Why Conservation Agriculture?

In many contexts Conservation Agriculture (CA) can help farmers to increase their productivity, develop resilience to climate change and become more food and nutrition secure

• Increased yields CA produces yields that are comparable with modern intensive agriculture and tend to increase over time.
• Reduced costs - in the long-term, production costs, investment costs and machinery maintenance costs are lower compared with conventional agriculture.
• Labour savings - by not tilling the soil, farmers can save up to 40% of their time. Healthy soils CA helps to retain water, replenish groundwater resources and reduce soil erosion.
• Carbon sequestration - by not tilling the land, more CO2 is kept in the soils.
• Who will benefit?

By working more closely with partners, ultimately vulnerable male and female smallholder farmers, including youth, will become more resilient to the risks posed by climate change.

The intervention takes cognizance of the fact that due to non-resilient agricultural production systems; climate change has already resulted in an increase in the number of people suffering from food and nutrition insecurity as well as loss of livelihoods in Southern Africa. In 2019, almost 42 million people in the region were food insecure. Southern Africa predominantly practices subsistence agriculture, even though the sector is the biggest employer in most countries. An estimated 70 percent of people in Southern Africa are still reliant on Agriculture for their food and nutrition security and livelihoods.

By adopting Conservation Agriculture (CA) though, farmers will become more resilient.

The goal of the project is to capitalize on the potential of Conservation Agriculture by increasing collaboration among all partners in the region.

In promoting Conservation Agriculture in Southern Africa, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is working in close partnership with Norad, AUDA-NEPAD, SADC, COMESA, ACT CCARDESA, CFU, CIMMYT, FANRPAN, IITA, SACAU, Foundations for Farming, Total Land Care & WWF.

Objectives and impact

By working more closely together, we will all be better placed to share knowledge, avoid duplications and ultimately help farmers to adopt CA practices.

We are contributing to the strengthening of Conservation Agriculture governance and scaling up by:

• Strengthening platforms throughout the region to encourage collaboration between all partners
• Documenting and sharing CA knowledge products and best practices with key stakeholders
• Supporting the National Conservation Agriculture Taskforces (NCATFs) and the Conservation Agriculture Regional Working Group (CARWG) to promote CA to decision makers and stimulate investment in this climate resilient approach.

Impact:

• Adoption of appropriate farm and landscape practices, interventions and programmes that ensure more productive, inclusive and sustainable agricultural, forestry and fisheries systems and communities that are resilient to climate change and disaster risks, thereby contributing to increased productivity, poverty reduction, food security and nutrition, and to the recovery and sustainable use of natural resources, including biodiversity.
• Raise awareness about the importance of collaborating and scaling up conservation agriculture with a broader audience through outreach activities.

• Scaling up conservation agriculture in Mozambique
• SUCASA project in MADAGASCAR
• SUCASA project in MADAGASCAR II