Hillside farming in Cameroon

#1

Is there anyone in Cameroon (we are near Foumbot) familiar with hillside farming and erosion control?

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#2

@Fai_Nfor_Silas are you near Foumbot?

#3

Yes Stacy, we are considered either on the outskirts of Foumbot or in Foumbot, I don’t know which.

#4

Hi John.

I am neither in Cameroon (I’m in The Gambia) nor personally familiar with your conditions or hillside farming.
However, I suggest that you research Vetiver grass - it is widely used in many locations similar to yours (hillsides). We have done some local field trials relating to soil erosion with excellent results. A good start would be here https://www.vetiver.org/vetiver-grass-technology/the-plant/

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#5

Thanks, George!

Blessings,
John Stone

#6

Vetiver grass may take some time to scale up to extensive enough control depending on how much propagation material is available locally. You can also try an old European system for fencing with trees that can work well on hillsides with most tree species. If you are interested I can send you a couple of PowerPoints on the subject (send me email to janzen200@yahoo.com. You can plant trees and then use the hedge-laying technique to lay them by bending or even cutting up to 3/4 of the way into the base of the stem to force the tree to lay directly on the ground and even sub some limbs back so they are pushed into the ground. For most species, the limbs eventually sprout roots when pushed into the ground this way. A little tree seed or seedling trees planted can go a long way to control erosion. You will want to wait until the tree has some height before laying over unless you choose to plant the trees closer. I also prune out big upright limbs since they compete with the growth of the central leader to reach height quickly so it stretches laterally further. Almost all latent buds sprout when laid over which increases photosynthesis potential.

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