Project assistance completion report [: soil conservation]

The project was one of the most successful in the Mission's portfolio. Accomplishments were substantial and exceeded targets in several key areas. Success was particularly notable in the areas of training, extension of soil and water conservation practices, establishment of test sites, and institutional coordination with MOA extension offices and universities. Specific achievements were as follows. DGASI drafted a law and justification to establish a National Soil Conservation System, and interinstitutional regional coordination committees were established in 8 of the 11 project offices. The project also: (1) published two reports on the economic impact of the use of soil conservation practices - a farmer's earning report and a socioeconomic report; (2) printed four major publications and several small brochures and published five technical booklets on various conservation practices and a summary edition of the "Economic Impact" of the Use of Soil Conservation Practices in the Peruvian Andes; (3) established 5,763 test areas in the Departments of Cajamarca and Junin for measuring the effect of conservation practices on soil erosion and water retention; (4) trained 8,100 farmers and technicians through short, onsite courses and field days, demonstrating soil and water management practices on 7,000 test plots, 3,800 terraces, 2,100 contour furrows, and 100 highland pastures. The soil conservation practices introduced by the project were very successful, increasing crop yields by as much as 119%. The most significant indicator of the project's impact is the creation in 1/88 of a National Program of Watershed Management and Soil Conservation, based on the organization of this project. For this new system to be effective, the Mission recommends that: (1) the system continue to coordinate with other agencies, public and private, in identifying high priority watersheds in coastal and high jungle areas where soil erosion and/or water management are a problem; (2) more emphasis be given to the application of appropriate resources, native pasture/rangeland management, and reforestation; and (3) the project's data collection and analysis system be maintained and improved so it can adequately monitor longer-term results of the project's conservation practices.