A guide on how to raise goats under the SALT system

In the Philippines, about 60 percent of the total land area has slopes of 18 degrees or more, which are categorized as uplands. These are continually distributed by increasing population pressure as more people move to the uplands.

In 1970, the average upland population density was reportedly 39 persons per square kilometer. A decade later, the population has increased sharply to 119 persons per square kilometer.

As the country's population grows, its forest resources were directly affected. Today, the Philippines has a remaining 1.2 million hectares of commercial old growth forest. Its classified forest land is safely placed at 15 million hectares, of which 5.7 million hectares are already categorized as badly denuded. The remaining 9.2 million hectares, through they are potentially considered, are unfortunately in various stages of degradation.

Today, upland residents have been found to be among "the poorest of the poor" with an annual per capita income of P2,168. This figure is way below the average poverty line for families belonging to the bottom 30 percent income bracket. In addition, the diets of these uplanders are found to be inadequate, both in quantity and quality. Based on the studies done in Palawan, second and third degree of malnutrition ranging from 41-47 percent is prevalent among the upland population.

Possible Solution

To alleviate malnutrition in the uplands and increase the farm family income, the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC) developed an agroforestry system called the Simple Agro-Livestock Technology or SALT 2. It is classified under the agro-silvipasture scheme of agroforestry in the sense that it integrates production of fuelwood (from hedgerows), agricultural crops, livestock, and forage.

Step 1: Locate and Develop the Contour Lines

First, locate the contour lines of your farm using an A-frame, which is made of a carpenter's level and three wooden or bamboo poles. In finding the contour lines, plant one leg of the A-frame on the ground, then swing the other leg until the carpenter's level shows that both legs are touching the ground on the same level.

Repeat the same level-finding process with stakes every 5-meter distance along the way until one complete contour lines is laid out-and until the whole farm is covered. Each contour line is spaced 4-5 meters apart.

Step 2: Establish the Contour Hedgerows

Cultivate the contour lines thoroughly, forming raised beds, 1 meter wide. Make 2 furrows, 1/2 meter apart, on each contour line. Plant thickly the nitrogen fixing trees and shrubs (NFT/S) on the furrows. In addition, plant NFT/S at the uppermost part and along the borders of the farm. Examples of hedgerow species are Flemingia macrophylla, Desmodium rensonii, Leucoena leucocephala, L. diversifolia, Gliricidia sepium, Calliandra calothyrsus and Indigofera tyesmani (anil).

Step 3: Plant Food and Cash Crops

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