Upland agriculture and conservation project

The project, which will include applied research, a pilot farming systems program, training, road construction, and a fund to support small, innovative, nonproject activities, will be implemented by district, provincial, and national agencies under the leadership of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Ministry of Agriculture"s Agency for Agricultural Research and Development (AARD) will establish research facilities in the two project areas - the Jratunseluna Watershed of Central Java and the Brantas Watershed of East Java - as well as eight additional research plots. Research will focus on crop and livestock systems, silvipasture, and soil and water management. AARD research findings will be tested under the project"s second component, a Sustainable Upland Farming Systems (SUFS) Pilot Project. SUFS will extend technologies in farming systems and in bench and strip terracing in various "expansion areas" (and at 72 demonstration farms within these areas); plant unproductive or high-erosion-risk lands (23,000 ha) to silvipasture; establish 10 nurseries to produce grasses and legumes for silvipasture and for use in stabilizing terraces; give tree seedlings to farmers for soil/water conservation use; produce and distribute food crop seeds; and provide in-kind subsidies to farmers willing to participate in organized conservation efforts. Farmer training will focus on key farmers, who will be the project"s primary interface with other farmers. Also provided will be diploma training of 40 extensionists and M.S. training of 36 project personnel. Finally, construction or improvement of 475 km of road will provide access to demonstration farms and expansion areas and a special fund will be set up to finance project-related initiatives (e.g., studies, pilot projects) on the part of local communities or institutions. A management information system will be created immediately to support the project"s complex management structure, which places authority primarily at the district level, under the guidance of provincial and national agencies as well as specially created project management offices.