Water Smart Agriculture in Mesoamerica On-Farm Trial Dataset

Soil and water resource degradation coupled with an increasingly extreme and variable climate threaten the food security and livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers in the Dry Corridor of Central America. Water Smart Agriculture is an approach to increase agricultural productivity and build climate resilience through the restoration of soil and water resources. The Water Smart Agriculture Program for Mesoamerica (WSA) brought together a network of local organizations and smallholder farmers across Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Oaxaca, Mexico that aim to evaluate and promote soil health-building practices. WSA practices including conservation agriculture and integrated soil fertility management and cover crops were tested on 3432 on-farm trails in coffee, basic grains and pasture systems across the region. Practices were adapted to local agroclimatic conditions, cropping systems and socioeconomic context and, together with farmers, were evaluated in direct comparison to the farmer conventional practice using a set of soil health, productivity and economic indicators. Results demonstrate that WSA practices result in improvements in soil health that translate into increased productivity and economic benefits. This dataset is organized in the following data table files for each country: 1. Farm Location The location of the WSA field trials. 2. Agronomic Practices Agronomic practices implemented in the WSA plots and the farmer control plots. 3. Yield, Costs and Income Crop yields, production costs and income in the WSA plots and the farmer control plots. 4. Soil Moisture Soil moisture monitored in the WSA plots the and farmer control plots. 5. Soil Organic Carbon Soil organic carbon in the WSA plots and the farmer control plots. 6. Soil Indicators Additional soil health indicators monitored (bulk density, soil cover, earth worms and infiltration) in the WSA plots and the farmer control plots. 7. Soil Analysis Laboratory soil analysis in the WSA plots and the farmer control plots. 8. WSA Area The area of implementation of WSA practices on WSA farms. 9. WSA Perceptions Farmer perceptions of WSA impacts on soil, water, yield, food security and income. Codebooks with relevant variables' meta-data in English and Spanish are provided for each data table category.