Production of other types of livestock is also growing. Aside from breeding, other methods have been used to further address pest and disease problems. Two traditional methods, crop rotation and intercropping, are being modified or reintroduced in some cases. Tephrosia is also being used to ward off moles and insects, and neem products are used to thwart several pests. Most of these technologies have had only localized effects, because scaling them up to wider areas requires considerable informational efforts.
Soil fertility is a major problem.
Lack of cash and inefficient markets keep small farmers from using more fertilizer, except for the most profitable crops. As a result researchers are working to identify inexpensive ways of improving nutrient management and organic nutrient production, such as improved fallows, biomass transfer, crop residue management, manure management, and composting. Improved fallow systems have a niche during the short rainy season in the bimodal highlands and are labor saving, whereas biomass transfer, crop residue management, and composting are more labor intensive. There is also a limit on the biomass produced under such transfer systems, but farmers have used them on smaller plots of higher-value crops. The vast sloping areas of the highlands mean that for long-term sustainability of agriculture, soil conservation is called for.