experiments that had been set up to demonstrate how soil constraints identified inthe SCAMP assessment could be addressed with management practices. Benefit/cost analysis of thesepractices demonstrated the benefits of using SCAMP to assess soil constraints to productivity.In total, 167 participants were trained at the workshops and answers to questionnaires indi cated thatover 90% of participants would apply the knowledge and concepts presented at the workshops to theirlocal situation by organising training workshops and one-on-one interactions with farmers. Inaddition, the IAS project team provided SCAMP training to project staff involved in the AgriculturalDevelopment Projects of the non-government organisation World Vision Vietnam. These World Vision 204 CARD 009/06 VIE – Capacity building in soils assessment using SCAMPproject staff then trained over 500 smallholder farmers in basic soil management, thus efficientlyextending the SCAMP training to individual farmers.Outputs from the project included reports that identified soil constraints to crop production in thetarget areas of the Central Highlands, South Central Coast and South East Regions. Site -specificmanagement guidelines for sustainable production of focus crops on major soil groups in these areaswere documented. In addition, the SCAMP manual has been translated into Vietnamese and is used asresource material at the workshops. observations made on crop growth responses1. Project contents, methodology and to the farmer’s practice and the SCAMP results treatments. On the last day of the workshop,1.1 Training Workshops teams reported back their results and theseThe training workshops consisted of one day were discussed.of lectures on basic soil properties, how they 1.2 Demonstration Field Experimentsare measured and what they mean. The second The workshops in Gia Lai and Tay Ninh wereday consisted of a field trip to local sites on supported by demonstration field experimentsdifferent soil types. Soil pits were dug to 150 that compared SCAMP-assessed treatmentscm depth to examine soil profile characteristics with local farmer practice. Maize was grown atand to discuss the soil constraints and both ...