Tropical Highlands
The practice of hillside farming is increasing worldwide as more desirable farming sites are converted to other uses. The poor are forced to use the marginal lands on steeper slopes and more remote hillsides. Hillsides are difficult to cultivate and are easily eroded. Successful hillside farming requires the use of soil and water conservation practices. ECHO demonstrates several different hillside options.
Contour hedges are construced by planting leguminous trees and grasses along contours. The hedges stabilize the sandy hillside and trap water and soil sediments as they move down the slope. Hedge materials are harvested periodically and used as mulch or animal feed. Other crops such as corn, beans, or garden vegetables may be grown in the alleys between hedgerows.
Terraces also provide level cropping areas on hillsides. Stones are often used to hold terrace sediments. ECHO used pine logs and old tires, as stones are not readily available in Florida. During the warm season, crops such as sweet potato, amaranth, cowpea, or peanuts may be grown. During the cool season, ECHO features crops that are good choices at higher elevations in the tropics such as white potato, tarwi, quinoa (a grain), and nuna popping beans.
A system of terraces and trenches provides a suitable farming area. Water and sediments moving down the slopes are trapped in the trenches. Banana plants and trees such as mandarins and lychees provide stability to the hillside as well as a cash crop. Perennial peanut, a nitrogen-fixing cover crop, is planted on the slopes above the trenches to stabilize the slopes and improve soil fertility.
