Improved fallow
Improved fallow technology is one of the alternatives to control destructive shifting cultivation practices and to develop more sustainable dryland agricultural systems. Abandoned fields are planted to the fast-growing cover crop, Pueraria javanica, to rehabilitate soil fertility and as a perennial cash crop. Food crops can again be planted after 3-4 years—a much shorter fallow period than traditionally followed
This revised cropping pattern will produce rice and cassava within a short period; pineapple, ginger and peanut in the near term and melinjo (Gnetum gnemon) in the long-run.
Multistoried agroforestry garden system in West Sumatra
The system is characterized by an intensive integration of forest species and commercial crops, forming a multilayer, forest-like system. The intimate association of different species provides both subsistence and commercial products which supplement rice production.