Résumé

<p><span style="color:rgb(31,31,31);">Understanding local knowledge and practices of soil and water conservation is essential for designing and implementing cost-effective and sustainable </span><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/erosion-control"><span style="color:rgb(31,31,31);">erosion control</span></a><span style="color:rgb(31,31,31);"> programs, and thus reducing </span><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/soil-erosion">soil erosion's</a><span style="color:rgb(31,31,31);"> adverse impacts on </span><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/arable-land"><span style="color:rgb(31,31,31);">agricultural lands</span></a><span style="color:rgb(31,31,31);">. This study investigated the farmers' perceptions of soil erosion challenges, knowledge on erosion management, and practices implemented in </span><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/smallholder"><span style="color:rgb(31,31,31);">smallholder</span></a><span style="color:rgb(31,31,31);"> farms in northern Kabare, South-Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Data was collected through individual interviews with 257 randomly selected farmers, coupled with focus group discussions. Results showed that soil erosion was a common phenomenon in more than three-quarters (76%) of surveyed farms. Eleven soil conservation techniques (SCTs) were known by farmers, of which, only six were routinely implemented on farms: mulching (36% farms), continuous or tied ridges (26% farms), hedges (19% farms), channels and drains (10% farms), infiltration ditches (4% farms), and terraces (2% farms). The effectiveness of each soil conservation strategy at the farm level depended on the number of techniques simultaneously practiced by a farmer, the farm location along the slope, the integration of </span><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/farm-animal"><span style="color:rgb(31,31,31);">livestock</span></a><span style="color:rgb(31,31,31);"> into </span><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/farming-system"><span style="color:rgb(31,31,31);">farming systems</span></a><span style="color:rgb(31,31,31);">, the farmer's main activity and income level, and more importantly, the </span><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/farmer-knowledge"><span style="color:rgb(31,31,31);">farmer knowledge</span></a><span style="color:rgb(31,31,31);"> on soil </span><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/erosion-control"><span style="color:rgb(31,31,31);">erosion control</span></a><span style="color:rgb(31,31,31);"> measures. Farmer participation in farmers' associations (or cooperatives) was instrumental in his/her ability to control erosion at the farm level in the study area. This study was one of the few that tackled the role played by farmers’ perceptions on the adoption of SCTs in eastern DRC and opens an avenue in developing programs associating scientific and indigenous knowledge for sustainable soil erosion control.</span></p>