FAO and GTZ jointly initiated the idea for this workshop, which was sponsored and organized with the assistance of ZFU, FARMESA and ARC. As with most efforts like this, many other institutions were involved.

Kurt Steiner, GTZ; Richard Fowler, ARC; José Benites and Theodor Friedrich, FAO; and René van Veenhuizen, FARMESA, were instrumental in providing direction, support and technical opinion. Terry Wiles, together with colleagues from Africa, Brazil, Mexico, United States and New Zealand drafted the international guidelines for conservation tillage. Technical officers from a number of national and international organisations, many of whom had been working directly or indirectly with conservation tillage for some time but had not previously had the opportunity to meet, also contributed much technical perspective on the subject.

The convenors would also express their gratitude to each and every participant, all of whom contributed unstintingly of their time, experience and understandings during the workshop, and committed themselves to further the practices and principles of conservation tillage on their return home.

Special thanks are due to Juergen Hagman for serving as the workshop facilitator and to E. Chuma, R. Fowler, K. Molapong, J. Manu, I. Nyagumbo, K.Steiner, R. van Veenhuizen, for their very capable and efficient preparation of the text and formatting of this document; to J. Kienzle for the final editing; and, last but not least, to Anne-Lise Monaghan, Executive Manager of INDABA for her administrative and logistic support.