SOIL CONSERVATION

THE PROJECT WILL BE ASSISTED BY THE NATIONAL AGRARIAN UNIVERSITY (NAU), NATIONAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF CAJAMARCA (NTUC), AND GOP INVESTMENT PROJECTS. PROJECT COMPONENTS INCLUDE INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING ACTIVITIES AND SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES. A PERMANENT GOP SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION OFFICE WILL BE ESTABLISHED AND WILL OPERATE AT NATIONAL, REGIONAL, AND ZONAL LEVELS. IT WILL DETERMINE THE SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION NEEDS BY REGIONS OF THE COUNTRY, EVALUATE AND ANALYZE FIELD DATA, AND APPLY METHODOLOGIES WHICH HAVE BEEN FIELD-TESTED FOR EFFECTIVENESS AND APPROVED BY THE GOP. A QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF ACHIEVED FIELD RESULTS WILL BE FORMULATED ALONG WITH A RECOMMENDED PLAN OF DEVELOPMENT FOR A SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION COST-SHARING INCENTIVE PROGRAM FOR SMALL FARMERS OF PERU. A PILOT AREA IN THE WATER DISTRICT OF CAJAMARCA, CALLED THE PORCON, WILL SERVE AS AN EXPERIMENTAL SITE FOR TESTING AND EVALUATING VARIOUS CONSERVATION PRACTICES, COST-BENEFIT ANALYSES, SOIL EROSION CONTROL, WATER HARVESTRY, WATER CONTROL AND LAND DEVELOPMENT TECHNIQUES, ETC. THE PORCON WILL ALSO SERVE AS A DEMONSTRATION SITE FOR TRAINING GOP TECHNICIANS AND FARMERS OF SIERRA WATER DISTRICTS. A SPECIFIC SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION TECHNICAL GUIDE FOR GOP PERSONNEL WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR USE IN DETERMINING STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR TERRACES, RANGELAND SEEDING, NATURAL SPRING DEVELOPMENT, PASTURE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, GRASS SEEDING, ETC. TECHNICAL HANDBOOKS, MANUALS, AND BULLETINS COVERING DETAILED METHODOLOGIES WILL BE DEVELOPED AND PUBLISHED FOR EXTENSION PURPOSES TO THE SMALL FARMER. TWO TWO-WEEK FORMAL TRAINING COURSES IN SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION WILL BE CONDUCTED FOR 75 GOP PERSONNEL. INFORMAL ON-THE-JOB TRAINING WILL BE HELD FOR 20 LIMA-BASED AND 100 FIELD-BASED PERSONNEL. ONE PERSON WILL RECEIVE OVERSEAS SHORT-TERM ON-THE-JOB TRAINING.