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The seminar started with highlighting the importance of soils and the current challenges in soil management. Followed by presentations of three Naturland members from different continents.
Mr. Krishnendu Chatterjee from India shared his approach to "Manage Soils in a Holistic Approach - To Mitigate Drought" and how Darjeeling Tea Estate addresses this issue in a holistic approach. A few strategies to mitigate drought are plantation of shade trees and windbreakers, cover crops, green mulching with legumes, no or minimum tillage, rainwater harvesting, and drainage line treatment.
Mr. Nicomedus Bamuhangaine shared his experiences on "Boosting Soil Productivity/Fertility – In Agroforest Systems" from the Ankole Coffee Producers Cooperative Limited in Uganda. Key strategies are promoting agroforest systems in coffee cultivation, such as planting cover crops, promoting soil testing, and integrating livestock in farming systems.
Ms. Ada Zarata from the sugarcane cooperative Manduvira in Paraguay different practices in maintaining healthy soils are promoting minimum tillage, incorporating organic fertilizers such as compost, and green mulching with legumes species. The cooperative also has a compost plant which turns the sugarcane waste into organic compost, and then is distributed among the sugarcane farmers.
