Progress 09/24/15 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:There are two main target audiences. Firstly the farmers who own poor, degraded soils; secondly, the students who received training under this project. Changes/Problems:The project has officially closed but activities are continuing. There is more of an extension in reach rather than a change in direction. Previously, the focus was on rehabilitation of degraded lands. Now the focus is on establishing agroforest farms on rehabilitated lands. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This research project has provided excellent opportunities for student training as well as for professional development of our staff as they worked on this project. One high school student was provided with research training on this project under the U.S. Federal STEP-UP program. This student is now completing his Bachelor's degree in the U.S. and it is clear that he gained academically from his involvement in this research on degraded soils. Even though this research on degraded soils (Accession No: 1007511; Project No: MIRCOMF56) has ended, activities are continuing through the currently ongoing research on agroforestry (Accession No: 1019951; Project No: MIRCOMF61) as we explore improved ways of establishing an agroforest farm on degraded lands that have been rehabilitated. The above-mentioned STEP-UP student did one summer under the degraded soils project and two summers under the agroforestry project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been disseminated to communities of interest through extension visits and meetings/ workshops. Meetings and workshops were also conducted in town and farmers were invited to attend. The focus of such meetings has been on how to improve food security in the face of climate change. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This Research Project has had a positive impact on audiences - the farmers who own the degraded lands and the students and staff who received training on the project. There was definitely a change in knowledge as audiences increased their knowledge and understanding of degraded soils. There has also been a change in action as farmers try out new ideas, especially composting. There has also been a change in condition as more lands become available for agriculture. This research has confirmed that the rehabilitation of the degraded lands can happen by farmers intervention through composting etc but rehabilitation is also happenning naturally. A number of factors may be responsible for the natural rehabilitation - a) birds dropping that included seeds of plants, b) resting or fallowing of the land, c) climate change producing an environment that is more conducive to growth of soil microorganisms. The cause of the initial degradation has been questioned. Results of this study tends to show that an important reason could have been over-use of the land and poor soil management in the past, especially when Japanese were here and were able to produce a lot of agricultural produce locally, including rice.
Publications
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Progress 10/01/17 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:There are four main target audiences - 1) farmers, 2) extension agents, 3) partners, and 4) students. During the period under review, all audiences are kept informed of the progress of the research. In prticular, there was a workshop attended by all target audiences where an update of this research was shared with everyone present. Changes/Problems:CHANGES/ TRANSITION At the beginning of the project, it was not clear whether these historically degraded soils could be rejuvenated and planted with crops. During the period under review it has become very clear that these soils could indeed be rejuvenated and cropped. In fact a number of strategies could be implemented to bring these unproductive soils into production. The question is now no loger, "Can these historically degraded soils be rejuvenated and cropped?" The project is transitioning and the more important and focal question now is "How best can we use these historically degraded soils for indigenous agroforestry?" PROBLEMS The main problem during the period under veview is related to relationship with farmers where we wanted to carry out our field works. These farmers made unreasonable demands for the use of their land, forcing us to work with farmers that are not our first choice, especially with regard to ease of access. As such, one of the main farms we work with now can only be accessed by crossing a river and we and our supplies have ended up in the water on more than one occassions. One of the main farmers we used to deal with before became inaccessible due to family feud over land ownership. We stopped working with this farmer when we were accosted by family members, carrying a machete and looking mean. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Experimental results have been shared with our main audiences for their training/capacity building and professional development. Findings are unexpected and have been educational and an eye opener for all involved. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?At the moment, sharing has been mostly by word of mouth, and through workshops/meetings. The plan is to do some writing of simple materials e.g. in the form of brochures that will be translated into the local language. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period, field work will continue but there will be greater focus on writing and publication of findings. And also materials will be translated into the local language.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In response to the GOAL of this research, four strategies for rejuvenating infertile degraded soils were developed. Effort is now focused on getting these published. However, with regard to the results of the field experiments, it was found that a combination of inputs including organic and inorganic (especially organic) has the greatest impact rather than the application of just one or two inputs such as NPK fertilizer or NPK fertilizer plus compost. The combination of inputs that seemed to work best included NPK, Compost, Lime, Soil from a fertile area, Material from forest floor, and Pig waste. It is the combination rather than the rate or amount that seems to be the key factor. When the correct combination is applied, it seems that a breakthrough was achieved and the experimental plant (banana) was able to grow well in an area where the farmer has not been able to grow banana before. This is a very interesting finding that has continued to amaze the farmer and us as well.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Effect of various treatments on banana growth on a degraded soil. (Not yet formally published)
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Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17
Outputs
Target Audience:There are four main target audiences: 1) farmers, 2) extension agents, 3) partners, and 4) students. Farmers are of course the most important target audience. We (AES/ Researchers) want them (farmers) to know the issue we are dealing with and the straegies that we are testing out. We also want our extension agents (CES) to be on the same page with us (AES) so we keep them updated on progress. We also want our partners/ collaborators to be aware of progress. These partners include personnel from Agriculture Office, Forestry Section, etc. Lastly but certainly not the least, we also aim at informing students of what is going on. Our main interest has been COM-FSM students taking the certificate and AS programs in Agriculture. However, during this reporting period we have also involved other students as well - including non-Agriculture students at COM-FSM, high school students in the STEP-UP program as well as students from colleges and universities from the Caribbean-Pacific region. Changes/Problems:Two findings have required us to increase our area of focus. Firstly we found that a mal is not clearly defined and that there are more than one types of degraded soils. A new area of focus in the next reporting period is to obtain a clearer definition of mal lands and also determine the different types of mal in Pohnpei. Secondly, in some cases, mal lands are undergoing a vigorous, natural transformation or restoration or improvement of fertility. This phenomenon was not suspected and it opens up some new areas of investigation. For example, we will want to know whether climate change has any impact on the rate of progression of the natural restoration process. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has provided great opportunities for training and professional development. Those that have benefitted include farmers, extension agents, partners, students, as well as the general public. In most cases, training for farmers, extension agents, and students happened at the site via on-site demonstrations and discussions. However, training also happened in the classroom/ seminar-room where presentations were given to benefit trainees. These presentations focussed mainly on partners (eg staff of Agriculture Office, Forestry Office, USDA NRCS, etc) as well as the general public. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?There will be more focused extension approach towards the end of the project via a workshop. However, in the meantime, stakeholders that are being trained have been the ones passing on results to communities of interest. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Performance of breadfruit and banana were tried out in the field in the current reporting period. In the next reporting period, other crops will be tried out. We will also conduct trials on other mal lands, as we are finding out that mal soils could be quite different in their properties. Apart from field experiments, we also intend to carry out greenhouse studies where we will explore the effect of various materials on plant growth. Materials to be tested include lime, compost, NPK, charcoal, mychorrizae, etc.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
There has been an unexpected finding which expands the area of focus. Originally, it was assumed that the total area covered by mal (degraded soil) is static and remaining roughly constant at 15% or more (Ioanis, 2015) of the total land area on Pohnpei island. As such it was assumed that, to rejuvenate these lands, there will be a need for human intervention. However our study has shown conclusively that there has been an ongoing natural process of restoration as well. There is a possibility that this rate has speeded up in recent years as a result of climate change but more study is needed to confirm this. Nevertheless, with regard to the first objective of the study, we found that, according to locals, there areat least two types of mal (degraded land) - those degraded in the distant past by natural or unknown means, and those degraded relatively recently by poor land/crop management. With regard to the second objective, we found the following: There are a number of factors influencing crop performance on degraded/ mal soils. These include crop species/varieties, climate (especially rainfall), terrain, soil water content, soil pH, soil OM content, and management. In mal ares, the key issueson hilltops and sloping land (which seemto occupy the biggest parts of mal lands) tend to be the low soil OM content and the low pH. As such, soil management in these areas should include strategies to increase soil pH and soil organic matter content. On the flats, a key issue is soil water content as water tends to collect in low areas and only water-loving plants will thrive in such environment. For many crops though, drainage might be needed to get rid of excess water. Human intervention to enable restoration of mal lands is now known to have two components. First is management eg liming and compost addition to make the soil more productive. Seond is management to protect or enhance the process of natural restoration of mal lands. Under this category we may include protection of birds that have been dropping seeds (with their waste matter) over mal lands.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Willyander, M. and N. Tuivavalagi, 2017. Natural and artificial rehabilitation of degraded soils (mal) of Pohnpei island, FSM. Presentation given at STEP-UP Conference in Washington DC, U.S.A.
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Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16
Outputs
Target Audience:The main target audience during the period under review include: (a) Agriculture Extension agents and other staff of COM-FSM CRE Division, (b) Project partners including the Pohnpei State Agriculture Office and other government and non-government groups in Pohnpei, (c) Pohnpei farmers who own or have access to degraded lands, (d) COM-FSM students doing their internship or practical training under CRE, and (e) professional soil science colleagues, particularly members of the Pacific Soil Partnership - a Pacific-wide group of soils scientists with headquarters at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). Changes/Problems:Unfortunately, a number of problems, personal and work-related, were encountered during the period under review. Wife of Project Director, Mrs Tuivavalagi, collapsed and was unconscious for three days requiring Project Director to take an extended break, nurse his wife and reconsider whether to continue working. Fortunately, wife is now back to normal, and Project Director is back on track. A change that came about as a result of this is that Project Director now tries to ensure that local CRE staff are fully aware of what he is doing. In this regard, Project Director is working very closely with Mr. Phillip Jackson. Research Assistant resigned and we are still trying to find a replacement. Previously, "sharing with the younger generation" was accomplished mostly by sharing with and on-the-job training for the Research Assistant. In the next reporting period, we will work with a wide variety of schools/students to make sure that a wide range of local young people benefit from this soils project. One of the degraded lands identified for research lies besides the Research Assistant's home and when he resigned we decided not to use this piece of mal land. Another issue has been the difficulty of signing a Memorandum of Agreement with farmers for the use of their degraded lands for research. Some issues of contention include dissatisfaction with compensation rate for use of land, and dissatisfaction with the experimental crops being considered. For this reason new farmerr/partners are being considered. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? NORTH CAROLINA CONFERENCE Project Director attended an Earthworm (Vermiculture) Conference at North Carolina State University (NCSU), with the aim of learning how Americans (and others) are using "earthworm technology" to rehabilitate degraded lands with the intent of testing the application of this technology to rehabilitate the degraded soils of Pohnpei. [This kind of technology (i.e., earthworm technology) is actually what we need in the Pacific as it is sustainable (natural), cost-effective, and relatively simple and cheap in the long run.] GUAM FIELD & LABORATORY VISITS On the way to North Carolina, Project Director (Dr Tuivavalagi) stopped by at the University of Guam to view in person other "sustainable" strategies being practiced in Guam that will be tried out in our efforts to rehabilitate degraded lands of Pohnpei. These strategies include (a) sheet mulching, (b) charcoal, (c) vetiver grass contours, (d) stocking contours. HAWAII BREADFRUIT CONFERENCE There is a huge Pacific-wide movement going on which involves the various Pacific islands working together with Americans in development of breadfruit to supply the American market for gluten-free products. For this reason, a major aim of the current project is to rehabilitate degraded lands for breadfruit production. In this regard, the Project Director (Dr. Tuivavalagi) was happy to be able to attend the first Global Breadfruit Summit that was held in Hawaii. LOCAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRAINING Project Director (Dr. Tuivavalagi) discussed issues regarding the degraded lands of Pohnpei locally with CRE staff, local partners, COM-FSM students, and farmers - thereby providing an opportunity for local capacity building. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Lessons learnt in North Carolina and Guam have been shared in presentations to colleagues at COM-FSM CRE Department in Pohnpei, as well as to members of the Pacific Soil Partnership (PSP) as Project Director (Dr Tuivavalagi) is an official of PSP - a soils NGO with headquarters at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). As a result, PSP members have agreed to invite University of Guam staff to future PSP meetings. Lessons learnt in Hawaii were shared in a public meeting held at "Island Food Community of Pohnpei" where Project Director (Dr. Tuivavalagi) and two other Pohnpeians who attended the Hawaii meeting gave their presentations. (The "other two" included Mr. Phillip Jackson, another CRE staff, and Mr. Saimon Mix, the President of the Pohnpei Farmers Association.) This meeting was attended by staff of CRE, Pohnpei Agriculture, SPC, USDA NRCS, Pohnpei Land Resources Division, Governor's Office, farmers, and COM-FSM students. There are also one-on-one sharing of information with CRE staff, COM-FSM students, and farmers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Many activities are being planned for the next reporting period including ordering of equipment, field experimentations etc. However, the most exciting activity being planned for the next reporting period is a series of greenhouse experiments which, in a relatively short period of time, should generate a huge amount of data on key fertility issues with the degraded soils of Pohnpei, and plant/crop responses to the various interventions/ strategies that will be tried out. Another exciting activity to be tried out in the next reporting period is an increased level of collaborative activities with schools and their staff/students - at the college level, but more so at the pre-college levels.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Activities carried out included: (a) Did literature reviews; (b) Visited potential field sites for field experiments on main island & carried out field observations; (c) Identified collaborators and met with the more important ones; (d) Prepared Work Contracts and Memorandum of Agreement with collaborating farmers; (e) Cleared first sites for field work; (f) Bought fertilizers and lime for field work and greenhouse studies; (g) Prepared questionnaires for interviewing stakeholders; (h) Identified sites for greenhouse/screen-house experiments; (i) Prepared list of scientific equipment to be ordered; and (j) Reviewed and updated plan of work, including a review of experimental treatments to be tested out.
Publications
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Progress 09/24/15 to 09/30/15
Outputs
Target Audience:This project was approved September 25, 2015 and the current Reporting Period ended September 30, 2015. During this Reporting Period the main audience included the potential collaborators who were contacted to inform them of the success of the submitted proposal. These included personnel under internal and external linkages. Peronnel under internal linkages included COM-FSM staff (CRE, AES, and Instructors/ professors), and COM-Land Grant staff. Personnel under external linkages included those working for Agriculture Office, USDA NRCS Pohnpei Office, Forestry Office, FSM R&D Office, SPC (Secretariat of the Pacific Community), Education Department, and an environmental NGO - Sustainable Energy & Farming Solutions, Inc. And we also contacted farmers that could play a role in this project. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?There will be much oppotunity for training and professional development when this project goes into full swing. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?No results have been obtained yet. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The main activities planned include: Ordering of scientific equipment and tools Finalize literature reviews Involve students in field observations, including simple measurements of soil pH, soilwater salinity, streamwater turbidity etc involve students in interviews Finalize plans for a screenhouse study Finalize plans for a field study
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Approval letter for project has just been received 5 days befor rnd of Reporting Period. We are still trying to get organized at this stage.
Publications
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