Toward sustainable agriculture in the humid tropics : building on the TropSoils experience in Indonesia

Soils in the area are extremely infertile and deficient in organic matter. Early settlements were cleared by bulldozer, which removed the topsoil. This report describes three farming systems research studies conducted in Sitiung by the TropSoils/Indonesia project. Two of the studies examined the agricultural activities of transmigrants from Java, while the third investigated an indigenous farming system. The first study focused on transmigrants" upland rice fields, and included a rapid rural appraisal, collaborative work with farmers, and studies of farmers" time allocation and constraints. In the second study, a rapid rural appraisal of transmigrants" gardens was conducted, while collaborative work was carried out on home garden cropping systems, fish ponds, and small ruminants. Surveys were then conducted of agricultural world views and women"s decisionmaking. The third study focused on the indigenous Minangkabau farming system, examining time and land use, income, and rice yields, but also various aspects of indigenous knowledge -- soil taxonomy, plants used for food, and the overall conceptual approach to agriculture. Final sections of the report discuss FARMSYS, a computerized expert system, as a possible aid in agricultural decisionmaking and provide recommendations for improvements in agroecology, training, and extension.