Assisting Resource-Poor, Small-Scale Farmers with Adoption of Low-Input Technologies through a Client Participation Program of Cooperative Research and Extension at the Rural Development Center Near Salinas, California

1991 Annual Report for LW91-030

Project Type: Research and Education
Funds awarded in 1991: $59,992.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/1993
Matching Non-Federal Funds: $81,113.00
Region: Western
State: California
Principal Investigator:
Paul Gersper
University of California

Assisting Resource-Poor, Small-Scale Farmers with Adoption of Low-Input Technologies through a Client Participation Program of Cooperative Research and Extension at the Rural Development Center Near Salinas, California

Summary

Abstract of Results
The major objective of this project was to establish a model program for advancing the goals of SARE through assisting resource-limited farmers (most of whom are Spanish-speaking, Mexican immigrants with farm laborer experience and experience with traditional farming practices in Mexico). The farmers enrolled as students at the Rural Development Center (RDC) near Salinas, California, to adopt alternative, sustainable practices in producing vegetables for market. The program consisted of weekly classes; production and marketing workshops; field days; a resource center of multimedia instructional and reference materials; a core Small Farm and Education Program, involving both classroom and field instruction and practice; a multipurpose Community Garden Program; and a compact demonstration project; all of which were either newly developed or revised as a part of the SARE project. Also included in the program were "on-farm" research/demonstration trials comparing industrial production practices with alternative, sustainable practices in growing of a large variety of vegetables.

Prior to SARE there was little attention paid to alternative practices at the RDC. The curriculum was based on the industrial model of agriculture, with alternative practices considered almost as afterthoughts. Correspondingly, the student farmers showed very little interest in alternative practices, even though most of them were very familiar with traditional agriculture in their native Mexico. Thus, none of them used alternative practices by choice, opting instead to grow their crops using the same industrial practices prevalent in the Salinas Valley.

Now alternative practices and the sustainable model of agriculture prevail at the RDC and are beginning to make inroads elsewhere in the Valley. The curriculum and programs are now based on sustainable principals, emphasizing alternative practices. More importantly all of the student farmers, by initiative and choice, use alternative production practices. For example, more than half of the current class of student farmers are growing certified organic produce (or growing organically in transition to certification). The conversion of the RDC to an emphasis on alternative, sustainable agriculture has been dramatic, and it is abundantly clear that the RDC is now practicing and promoting land stewardship in its training and community outreach programs.

The use of cover crops at the RDC has expanded from near zero to nearly 100 percent. Incorporation of these green manures has noticeably improved soil fertility and tilth. Likewise, the use of other soil improving amendments, such as composts, have increased from near zero to common use. Plans are to eventually have all the farm under certified production from the present of approximate 25 percent already certified with approximately 25 percent in transition.

Before SARE, crop diseases and pests were controlled with chemical pesticides, which are now used only as a last resort; having been replaced by a combination of organically certified pesticides, biological control, and cultural practices.

Numerous on-farm research/demonstration trials revealed that vegetable production was as high or higher when nutrient requirements were met with composts or legumnous green manures compared to chemical fertilizers. Green manures in combination with compost consistently gave the best results. Use of other sustainable practices, such as minimum tillage and water conserving irrigation (e.g., drip irrigation), in these trials, led to their adoption, along with the use of organic amendments, by the farmers.

Energy input for successful production of vegetables was about the same for crops grown with composts as with chemical fertilizers during the first year of production; but in subsequent years energy input for compost produced crops was lower. Energy efficiency was generally higher with compost produced crops, compared to those produced with chemical fertilizers, and polycultures were considerably more productive and energy efficient than comparable monocultures. As with energy savings, net profits were generally similar during the first year for chemical fertilizer grown crops and those grown with composts, but were higher for compost-grown crops in subsequent years.

Potential Contributions and Farmer Adoption
Results of a survey revealed that participants in RDC programs have gained: valuable practical farming and business skills; confidence in their capabilities to learn; an understanding of agricultural alternatives; the realization that they can achieve goals; exposure to sustainable agricultural methods which they had not seen elsewhere in California agriculture; and a network of support for farmer-to-farmer information exchange and assistance. The survey also revealed that farmers trained in the use of alternative practices were more likely to be farming sustainably than those who were not.

The compost demonstration project has influenced the steady expansion, through the more than three years of the SARE project, in the use of soil organic amendments, the number of student farmers using them, and the acreage in, or in transition to, state organic certification. This project, and the routine use of organic amendments on the farm, is facilitating the teaching of students and farmers in the Salinas Valley about the importance of building up soil fertility and tilth, of taking advantage of on-farm and locally generated organic waste resources, and of minimizing crop production costs.
Reported in 1995