This report presents examples, approaches and evidence on conservation agriculture and its potential for use in low-income countries. It is designed to help policy makers and development partners appreciate the issues and evaluate how conservation agriculture can contribute to rural development and food security goals, paving the way for its adoption as a national agricultural strategy.1 Conservation agriculture – the practice of not plowing farmlands and leaving crop residue in the field for improved soil fertility and water conservation – is used by a majority of farmers in Australia, Brazil and by many in North America and other middle and highincome countries. Research and testing of the approach since the 1960s has confirmed to these countries that conservation agriculture brings optimal production at the best cost. In the world’s drylands agro-ecosystems and the marginal farming areas of low-income countries, conservation agriculture can bring direct benefits to smallholder farmers. The practice has the potential to benefit food security in many drylands agro-ecosystems in Central and West Asia, the Middle East and in North and sub-Saharan Africa.