Degraded Agricultural Land Reclaimation

Gourazouri Village is aboit 50km distance from maradi in Niger Republic.their Agricultural Land degraded seriously,it was reported by the farmers in the area that the grazing reserved was seriously degraded 5years ago. Most of indigenous tree species and shrubs were seriously destroyed, leaving the grazing land unproductive for pasture production. Soil erosion and other forms of degradation has already started actively affecting the entire land.
Therefore, to rescue the land and restore the productive capacity of the grazing reserve, Government of Niger Republic through one of the Donor agencies intervened and developed a technology that can improve biodiversity through Natural Regeneration of indigenous trees and grass species and reduce pressure on forest resources. This technology is called “Half Moon technology of soil and water conservation “. In a nutshell, the success stories of this technology throughout the grazing reserves cannot be over emphasize. Farmers and pastoralist have benefited insanely from this technology, women and vulnerable groups have developed skills and knowledge of climate change adaptation and most of the grazing land were completely regenerated within 3years of inception.
Procedures of Half Moon technology in Reclamation of degraded Agricultural Land:
(a) Find the direction run off water will flow when it rains.
(b) Draw a 4meter line and create a curved line.
(c) Collecting the two ends of the line, the Curved Side must be downhill from the straight side.
(d) Dig 15-30cm deep in soil inside the half-moon.
(e) Pile the soil on the edge of the arc at a height of 5-10cm (for extra support, put rocks on the curved edge.)
(f) Put a pile or organic manure inside the half moon
(g) Mix the manure into the soil
(h) Plant seed in the half-moon after it rain
(I) Community members (men, women and vulnerable groups) must be fully involve in the establishment of the half moon
(j) Where necessary, develop community radio station to raise awareness on the benefit of the technology.