**5.2 Success and challenges for establishing and managing terraced lands under LWH development**

LWH project development also demonstrated how land husbandry technologies especially bench terraces are technically efficient in soil erosion control wherever they were well established, managed and maintened. Comparing before and after establishment of land husbandry technologies, the rate of soil erosion has been reduced from 50–100 t ha−1 yr−1 in 2011 to less than 50 t ha−1 yr−1 in 2014 as reported in the LWH project report in one of the project site of Rwamagana district (**Figure 17**). This is also confirmed by Rutebuka [8] in the study site of Rwamagana district developed by LWH project that bench terraces reduced soil loss from 23.5 to 1.7 t ha−1 yr−1 in the catchment landscape with slope gradient varying between 0–60%. In Ethiopia highland, terracing techniques controlled soil erosion by 39.1% in the period of four years (1984–1988) [25].

The erosion control is not an end itself, but cropland has to provide expected ecosystem benefits, of which the increase in crop productivity is a paramount. Development of land by terraces increased production of crops compared to what was before. Implementation of integrated land husbandry technogies changed the livelihood conditions of the poorest areas through modernizing agricultural

#### **Figure 17.**

*Change in soil loss before and after development of land husbandry technologies at Rwamagana 34 site under LWH project. Source: LWH project.*

techniques and increasing income levels. Hundreds of thousands of poor rural farmers in the project intervention areas have been supported to break out of poverty and obtain food security. HIMO approach within an integrated participatory watershed management contributed to the creation of jobs and reinforcement of farmer's capacity in during implementation of land husbandry technologies. HIMO provides benefits of promoting employment, organizing farmers into community groups, using local resources such as supplying of organic materials, increasing knowledge and skills of local farmers and offering people access to income and financial schemes (Banks, saving schemes). However, farmers were unable to reach the optimal production potential, as a result many rural farmers barely produced enough to feed their families.

Concerning the study cases of Nyanza 23 and Karongi-12 & 13, it was expected to continue increasing agricultural productivity from this comprehensive land husbandry technologies. Unfortunately, some developed terraces in the case studies have been affected by low productivity of crops, resulting from both under-exploitation and abandonment problems of terraced lands [26]. Productivity problems could originate from the way terraces have been constructed on very acidic and inherently unfertile soils with inadequate supply of organic manure, fertilizers, lime and other land related problems [24, 27, 28].
