In the parish of St Elizabeth, in Jamaica, dryland farming technology has been developed and perfected over the years based on water conservation, which is achieved principally through grass mulching. In St Elizabeth, Guinea grass (Pani-cum maximum) is a sacred crop which is cultivated as a cash crop for mulching purposes (Francis, 2004). Depending on the runoff expected, which depends on the slope length and gradient, intensity of rainfall and the type of crop planted upstream of the field, reinforcement may be necessary. If crops are planted upstream, the cut-off drain {Boraatii), which is constructed at the uppermost end of the field to divert all the run-off before it enters into the field, are reinforced by stones, wood, blocks of soils with grass, especially across depressions.