A spiral tube water pump is a method of pumping water by using an undershot water wheel which has a scoop connected to a spiral tube. Spiral water pumps can carry water from the river to fields that are up to 30 meters higher than the river without the use of electricity or fuel. The pumps provide irrigation water from rivers to crop fields at a higher level.

A Californian network is a micro-irrigation system developed in California and was adapted to work with Malian irrigation systems. It uses a pump unit that feeds in water from a river or borehole. The technical objective is to use water more efficiently and increase yields.

Protection and reforestation of degraded arid lands in central and southern Tunisia using native tree species able to tolerate extreme droughts and persist on the edge of the Sahara desert.

Afforestation activities, led by the government, after a fire that resulted in the loss of 33’000 ha of forests, strong erosion processes and hindered vegetation regrowth. A machine was used to open a planting hole and cover it again, which loosened the soil. Seedlings of Pinus Halepensis were planted manually and arranged linearly. The afforested area covered around 100 ha (not continuously), while other forest areas grew naturally.

The main purposes of thinning dense pine forests are the prevention of fires by reducing the fuel load and its continuity, and to improve pine regeneration by eliminating the competition between different species. As a result, the quality of the plants is improved and the amount of dead or sick plants is reduced, which is essential to ensure a healthy forest. This also leads to a higher resistance to pests which in turn again decreases the risk of fire.

Firebreaks act as a barrier to stop or slow the progress of fires and allow firefighters to better position themselves to operate. Gaps of vegetation of about 5 to 7 meters are created at a distance of every 50 to 75 meters along the contour line of the forested areas.

Assisted cork oak regeneration by acorn seeding and seedling plantation from a plant nursery, involving careful husbandry and protection from grazing. Good quality acorns and seedlings are required and seedlings should come from the same region where they are planted and be certified by the authorities. Small, woody plants are cleared and the soil is prepared by deep ploughing to loosen the topsoil and allow easier root growth.

Tree plantations using fast-growing and native species are established in combination with hillside terracing to protect upper catchment areas. The afforested areas are closed for any use until the trees reach maturity, after which user rights were given to communities allowing cut-and-carry of grass and cutting of trees with government permission.

The aim of this technology is to restore degraded forests by planting seedlings in moisture-accumulating trenches that increase the survival rate of plants in non-irrigated lands. Rainwater is collected in artificial trenches on hill and mountain slopes to accumulate water in the soil around the roots of trees planted at the bottom of the trenches. Native tree species are used, but non-native species can also be planted.

Selective clearing involves clearing fire-prone species and planting more fire-resistant resprouter species. This directs the vegetation to later successional stages, which increases the resilience to fires. The goals are to reduce the fuel load and its continuity and to increase the resilience of the vegetation to fires.

The planting of trees in a portion of land for various uses, such as for the provision of firewood and building materials. Woodlots are mainly used to provide firewood, timber and building materials, and they also prevent soil erosion through their thick mulch and roots that hold the soil together. Other benefits of woodlots include improving/cooling the micro-climate, air purification, and acting as windbreakers.

The Riaan Dames Grazing Strategy, otherwise known as Split-Ranch Grazing (SRG), is a fundamentally-different technology to grazing management in comparison with popular rotational grazing management systems in many western countries. SRG provides a full-year uninterrupted recovery period for rangeland after grazing.

Eco-graze is a grazing management system that involves rotation and resting of paddocks. It is based on the establishment of three paddocks with two herds within a rotational system, where all paddocks get some wet season rest two years out of three.

Paddocks are sub-divided into three relatively equal sizes, though some flexibility is required to balance variation in the productive capacity of different land types within the paddock. The paddocks are fenced and extra water points, additional water troughs, and (where required) pumps are established.

Restoring degraded pastureland with alfalfa, a fast-growing plant, and putting the area under quarantine for three years to allow for the pasture to restore sufficiently, which requires the agreement of community members.

The daily combining of livestock from all households into a single herd, which are moved to different designated portions of the communal grazing area, and allows grass to recover before being re-grazed some months later. The technology aims to replace continuous, open grazing with a planned system to prepare the soil and grass for the forthcoming rainy season, and is particularly effective in areas with no fences and high incidence of stock theft and predator losses.

Transformation of degraded pastureland to high quality fodder plot. Grass and legumes are planted on degraded pasture land in fenced fodder plots to improve the availability of quality forage and fodder for livestock during the dry season and to feed small ruminants. The technology also reduces runoff, increases water infiltration during the rains and lessens the effect of floods.

Improvement of pastures through planting perennial legumes, cereals and grasses and creating seed banks. The purpose is to restore the degraded area for later use as a pasture, to secure perennial grass and cereal seed production, and to improve pasture productivity in other areas. Establishment and maintenance activities include fencing the area, ploughing, sowing the cover crops in the spring, and mowing in the autumn.

Mid-season drainage involves the removal of surface flood water from the rice crop for about seven days towards the end of tillering. It involves ridge and furrow cultivation technology, where some moisture still exists in the soil even after the toe furrow is drained. Mid-season drainage reduces methane emissions of paddy fields, with reductions ranging from 7 to 95%.

Organic fertilizer is applied to the fields to enhance productivity by increasing the level of organic matter in the soil (humus), which stimulates soil biological activity and improves soil structure, water infiltration and retention, and nutrient storage. The most commonly used organic fertilizers include compost using straw pen manure with litter or household waste.

Strip tillage is a cropping system for maize which reduces the reworking of the soil to the stripes, in which the seeds are planted. Strip tillage is a mixture between no tillage and conventional agriculture. Instead of ploughing and harrowing, a special rotary tiller including a grubber is used; it is used to avoid soil erosion or for economic reasons. The reworking of the soil, manuring, seeding and applying of herbicides can be done at once.

Maintenance of continuous soil cover; alternating crops and cover crops as a practice to improve soil quality and reduce diffuse agricultural water pollution. Continuous cover cropping has been promoted as an agro-environmental measure to extend sustainable land management and reduce diffuse water pollution. The type of crop species depends on the crop succession. Compared with systems that do not use cover crops, continuous soil cover provides long-term agronomical and environmental benefits due to a reduction of negative impacts on agro-ecosystems.

Leaving crop residues on the soil surface and subsequent planting through the mulch. The mulch layer has several important functions: it helps to increase and maintain water stored in the soil, reduces soil erosion, contributes to improve soil fertility and it efficiently controls weeds by hindering their growth and preventing weeds from producing seeds.

Mulching involves spreading waste crop after harvesting. Covering the soil with mulch protects it against wind and water erosion and provides nutrients which have a positive effect on yields and food security. Mulching also helps to improve the infiltration of water and reduce the evaporation of moisture from the soil. 

Integrated production and pest management (IPPM) curbs environmental degradation caused by current farming practices (intensive and extensive), reducing the negative impact of pesticides on the environment and on human health. IPPM works with all available techniques for combatting pests, while eliminating or keeping pesticide use at economically justified levels.

Use of biological agents (various types of symbiotic mycorrhizae fungi) as plant salt tolerance facilitators and soil amendments. The technology is applied as an effective agronomic measure to increase plant salt tolerance, reduce soil-borne diseases that affect plant roots, and increase of water and nutrient absorption.