Intercountry Exchange Brings SALT Technique from the Philippines to India

With local teams in 11 countries, East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation (EWS-KT) encourages intercountry exchange of experiences and expertise—whether via messages and emails, virtual meetings, or in-person training sessions.

In late February 2025, Jovie Ann Quirante, a Senior Knowledge Transfer Specialist with EWS-KT Philippines, traveled to India to train colleagues in a land contouring technique called Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT). Developed in the Philippines, SALT is an agroforestry system that converts sloping areas into productive agricultural land, expanding the land available for food production while promoting soil conservation.

In India, Jovie Ann conducted a comprehensive 2-day training on SALT for EWS-KT staff working in the northeastern states of Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, bringing valuable expertise and insights on sustainable farming practices suited for sloping terrains.

Given the unique geographical challenges of the region, the training aimed to equip the India staff with practical skills for farming on steep landscapes with a high risk of soil erosion. Key components of the SALT approach covered during the sessions included contour farming, hedgerow planting, and soil conservation strategies. These methods are designed to reduce soil erosion, improve soil fertility, and enhance water retention capacity, ultimately leading to improved crop productivity and more resilient farming systems.

The EWS-KT India team’s interest in SALT is part of a broader effort to promote climate-smart and environmentally sustainable agriculture in the region. This training from EWS-KT Philippines enables more effective extension support for smallholder farmers and encourages the adoption of best practices tailored to the region’s specific agroecological conditions.

As a direct outcome of the training, model demonstration plots will be established in target areas across both Indian states. These plots will serve as practical learning sites where recommended crops will be cultivated using SALT principles. The demonstration sites will also act as a platform for continued farmer education, peer learning, and the long-term scaling of sustainable land management practices in the region.