Plant Production and Protection Division: Case studies on Conservation Agriculture (CA)

Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Crop Intensification in Lesotho

In recent years, the spread of conservation agriculture (CA) has revealed to be a sustainable way to intensify crop production and sustain rural livelihoods in several African countries. The present case study reviews and analyses the information collected under a baseline survey, undertaken in Lesotho with the aim to assess the potential costs and benefits associated with the adoption of a planting basins system, locally called likoti. The study’s main objective is to illustrate the impact of CA on crop production intensification, with a special emphasis given to aspects of sustainability such as social, economic and environmental.

Enhancing Crop-Livestock Systems in Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Production Intensification: A Farmer Discovery Process Going to Scale in Burkina Faso

This is a story about how FAO assisted groups of farmers in five farming communities in the moist savannah zone of South Western Burkina Faso to enhance their crop-livestock systems through Conservation Agriculture (CA) practices, including crop diversification, using an innovative farmer discovery process, to bring about agricultural intensification and improvement in livelihoods. FAO's assistance was delivered largely by working with national institutions, adding value to ongoing stakeholder resources and activities.

Scaling-up Conservation Agriculture in Africa: Strategy and Approaches

This publication is an outcome of a Joint Workshop organized by the FAO, the African Soil Science Society (ASSS), Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and the Africa Conservation Tillage Network (ACT) in Nanyuki, Kenya from 22 - 25 June 2008.

During the Workshop, thirteen papers covering challenges for promoting Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Land Management (SLM) in Africa, country experiences, CA development in large scale mechanized farms and support to surrounding small scale farmers, extension services to farmers, and farmer field schools were presented.

Investing in sustainable crop intensification: the case for improving soil health

Key factors determining sustainability were identified as: (a) biological activity in the soil which, with adequate and ongoing provision of organic materials, is capable of maintaining soils’ porosity and productivity on a recurring basis; and (b) decision-making by farm families, which determine their management of the land they rely on for their livelihoods. The basic intention of this second Workshop was to discuss, define and propose modalities for ‘mainstreaming’ CA appropriately into regional, national and even local policies, plans and programmes, so that the improvement and sustainability of livelihoods of both land and people would be encouraged, facilitated and supported.

Visual Soil Assessment (VSA) Field Guides

A decline in soil quality has a marked impact on plant growth and yield, grain quality, production costs and the increased risk of soil erosion. Visual Soil Assessment is based on the visual assessment of key soil ‘state’ and plant performance indicators of soil quality, presented on a scorecard. With the exception of soil texture, the soil indicators are dynamic indicators, i.e. capable of changing under different management regimes and land-use pressures. Being sensitive to change, they are useful early warning indicators of changes in soil condition and as such provide an effective monitoring tool.

Tropical crop–livestock systems in conservation agriculture: The Brazilian experience

This publication describes how pasture, fodder and livestock production have been integrated into conservation agriculture systems in Brazil’s tropical zones. Integrated crop–livestock zero tillage systems (ICLZT) allow the sustainable production of high-yielding pasture without further deforestation; in this system, grazing livestock convert both pastures and crop residues into cash. The ability of pasture to build up the biological activity and physical quality of the soil is well known.

No-tillage seeding in Conservation Agriculture

This book, No-tillage Seeding in Conservation Agriculture, provides a broader picture of the equipment used in conservation agriculture cropping systems. It includes chapters on material not previously covered, for example, the management of crop residues and cover crops, preparation for the no-tillage seeding operation, and controlled-traffic farming as a complementary technology. There are also new chapters describing no-tillage seeding technologies for small-scale farmers. The subject of greenhouse gases as driving forces for climate change is also discussed in a chapter on carbon sequestration under no-tillage farming systems.

Conservation Agriculture in Ghana

Pilot initiatives to introduce more sustainable farming practices are many in Africa; thorough documentation of results and lessons learned is scarce. Conservation Agriculture (CA) principles, making use of natural processes, can respond to local climatic conditions and soil qualities as well as technological and socio-economic factors and conditions. Conservation agriculture is one of the most concrete and promising ways of implementing sustainable agriculture in practice. It relies on three basic principles: 1) minimum soil disturbance or if possible, notillage seeding; 2) soil cover: if possible, permanent; and 3) useful crop rotations and associations.