This handbook has been prepared to support fieldworkers and farmers in developing vegetative systems of soil and moisture conservation that will meet the requirements of small farmers in developing countries, most of whom reside in the tropics and semitropics. Experience has shown that conventional systems of earth bunds or terraces on small farms are expensive and in many cases, especially in modern times, ineffective. When applied correctly, vegetative systems of soil and moisture conservation-particularly the system of hedges of vetiver grass described in this handbook-have proved cheaper and more effective.
