Moving paradigms - conservation agriculture with alternative agronomics to minimize inputs.

Abstract The African Union Malabo Declaration outlines goals to achieve sustainable production practices for economic growth in the agriculture sector by 2025. Conservation Agriculture (CA) practices represent a climate smart and resource friendly sustainable production system, and these need to be adopted and refined. This will be a paradigm shift for academics, experts and farmers who are embedded in the intensive external-input monoculture tillage systems. From our review of literature, recent history has shown that CA systems are successful and profitable while using less external inputs and expending less energy. Energy use can be reduced by 40% and labour needs by 50%-90%. Research has shown that CA farming is superior in terms of enhancing soil functions, biodiversity, beneficial insects, energy consumption, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and resilience to extreme climate events. Nitrogen and other essential elemental crop needs can be reduced by 10%-70% through CA systems. African research and farm testing have shown integrated CA cropping systems can control insect and weed pests while providing more diverse economic crops. For the paradigm shift to occur quickly, efficiently and economically, institutions need to lead change. Policy makers need to start strategic changes to research and institutions by initiating support programmes identified by innovative researchers and agricultural leaders that can move the Malabo dial towards the 2025 goals.

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Fossil energy use in conventional and low-external-input cropping systems

10.31274/etd-180810-2340 ◽

2009 ◽

Author(s):

Michael James Cruse

Keyword(s):

Energy Use ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

External Input ◽

Fossil Energy ◽

Low External Input

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Climate smart agriculture for Africa: the potential role of conservation agriculture in climate smart agriculture.

10.1079/9781789245745.0003 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 66-84

Author(s):

Emilio J. González-Sánchez ◽

Manuel Moreno-Garcia ◽

Amir Kassam ◽

Saidi Mkomwa ◽

Julio Roman-Vazquez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Energy Use ◽

Management Practices ◽

Agricultural Soils ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Local Conditions ◽

Mitigation And Adaptation ◽

Smart Agriculture

Abstract To achieve the challenges raised in Agenda 2063 and the Malabo Declaration, new agricultural techniques need to be promoted. Practical approaches to implement climate smart agriculture and sustainable agriculture, able to deliver at field level, are required. These include sustainable soil and land management that allows different user groups to manage their resources, including water, crops, livestock and associated biodiversity, in ways that are best suited to the prevailing biophysical, socio-economic and climatic conditions. The adoption of locally adapted sustainable soil management practices is needed to support climate change mitigation and adaptation from the agricultural perspective. In this sense, Conservation Agriculture (CA) can be adapted to local conditions, and help achieve the key objectives. The application of CA principles brings multiple benefits, especially in terms of soil conservation, but also for mitigating climate change. In fact, CA has the ability to transform agricultural soils from being carbon emitters into carbon sinks, because of no-tillage (NT) techniques and the return to the soil of diverse crop biomass from above-ground parts of plants and from diverse roots systems and root exudates. Similarly, fossil energy use decreases due to the reduction in agricultural operations, and so less CO2 is emitted to the atmosphere. Lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in CA also result, because of reduced and more efficient use of inputs. Scientific studies confirm the sequestration potential of increased soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks on croplands in Africa on each of the continent's major bioclimatic areas. Coefficients of SOC sequestration for Africa are presented in this chapter.

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Fossil Energy Use in Conventional and Low-External-Input Cropping Systems

Agronomy Journal ◽

10.2134/agronj2009.0457er ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 104 (4) ◽

pp. 1198-1200

Author(s):

Michael J. Cruse ◽

Matt Liebman ◽

D. Raj Raman ◽

Mary H. Wiedenhoeft

Keyword(s):

Energy Use ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

External Input ◽

Fossil Energy ◽

Low External Input

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Long-Term Conservation Agriculture and Intensified Cropping Systems: Effects on Growth, Yield, Water, and Energy-use Efficiency of Maize in Northwestern India

Pedosphere ◽

10.1016/s1002-0160(17)60468-5 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 28 (6) ◽

pp. 952-963 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Chiter M. PARIHAR ◽

Malu R. YADAV ◽

Shankar L. JAT ◽

Aditya K. SINGH ◽

Bhupender KUMAR ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Energy Use ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Growth Yield ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Energy Use Efficiency ◽

Northwestern India ◽

Use Efficiency

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Fossil Energy Use in Conventional and Low-External-Input Cropping Systems

Agronomy Journal ◽

10.2134/agronj2009.0457 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 102 (3) ◽

pp. 934-941 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Michael J. Cruse ◽

Matt Liebman ◽

D. Raj Raman ◽

Mary H. Wiedenhoeft

Keyword(s):

Energy Use ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

External Input ◽

Fossil Energy ◽

Low External Input

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Corrigendum to: Conservation agriculture effects on soil properties and crop productivity in a semiarid region of India

Soil Research ◽

10.1071/sr18145_co ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 57 (2) ◽

pp. 200 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

J. Somasundaram ◽

M. Salikram ◽

N. K. Sinha ◽

M. Mohanty ◽

R. S. Chaudhary ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Properties ◽

Management Practices ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Soil Layer ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Semiarid Region ◽

Reduced Tillage ◽

Organic C ◽

Residue Retention

Conservation agriculture (CA) including reduced or no-tillage and crop residue retention, is known to be a self–sustainable system as well as an alternative to residue burning. The present study evaluated the effect of reduced tillage coupled with residue retention under different cropping systems on soil properties and crop yields in a Vertisol of a semiarid region of central India. Two tillage systems – conventional tillage (CT) with residue removed, and reduced tillage (RT) with residue retained – and six major cropping systems of this region were examined after 3 years of experimentation. Results demonstrated that soil moisture content, mean weight diameter, percent water stable aggregates (>0.25mm) for the 0–15cm soil layer were significantly (Pmoderately labile>less labile. At the 0–15cm depth, the contributions of moderately labile, less labile and non-labile C fractions to total organic C were 39.3%, 10.3% and 50.4% respectively in RT and corresponding values for CT were 38.9%, 11.7% and 49.4%. Significant differences in different C fractions were observed between RT and CT. Soil microbial biomass C concentration was significantly higher in RT than CT at 0–15cm depth. The maize–chickpea cropping system had significantly (P–1 followed by soybean+pigeon pea (2:1) intercropping (3.50 t ha–1) and soybean–wheat cropping systems (2.97 t ha–1). Thus, CA practices could be sustainable management practices for improving soil health and crop yields of rainfed Vertisols in these semiarid regions.

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The crucial role of mulch to enhance the stability and resilience of cropping systems in southern Africa

Agronomy for Sustainable Development ◽

10.1007/s13593-021-00687-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 41 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Blessing Mhlanga ◽

Laura Ercoli ◽

Elisa Pellegrino ◽

Andrea Onofri ◽

Christian Thierfelder

Keyword(s):

Crop Rotation ◽

Southern Africa ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Conventional Tillage ◽

Yield Stability ◽

No Tillage ◽

The Stability ◽

Stability And Resilience

AbstractConservation agriculture has been promoted to sustainably intensify food production in smallholder farming systems in southern Africa. However, farmers have rarely fully implemented all its components, resulting in different combinations of no-tillage, crop rotation, and permanent soil cover being practiced, thus resulting in variable yield responses depending on climatic and soil conditions. Therefore, it is crucial to assess the effect of conservation agriculture components on yield stability. We hypothesized that the use of all three conservation agriculture components would perform the best, resulting in more stable production in all environments. We evaluated at, eight trial locations across southern Africa, how partial and full implementation of these components affected crop yield and yield stability compared with conventional tillage alone or combined with mulching and/or crop rotation. Grain yield and shoot biomass of maize and cowpea were recorded along with precipitation for 2 to 5 years. Across different environments, the addition of crop rotation and mulch to no-tillage increased maize grain by 6%, and the same practices added to conventional tillage led to 13% yield increase. Conversely, adding only mulch or crop rotation to no-tillage or conventional tillage led to lower or equal maize yield. Stability analyses based on Shukla’s index showed for the first time that the most stable systems are those in which mulch is added without crop rotation. Moreover, the highest yielding systems were the least stable. Finally, additive main effects and multiplicative interaction analysis allowed clarifying that mulch added to no-tillage gives stable yields on sandy soil with high rainfall. Similarly, mulch added to conventional tillage gives stable yield on sandy soil, but under low rainfall. This is the first study that highlighted the crucial role of mulch to enhance the stability and resilience of cropping systems in southern Africa, supporting their adaptability to climate change.

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Earthworm Inoculation Improves Upland Rice Crop Yield and Other Agrosystem Services in Madagascar

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture11010060 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 60

Author(s):

Onja Ratsiatosika ◽

Malalatiana Razafindrakoto ◽

Tantely Razafimbelo ◽

Michel Rabenarivo ◽

Thierry Becquer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Upland Rice ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Biological Properties ◽

Rice Grain ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Ecological Transition ◽

Earthworm Activity ◽

Endogeic Earthworms ◽

Plant Properties

The effects of earthworm inoculation and cropping systems on upland rice systems were examined over a four-year period in the Highlands of Madagascar. Each year, endogeic earthworms Pontoscolex corethrurus (Rhinodrilidae) were inoculated (EW+) at a density of 75 ind m−2 or were not inoculated (EW0). Inoculation was tested in three cropping systems: conservation agriculture (CA) and traditional tillage with or without residues restitution. Soil and plant properties were measured during the first three years while soil biological properties were assessed at the fourth year. At the end of the experiment, earthworm density was three-fold higher in EW+ than in EW0, demonstrating the success of the inoculation. Earthworm density was more important in CA than in tillage systems. Earthworm inoculation had higher significant effects on soil and plant properties than cropping systems. Earthworm inoculation had positive effects on soil macroaggregation (+43%), aboveground biomass (+27%), rice grain yield (+45%), and N grain amount (+43%). Intensifying earthworm activity in field conditions to meet the challenge of ecological transition is supported by our study.

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