Increase Land Productivity Research Articles

Transforming agroforestry through gender practice: Challenges and opportunities

Around the world, the agricultural sector relies heavily on women, especially in developing countries, but women’s restricted access to essential resources, hinders their agricultural productivity, resulting in increased poverty. A promising solution to this is agroforestry, a climate-smart agricultural practice which increases land productivity, providing socioeconomic and ecological benefits. Women’s access to agroforestry, however, is constrained by gender disparities which favour men in terms of access to land, education, extension services, decision-making power, labour and financial resources. It is crucial that these obstacles be dismantled to enable women to participate fully in agroforestry, because they possess valuable knowledge and are often more willing than men to adopt climate change adaptation programmes. Recommendations for mainstreaming gender in agroforestry include collecting gender-disaggregated data, ensuring equal access to resources, promoting gender-inclusive training and education, implementing gender-responsive policies, fostering women's leadership and participation, raising awareness and challenging social norms. Put to action, these recommendations will challenge traditional gender roles and empower women as agents of change, creating an inclusive environment for sustainable agricultural development.

Intercropping System: Enhancing Productivity and Sustainability in Hot Pepper (Capsicum annum L.) and Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) Cultivation: A Review

The practice of intercropping hot peppers and basil has yielded several benefits, as discussed in this article. Intercropping is the cultivation of multiple crop species in the same plot of land for a specific period with the aim of increasing yield by utilizing resources such as solar radiation, water, and mineral nutrients more effectively. Studies have shown that Intercropping systems capture and utilize more water, nitrogen, and light than single-crop systems, leading to improved moisture and nutrient use efficiency. Additionally, the use of intercropping systems has been found to enhance crop diversification, thereby reducing the risk of total crop failure and improving yield stability over seasons. This practice has also been shown to increase gross returns per unit area, leading to increased land productivity and financial benefits. Furthermore, planting basil alongside hot peppers has been documented to enhance the productivity of the main crop, while reducing losses due to pests, diseases, and weeds caused by the presence of phytonutrients. Overall, intercropping has been found to be an important agricultural activity that allows for increased yield gains through efficient utilization of growth resources, making it an ideal option for the sustainable intensification of crop production.

The Giving Response of Compost Leaves of Gamal, Kaliandra, and Lamtoro on the Growth of Arrowroot Plants (Maranta arundinacea)

Agroforestry technology in forest area land management aims to increase land productivity sustainably. The aims of the study were to: (1) examine the effect of compost from leaf litter on three different tree species on the growth of arrowroot seedlings, (2) examine differences in arrowroot growth given various types of compost from leaf litter on three different tree species, and (3) to determine the best type of leaf litter compost for the growth of arrowroot seedlings. Observations were made on plant height, number of leaves, clumps, tuber productivity, and total dry weight in 20 observation units using a completely randomized design (CRD). The research data were then analyzed for variance. Then if there were significant differences, the DMRT (Duncan Multiple Range Test) follow-up test was continued. The results showed that the use of compost had a considerable effect on plant height and number of leaves. However, compost did not affect the number of clumps, total dry weight, and arrowroot tuber productivity. The results showed that gamal compost had the highest tuber productivity, namely 37.73 gr/plant, followed by lamtoro compost at 33.98 gr/plant, and calliandra compost at 23.05 gr/plant.

The Impact of Internet Use on Land Productivity: Evidence from China Land Economy Survey

Enhancing land productivity is a crucial strategy for addressing key sustainable development issues, such as poverty reduction and ensuring food security. Farmers’ Internet use behavior offers the potential to improve land productivity. However, relatively little is known about the association between Internet use and land productivity. To fill this void, this study examines the impact of Internet use on land productivity and its mechanisms. The results indicate that farmers’ use of the Internet has a positive impact on improving agricultural land productivity. Internet use increases land productivity by 12.3%, and the conclusion still holds after a series of robustness tests and endogeneity tests. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that Internet use significantly enhances land productivity in the central and northern parts of Jiangsu Province, while it does not have the same effect in the province’s southern regions. Without the addition of county fixed effects, the central sample regression results show that the coefficient for Internet use is 0.165 and significant at the 10% confidence level. When county fixed effects are added, the coefficient decreases to 0.117 and is not significant. The coefficient on Internet use for the northern sample is 0.128 and is significant at the 5% confidence level. Mechanistic analyses demonstrate that Internet use also enhances land productivity primarily by expanding the cultivated land area, facilitating mechanized production, and strengthening farmers’ social networks. The results of the study indicate that the positive effects of Internet use in improving land productivity should be fully released by strengthening the communication infrastructure, further enhancing farmers’ Internet use capacity, improving the land transfer system, upgrading the socialized service level of agricultural machinery, and strengthening agricultural financial support.

Assessing the Role of Green Finance in Enhancing Rural Economic Resilience and Environmental Sustainability

Green finance plays a key role in enhancing the resilience of rural economies and environmental sustainability. Rural economies have traditionally relied on natural resources, which makes them particularly vulnerable to climate change and environmental degradation. By providing the necessary financial support, green finance can help rural areas invest in sustainable agricultural practices, upgrade aging infrastructure, implement resource conservation projects, and adopt clean energy and energy-efficient technologies. Green finance can facilitate shifts in agricultural practices, such as supporting organic farming, precision farming and conservation tillage. These practices help to increase land productivity, reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and conserve biodiversity, while increasing the resilience of agricultural systems to climate change. Green finance supports the sustainable transformation of rural infrastructure, such as the efficiency improvement of irrigation systems, the recycling of agricultural waste and the green transformation of rural energy, which helps to reduce environmental pollution and improve resource efficiency. The development of green finance also requires the support of relevant policies, including the establishment of a sound green financial system, the improvement of financial institutions’ awareness and assessment capacity of green projects, policy tools to incentivize green investment and credit, and the enhancement of rural communities’ awareness and acceptance of green finance.

Professional standard «Agronomy» in the context of employer's requests

Introduction. In the article, the authors drew attention to the fact that the development of modern agriculture is aimed at finding new ways and methods to increase land productivity and raise farm animals. In the current situation, the interaction between real production and science comes to the fore. Science should provide domestic enterprises with high technologies. However, there is a large gap between universities and the real sector of the economy.Purpose setting. Compliance of the competencies of graduates with the requirements of employers is becoming a modern trend in the development of agricultural education. In the conditions of innovative economic development, the labor market needs specialists who can work in various professional environments and have a high motivation for retraining.Methodology and methods of the study. The secondary analysis of sociological research data on the compliance of the level of professional training of graduates of agricultural universities with the production requirements of today is compared with the results of a sociological study of students of Nizhny Novgorod Agrotechnological University.Results. The researchers not only identified a set of problems inherent in modern agricultural education, but also described specific competencies (according to the federal state educational standard in the area of training «Agronomy» (FGOS 3++), which do not meet the needs of the leading stakeholders of agricultural production, revealed the inconsistency of the subjects of the educational process in understanding and broadcasting professional qualifications.Conclusion. The authors believe that the results obtained determine the relevance of the rights of agricultural universities to make their own adjustments to the formation of the qualifications of graduates.

Effects of soil physicochemical environment on the plasticity of root growth and land productivity in maize soybean relay strip intercropping system.

Soil is a key foundation of crop root growth. There are interactions between root system and soil in multiple ways. The present study aimed to further explore the response of root distribution and morphology to soil physical and chemical environment under maize (Zea mays L.) soybean (Glycine Max L. Merr.) relay strip intercropping (MS) An experiment was carried out aiming to examine the effects of nitrogen (N) applications and interspecific distances on root system and soil environment in MS. The two N application levels, referred to as no N application (NN) and conventional N application (CN), were paired with different interspecific distances: 30, 45 and 60 cm (MS30, MS45 and MS60) and 100 cm of monoculture maize and soybean (MM/SS100). The results demonstrated that MS45 increased the distribution of soil aggregates (> 2 mm) near the crop roots and maize soil nutrients status, which increased by 20.3% and 15.6%. Meanwhile, MS reduced soil bulk density, increased soil porosity and improved soil oxygen content. Optimization of the soil environment facilitated root growth. The MS45 achieved a better result on root distribution and morphology than the other configuration and also increased land productivity. Relay intercropped soybean with maize in interspecific row spacing of 45 cm, improved soil physicochemical environment, reshaped root architecture and optimized root spatial distribution of crops to achieve greater land productivity. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Dissemination of the Agroecological Model of Alang-Alang Land Reclamation to Increase Land Productivity

Using reed land for agriculture and improving productivity is cheaper than clearing forests because clearing new forests negatively impacts environmental quality. Reed control technology combined with an agroecology approach is expected to ensure a sustainable eradication of reed populations followed by technical culture and food crop cultivation patterns throughout the year. This community service program can solve food production problems, land fertility, and other environmental impacts. Community service program solutions can classify reed land based on land quality, educate the community in utilizing reed land reclamation techniques in ready-to-plant land blocks, evaluate the skills of farmers/communities based on crop production in reed reclamation blocks, and involve the community in naming superior and environmentally friendly agricultural varieties in the la block program solutions can classify reed land based on land quality, and educate the community in utilizing reed land reclamation techniques in ready-to-plant land blocks, evaluate farmer/community skills based on crop production in reed reclamation blocks, and involve the community in naming superior and environmentally friendly agricultural varieties in reed reclamation blocks.

Effect of different legumes in castor relay cropping system

In the scenario of conventional farming system, limited chances are available to cope with sustainability and productivity issues at the same time. Relay cropping may play a crucial role in tackling this concern, by increasing the sustainability with minimum tillage, continuous soil cover along with increase in land productivity. Lot of studies already reflected the benefits to crops sown after legume crop, so more emphasis was given in this study to directly relate the research towards a best choice of legumes for relay cropping in castor crop. With these thoughts this research was framed to study different legume-castor relay cropping systems viz., greengram-castor, clusterbean (veg) - castor, blackgram-castor, cowpea-castor and sole castor (control). The results revealed that greengram-castor and blackgram-castor are the best identified relay cropping system for obtaining higher castor equivalent yield and monetary returns as per the three years of experimentation. However, the study also showed that legume-castor relay cropping gives more than two folds returns than sole castor.

Characteristics and potential of tidal swampland to support the lowland rice development: a case study in Maliku Sub-District, Pulang Pisau Regency, Central Kalimantan Province

Tidal swampland is an agroecosystem with distinct characteristics. Studying on this land was very important to support national food security. This study aims to identify the soil characteristics and the potential of tidal rice fields in the Maliku Sub-District, Pulang Pisau Regency, Central Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. Four representative soil profiles were characterized in the field and laboratory to determine the soil’s chemical, physical, and mineralogical properties. The results showed that these soils were generally fine textured, had very acid to acid reaction (soil pH 3.2-4.7), moderate to high C-organic (2-6%), varied potential P2O5 (22-289 mg/100g), low potential K2O (11-17 mg/100g), varied available P2O5 (8.6-56.1 mg/kg), very low exchangeable Ca (<2 cmolc/kg), varied exchangeable Mg (0.6-3.0 cmolc/kg), moderate soil CEC (18-22 cmolc/kg), very low base saturation (<20%), and shallow to very deep (35 - >100 cm) of pyrite depth. The sand fraction mineral is mainly composed of quartz and rock fragments, while the clay fraction is dominated by kaolinite. The lands are marginally suitable for tidal rice fields with the limiting factor being very acid soil reaction and shallow pyrite depth. The application of balanced fertilization, liming, organic matter, minimum tillage, and micro-water control can increase land productivity.

Management and application of specific location food crop technologies based on ecoregional dry land in central Sulawesi (A Review)

To achieve food self-sufficiency and food independence, government has been implementing some programs. Those programs generally face two basic problems, namely: 1. A high conversion of paddy fields in to industries and housing area which are in line with the growth of population. 2. Global climate change which causes more frequently of drought and floods in both dry and lowland farming. Dry land is very extensive in Central Sulawesi which can be used as a new source of food production to reach food self sufficiency, while it has not been optimally utilized yet. Thus, Central Sulawesi Province has potency to become a food buffer region in Indonesia by optimizing the utilization of dry land along with the application of specific location technologies. Some technologies which could be simultaneously applied in dry land are high-yield varieties selection, improving cropping patterns, rotation of varieties, modification of cropping systems, and specific location fertilization. This article will discuss or review the results of research that have been carried out in dryland management, the use of adaptive superior varieties, and planting patterns that can significantly increase land productivity and farmer income. So comprehensive planning is needed to improve and optimize the use of dry land. To speed up technology in certain locations, a collaboration between local governments, especially extension services, research institutions and universities is needed to encourage the production and productivity of food crops in dry lands.

Optimized agrivoltaic tracking for nearly-full commodity crop and energy production

As the global population accelerates toward a full earth scenario, food, energy, and water demands will increase dramatically. The first order constraints that face resource generation technologies, such as static land availability, compound into second order challenges such as direct competition for the same land and solar photons. Within the contiguous United States, both agriculture and energy production such as solar have turned to densification schemes to increase yields and power per land area, respectively. These technologies coupled with water generation capabilities or management strategies, remain widely separated in their implementation or experience loss in combination. We propose an Agrivoltaic food and energy coproduction architecture to address these challenges, utilizing an Agrivoltaic Array, on-site micrometeorological condition analyses, on-site experimentally validated ray-tracing and irradiance modeling simulation software, as well as crop physiological stage, ear, and height data. Identification of critical time frames in which the relationship between irradiance and yield is highly significant (p less than 0.00005) enables implementation of ideal anti-tracking during those growth periods and solar tracking during all non-critical periods, collectively called critical-time anti-tracking. This reduces power generation to 13.68% during a six-week ideal anti-tracking time frame compared to solar tracking; still, this translates to 86.71% power generation over a year when compared to solar tracking. The reduction in power offsets yield loss, increasing land productivity. This research proposes a technology for near-neutral coproduction of food and energy leveraging already existing hardware for a viable pathway for widespread solar implementation throughout the contiguous United States.

Collective action, replanting and resilience; Key lessons from 40 years of smallholder oil palm cultivation in the Ophir plantation, Indonesia

CONTEXTOil palm smallholders often have difficulty implementing good agricultural practices and replanting, and tend to obtain low yields compared to corporate plantations. A frequent strategy to improve the sustainability of smallholder production systems is sustainable intensification, aimed at increasing land productivity and farmers' incomes. To facilitate sustainable intensification, many leading public and private sustainability initiatives require farmers to join farmer organisations as a precondition for certification and assistance, with the objective of achieving advantages of scale. OBJECTIVEThe objective of this article is to analyse the resilience of farmer organisations in the Ophir plantation when faced with replanting. We do so by linking actors, situations, and contexts relevant to collective action in five farmer cooperatives in Ophir over a 40-year period. Our aim is to offer unique insights into the enduring dynamics that influence the resilience of farmer organisations, shed light on smallholder oil palm replanting strategies, and draw several key lessons from this case. METHODSOur findings are based on field visits by the lead author before, during and after replanting. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected to enable a holistic overview. During visits, 110 interviews with relevant stakeholders were recorded, project reports were collected, as were data on yields, costs, and other information on the functioning of the farming system. Analysis of high-resolution satellite imagery of the Ophir plantation and plantation inspections allowed us to further quantify replanting methods and replanting progress. A combined IAD-SES-NAS framework was used to structure findings and link variables, key events and context. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSOur results show that farmer organisations can facilitate sustainable intensification in smallholder systems, but the resilience of farmer organisations proved diverse during replanting. Thus, farmer organisations are by no means a silver bullet for sustainable intensification. Landscape conditions, palm tree age, smallholder diversity and financial (mis)management play crucial roles in the resilience of farmer organisations and replanting strategies. Significant investment in various types of collective action is needed to encourage sustainable intensification through farmer organisations. SIGNIFICANCEThis article reports a rare holistic analysis of the bio-physical, socio-economic, and institutional aspects impacting collective action and replating in smallholder oil palm plantations. We present significant empirical data, which allows us to link 40 years of interactions between farmers, their institutions, plantations and changing contexts. Thereby we provide unique insights into farmer organisations, collective action and smallholder oil palm replanting.

Analysis of Agricultural Land Conversion in Taman Sub-District, Sidoarjo Regency

As a decisive step in the research process, an overview of the development of rice field conversion in Taman District, Sidoarjo Regency and an analysis of factors affecting agricultural land conversion on the income of rice farmers in Taman District, Sidorjo Regency is needed. Thus, this research can later be used as a reference in issuing and determining policy directions, especially in the agricultural sector to prevent the conversion of agricultural land into non-agricultural land. Based on the above background, the objectives of this study are as follows: analyze the factors that affect the conversion of agricultural land in Taman Sidoarjo District. The site selection was carried out purposively with the consideration that the location is one of the fast-growing areas in East Java with significant economic growth and infrastructure development. The data collection method is carried out using secondary data consisting of institutional surveys to obtain secondary data that has relevance to discussions in research and literature surveys. The analytical tools used are multiple regression analysis and descriptive analysis. Based on the results of regression analysis, it is indicated that the variables of population, number of industries and GRDP are positively and significantly related to agricultural land conversion in Taman Sidoarjo District, which means that the influence of increasing population, number of industries and GRDP can increase agricultural land conversion. Meanwhile, land productivity and farmer exchange rates have a significant negative relationship, which means that the effect of increasing land productivity and farmer exchange rates can reduce agricultural land conversion.

Mapping spatial patterns in Tinondo Swamp, East Kolaka Regency to increase land productivity

The development of land use activities in the Tinondo Swamp promotes the acceleration of spatial planning to ensure sustainability. This research aimed to evaluate land use in Tinondo Swamp and to provide alternative areas in the spatial plan of the east Kolaka regency. Primary and secondary data were collected using survey methods. The research used qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the deepening and scanning of autopilot aircraft, the environmental carrying capacity, linkages and existence of linkages with the community, the needs of facilities and infrastructure, and spatial analysis. The results showed that the survey area of the Tinondo Swamp was 5,699.41 hectares, consisting of 11 land-use types. There are swamps with an area of 1,999.34 hectares (35.08%), settlements of 133.41 hectares (2.34%), the company’s Base Camp of 0.94 acres, the forest of 104.65 hectares (1.84%), swamp forests of 178.02 hectares (3.12%), roads of 26.22 hectares (0.46%), canals of 51.59 hectares (0.91%), mixed gardens of 489.88 hectares (8.60%), oil palm plantations of 1,178,298 hectares (20.67%), rice fields of 1,536,096 hectares (26.95%), and open land of 0.96 hectares. Furthermore, the total survey area that is available and planned for was 1,999.34 hectares.

Sawah Surjan Environmental Management for Food Crop Diversification in Kulon Progo of Yogyakarta, Indonesia

The utilization of wetlands as agricultural land requires specific processing techniques, which are relatively expensive and unaffordable for local farmers. The optimization of wetlands as agricultural land by local farmers is usually made by elevating a certain part using the adjacent soil material known as Surjan system. The land management using Surjan system increases the diversity of agricultural products and deals with inundation problems. However, its environmental impact has not been widely studied.&#x0D; The research was conducted by observing the land with Surjan system in Kulonprogo area to determine its characteristics. Interviews with farmers were conducted to determine land management techniques. Soil and gas emissions samples were taken based on the age of the crop. The characteristics of land with Surjan system and conventional rice field were then compared to determine the difference, and the implications of the two agricultural lands on the environment are discussed.&#x0D; Surjan system can increase land productivity, and it can be adopted easily by farmers in other areas with inundation problems. This system is a planting system consisting of mound (the raised beds) and tabukan (the sunken beds that remain inundated). The mound part can be planted with secondary crops, horticulture, and other dryland crops, while the tabukan part can be planted with rice and used for mina padi (rice-fish) farming system. Surjan system provides benefits for environmental management through the prevention of floods and eutrophication, as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. Land management through Surjan system affects soil pH, redox potential, and organic matter. Land with Surjan system produces lower methane gas emissions than conventional rice fields. It produces methane gas of 4.06 - 45.73 µg / m2 / minute, with soil pH, redox potential, and organic matter of 6.65 - 7.69, (-) 49 - 10 mV, and 1.28 - 3.59%, respectively

Differences In Nutrient Content In Peat Land And Permanent Production Forest Area In Sei Paham Village, Sei Kepayang District, Asahan District

Peat soils are classified as marginal soils and are prone to disturbance, so efforts to increase land productivity must be followed by efforts to prevent ecosystem damage. This study aims to analyze differences in nutrient content in peat land and permanent production forest areas in Sei Paham Village, Sei Kepayang District, Asahan District . Taking 5 soil sample points was carried out using a proposive random sampling method . The soil sample is then placed in a sterile plastic bag and immediately taken to the laboratory for analysis. The parameters of the soil analysis carried out included pH , C-total, N, P, K, Ca, Na, Mg, CEC and C/N. The results showed that in permanent production forest, the nutrient content was higher than peatland in all parameters of soil chemical analysis.

Soil Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Intercropped Systems Between Melon and Cowpea

There is a need to assess alternative cropping systems for climate change mitigation. Hence, we aimed to evaluate if cowpea, a legume crop with high climate adaptability and active rhizodeposition, can reduce GHG emissions when intercropped with melon, if different intercropping patterns can affect these soil GHG emissions, and elucidate if GHG emissions are related by soil and crop properties. We compared a cowpea and melon monocultures with different melon-cowpea intercropping patterns during two crop cycles. The different melon-cowpea intercropping patterns were: row intercropping 1:1 (melon:cowpea), row intercropping 2:1 (melon:cowpea) and mixed intercropping (alternate melon/cowpea plants within the same row), receiving 30% less fertilizers than monocrops. Results showed that CO2 emission rates were higher in the row 2:1 and row 1:1 intercropping systems compared to mixed intercropping, melon monocrop and cowpea monocrop, with the lowest emissions, likely due to the highest density of both plant species, which may stimulate microbial communities. Soil N2O emission rates were not affected by crop diversification, with very low values. Soil CO2 and N2O emissions were not correlated with environmental factors, soil properties or crop yield and quality, suggesting that crop management and plant density and growth were the main factors controlling GHG emissions. When the GHG emissions were expressed on a crop production basis, the lowest values were observed in mixed intercropping, owing to higher crop production. However, the 1:1 and 2:1 cowpea intercropping systems, with the lowest overall crop production, showed higher values of GHG emissions per unit of product, compared to cowpea monocrop. Thus, intercropping systems, and mostly mixed intercropping, have the potential to contribute to sustainable agriculture by increasing land productivity, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers and decreasing GHG emissions per unit of product. These results highlight the importance of considering both agricultural productivity and greenhouse gas emissions when designing and implementing intercropping systems.

PENGARUH KOMBINASI PUPUK HAYATI DAN DOSIS NPK TERHADAP PERTUMBUHAN DAN HASIL JAGUNG MANIS

Sweet corn productivity can be achieved by increasing land productivity which is supported by the suitability of land and climate conditions. The use of biological fertilizers and NPK fertilizers is an effort to increase land productivity. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the combination of biological fertilizers, NPK fertilizer doses, and interactions on the growth and yield of sweet corn. The research design used a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. The factors that were tried were the combination of biological fertilizers A and B (H1), A and C (H2), B and C (H3), A, B, and C (H4) and the dose of NPK fertilizer was 100% (D1), 75% ( D2), 50% (D3), 25% (D4) of the recommended dose. The results of this study are that the combination of several types of biological fertilizers has not been able to increase the growth and yield of sweet corn plants, presumably due to antagonistic competence between biological fertilizers and one another. The dose of NPK fertilizer 75% of the recommendations had the best results on sweet corn yields because a lower dose of NPK fertilizer was able to increase the yield of sweet corn.

Reclamation of Saline Agricultural Land

Abstract: The sustainability of (irrigated) agriculture in India is threatened by waterlogging, soil salinity, and alkalinity. To reverse declining agricultural productivity, a combination of surface and subsurface drainage, supplemented by improved irrigation management, has been identified as the most appropriate strategy. But subsurface drainage for salinity control is costly. Therefore, its sustained agricultural production benefits must be thoroughly investigated to establish its technoeconomic feasibility. The present study attempts to do this by analysing the cost of installing subsurface drainage, the direct onfarm benefits of subsurface drainage, and the financial feasibility of subsurface drainage. The study site selected for this study is Uran Islampur (Maharashtra State). The results say land use will intensify if drainage is installed because a sizeable area of formerly fallow land was brought under cultivation. It also says that the cropping pattern will be changed in favour of more remunerative crops, and crop yields will increase. These immediate gains from drainage are helping to increase land productivity, gainful employment of the farmers and, hence, farm income. The financial and economic feasibility of drainage in waterlogged and saline areas looks favourable, provided that sufficient water is available for leaching and irrigation and that a sustainable solution for the disposal of the low-quality drainage effluent is found. Concerning the latter, creating ponds to store drainage effluent temporarily is technically possible while not threatening the financial feasibility of the investment in drainage.