Conservation Agriculture: A
sustainable practice for Africa’s
agriculture.
Knott, S. Hoffman, W. Vink, N.
What is Conservation Agriculture
• Conservation agriculture is not a single specific technology,
rather it is a concept developed to encompass a number of
technologies directed to improved land husbandry in a
sustainable manner
• Conservation Agriculture:
‘…an approach to managing agro-ecosystems for improved and
sustained productivity, increased profits and food security while
preserving and enhancing the resource base and the
environment. CA is characterised by three linked principles,
namely:
• Continuous minimum mechanical soil disturbance.
• Permanent organic soil cover.
• Diversification of cover crop species grown in sequence and/or
Key Drivers
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Declining world commodity margins
Ground water pollution and soil degradation
Herbicides
Reduced input costs
Benefits of CA
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•
•
•
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Reduced erosion and environmental degradation
Improved soil structure and biology
Improved soil moisture retention
Higher soil Carbon levels
Increased yields
Reduced input costs (low external input)
Reduced CO2 emissions (reduced use of fossil
fuels)
• Long term sustainability both environmental and
economic
Challenges of CA
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Changing the Farmers Mind Set
Farming – a high risk business
Path dependence
Differing Soil and Climatic Conditions
Lack of Long term support for farmers
Progression on CA
Area (ha) under CA by continent, as percentage of total 117 million
hectares worldwide
North America, 43 090 000,
34%
Australia & New Zealand, 17
162 000, 13%
South America, 55 464 100,
43%
Asia, 4 742 200, 4%
Europe, 6 451 900, 5%
Source: FAO Aquastat, 2014
Africa, 993 740, 1%
In 1973/74 CA was used on 2.8million ha worldwide, growing to about 45 million ha in
1999 (Derpsch, 2001), 72 million ha 2003 (Benites, et al., 2003) and to 117 million ha by
2010 (FAO 2010)
USA and Canada
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1930’s Mid West, ‘Great Dust Bowl”
Adoption slow due to weed infestations
1960’s development of herbicides, Atrazine
Over supply of local market post Wars
Mechanisation and economies of size
Federal Government conservation Policies
Australasia
Australia,
17000
• 1970’s concerns of wind and water erosion
• 1970’s and 80’s, increased government legislation
with emphasis on custodianship of the land
• 80% No-till adoption in the majority of regions by
2013
• main drivers for Australia; reduced fuel and
labour costs at seeding, soil conservation, and
soil moisture management
• Government policy; rebate on the 15% tax paid
on agricultural equipment specific to CA
New Zealand,
162
Russian
Federation
Europe
Slovakia
Switzerland
Spain
Ukraine
UK
Finland
France
IrelandGermany
Portugal Italy
Hungary
• European administrations are still not fully
convinced that the concept of CA is the most
promising one to meet the requirements of an
environmentally friendly farming
• Over supply post World Wars 1960’s
• Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) promote
conservation and environmental Stewardship
Netherland Moldova
s
Asia
DRP
Korea,
23
China,
3100
Kazakhsta
n, 1600
Lebanon,
1.2
• 1970’s Punjab University began trials on no-till
for timely rice sowing
• Development of site specific implements
• Positive government policies in India, China,
and Kazakhstan
• Good extensive services and traveling
seminars
• Adoption is still lagging due to rice culture of
ploughing
Syria, 18
Conclusions
• The challenge of feeding a growing world population
from limited resources can only be met by the efficient
use of the natural resources
• The reality of all new technology is that it is adopted
when it holds economic value and is socially
acceptable, seldom when it is solely environmentally
friendly
• Conservation Agriculture provides the most holistic
approach to a sustainable management system of
agricultural land
• The difficulty in adoption lies in the mind-set of the
farmer, a lack of knowledge of how best to adopt the
concept, availability of adequate machinery and
herbicides, and the potential short-term loss of income
and lag time of results