scholarly journals Next Steps for Conservation Agriculture

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 2496
Author(s):  
John N. Landers ◽  
Pedro Luiz de Freitas ◽  
Mauricio Carvalho de Oliveira ◽  
Sebastião Pedro da Silva Neto ◽  
Ricardo Ralisch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Residues ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Environmental Services ◽  
Payments For Environmental Services ◽  
Hidden Cost ◽  
Ley Farming ◽  
Regenerative Agriculture ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

The origins, history, and recent advances in Conservation Agriculture (CA) are reported. CA is now practiced worldwide on some 200 million hectares, important for mitigating climate change and ensuring food security. Its bedrock is Zero Tillage (ZT) with crop rotation and retention of crop residues. CA approaches Or-19 ganic Agriculture (OA) when coupled to biological control providing opportunity for OA to become truly sustainable. Ley Farming (LF) and agroforestry with ZT are important for carbon sequestration and land use intensification. Hidden cost: each ton of carbon immobilizes 83 kg of N, 29 kg of P, and 14 kg of S. Industry-backed Regenerative Agriculture (RA) variants have no scientific definition, but generally adopt CA. Sustainable, profitable, and compatible new technologies are emerging and CA needs to embrace them to present a holistic, sustainable package to the farmer. How? A single definition for agricultural sustainability via a multi-stakeholder world congress would standardize certification and de-confuse the market. RA describes exactly what CA does for soil health and all farmers need to unite around a new “Combined Regenerative Agriculture” (CRA) to lobby for adequate payments for environmental services. Expansion of CA is critical for world sustainability. Many gaps and constraints exist, especially for smallholders.

scholarly journals Smallholder Farmer Innovation and Contexts in Maize-Based Conservation Agriculture Systems in Central Malawi

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Limson Kaluzi ◽  
Christian Thierfelder ◽  
David W. Hopkins
Keyword(s):  
Crop Residues ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Yield Enhancement ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Linear Interaction ◽  
Ample Evidence

The increased threat of food insecurity and climate change requires more sustainable ways of agriculture intensification in African smallholder farming systems. Ample evidence confirms that maize-based conservation agriculture (CA) systems lead to increased soil health and yield enhancement yet their overall uptake remains low in Africa. An array of studies on challenges and solutions to CA systems conducted in southern Africa principally focussed on the views of scientists, often neglecting the views of CA farmers. Therefore, this study assessed farmer decision making, innovation and contexts during implementation of maize-based CA systems in communities of central Malawi. A survey involving interviews with 226 CA farmers was deployed, triangulated with key informants comprising extension workers and policy makers. The study showed that about 58% of smallholder farmers did not adapt CA practices to their circumstances because they were strictly following change agents’ recommendations. The major challenge noted was competition for crop residues due to mice hunters and grazing livestock. Local by-laws initiated by the communities have started to privatise the crop residues and its grazing. However, other innovations were often not documented by extension workers, consequently neglecting more than half of the potential solutions provided by farmers. The establishments of a National Conservation Agriculture Task Force and CA guidelines are positive developments for coordination of stakeholders and harmonisation of CA messages in Malawi. However, for greater adoption, non-linear interaction and learning must be encouraged in practice by fully embracing innovative farmers and the voices of the pool of stakeholders with varying experiences.

Resource Conservation Technologies (RCTs)-Needs and future prospects: A review

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramesh Ramesh ◽  
S.C. Negi ◽  
S.S. Rana
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Production Capacity ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Soil Disturbance ◽  
Residue Management ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
Use Of Resources

Continuous use of conventional farming practices with conventional tillage and burning crop residues has degraded the soil resource base and intensified soil degradation with concomitant decrease in crop production capacity. Further, escalating fuel, fertilizers and other input costs; necessitates the effective use of resources in agriculture. Conservation agriculture (CA) consists of four principles: (i) minimizing mechanical soil disturbance and seeding directly into untilled soil, (ii) using cover crops and/or crop residues (mainly residue retention), (iii) diversification of crops in associations, sequences and rotations and (iv) controlled traffic that lessen soil compaction. The CA technologies involving no- or minimum-tillage with direct seeding and bed planting, residue management and crop diversification have potential for improving productivity and soil quality, mainly by soil organic matter build-up. Conservation agriculture systems appear to be appealing options to achieve sustainable and intensive crop production under different agroecological environments because they use available resources efficiently and maintain soil fertility. However, there is a need for wider scale testing of these new technologies under diverse production systems, as the CA technologies are site specific and therefore appraisal of CA is important to have significant adoption.

scholarly journals Agricultural Conservation Practices and Aquatic Ecological Responses

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 1687
Author(s):  
Richard E. Lizotte ◽  
Peter C. Smiley ◽  
Robert B. Gillespie ◽  
Scott S. Knight
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
Harmful Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Agricultural Runoff ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ecosystem Structure ◽  
Ecological Responses ◽  
And Function

Conservation agriculture practices (CAs) have been internationally promoted and used for decades to enhance soil health and mitigate soil loss. An additional benefit of CAs has been mitigation of agricultural runoff impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Countries across the globe have agricultural agencies that provide programs for farmers to implement a variety of CAs. Increasingly there is a need to demonstrate that CAs can provide ecological improvements in aquatic ecosystems. Growing global concerns of lost habitat, biodiversity, and ecosystem services, increased eutrophication and associated harmful algal blooms are expected to intensify with increasing global populations and changing climate. We conducted a literature review identifying 88 studies linking CAs to aquatic ecological responses since 2000. Most studies were conducted in North America (78%), primarily the United States (73%), within the framework of the USDA Conservation Effects Assessment Project. Identified studies most frequently documented macroinvertebrate (31%), fish (28%), and algal (20%) responses to riparian (29%), wetland (18%), or combinations (32%) of CAs and/or responses to eutrophication (27%) and pesticide contamination (23%). Notable research gaps include better understanding of biogeochemistry with CAs, quantitative links between varying CAs and ecological responses, and linkages of CAs with aquatic ecosystem structure and function.

scholarly journals Effects of conservation agriculture on physicochemical soil health in 20 maize‐based trials in different agro‐ecological regions across Mexico

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Fonteyne ◽  
Juan Burgueño ◽  
Blanca Aide Albarrán Contreras ◽  
Enrique Andrio Enríquez ◽  
Luis Castillo Villaseñor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Health ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Ecological Regions

A critical review and re-assessment of theories of smallholder decision-making: a case of conservation agriculture households, Zambia

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bridget Bwalya Umar
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
Uncertain Environments

AbstractDifferent theories have been posited that try to explain the decision-making process of smallholders especially regarding the adoption of new technologies or new agricultural techniques. The objective of this paper is to review and re-assess the dominant household production theories to explain the decision making of smallholders practicing conservation agriculture (CA) in the southern, eastern, and central provinces of Zambia. It also discusses the potential role of CA toward economic development. It finds that the CA smallholders studied did not aim to maximize profits but tried to secure household consumption from their own production before any other considerations in risky and uncertain environments. Their response to economic incentives was contingent on minimizing risks associated with securing a minimum level of livelihood and investing into local forms of insurance. This paper concludes that the ability for CA to contribute to rural livelihoods and economic development would depend on how adequately the factors that hinder smallholder agricultural development in general are addressed.

The role of deforestation risk and calibrated compensation in designing payments for environmental services

2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
JENNIFER ALIX-GARCIA ◽  
ALAIN DE JANVRY ◽  
ELISABETH SADOULET
Keyword(s):  
Common Property ◽  
Budget Constraint ◽  
Environmental Services ◽  
Payments For Environmental Services ◽  
Land Productivity ◽  
Payment Scheme ◽  
Payment Schemes ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Poor Communities

ABSTRACTThis paper discusses the gain in efficiency from including deforestation risk as a targeting criterion in payments for environmental services (PES) programs. We contrast two payment schemes that we simulate using data from Mexican common property forests: a flat payment scheme with a cap on allowable hectares per enrollee, similar to the program implemented in many countries, and a payment that takes deforestation risk and heterogeneity in land productivity into account. We simulate the latter strategy both with and without a budget constraint. Using observed past deforestation, we find that while risk-targeted payments are far more efficient, capped flat payments are more egalitarian. We also consider the characteristics of communities receiving payments from both programs. We find that the risk-weighted scheme results in more payments to poor communities, and that these payments are more efficient than those made to non-poor ejidos. Finally, we show that the risk of deforestation can be predicted quite precisely with indicators that are easily observable and that cannot be manipulated by the community.

Promotion of afforestation in New Zealand’s marginal agricultural lands through payments for environmental services

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 101212
Author(s):  
Thales A.P. West ◽  
Juan J. Monge ◽  
Les J. Dowling ◽  
Steve J. Wakelin ◽  
Holly K. Gibbs
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Services ◽  
Payments For Environmental Services ◽  
Agricultural Lands

scholarly journals Gender and payments for environmental services: impacts of participation, benefit-sharing and conservation activities in Viet Nam

Oryx ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Pamela McElwee ◽  
Huệ Thị Văn Lê ◽  
Tuyến Phương Nghiêm ◽  
Hương Diệu Vũ ◽  
Nghị Hữư Trần
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Benefit Sharing ◽  
Environmental Services ◽  
Viet Nam ◽  
Payments For Environmental Services ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Female Headed Households ◽  
Women Participation ◽  
Over Time

Abstract There has been a rapid expansion in the use of payments for environmental services (PES) as a key conservation finance policy. However, there is insufficient understanding of how gender can affect PES implementation and outcomes. We present results from a case study in Viet Nam, where a national PES programme has been in place for a decade. Through panel household survey data, focus groups and interviews, we examined how women have been involved in PES policies, what the impacts have been on decision-making by men and women, participation rates and use of PES income over time, and the potential conservation outcomes. Our research confirms that resource use varies between men and women, and changes in access rights can fall disproportionately on women. Participation in PES has been lower for female-headed households and for women within male-headed households, although gradually more equitable participation has evolved within households. Female-headed households reported expending more yearly effort on PES activities despite protecting less land, and also increased their conservation activities over time as they presumably became more familiar with PES. Use of income from PES also showed differences between male and female-led households, with men more likely to spend funds on non-essential goods. Within households, although men initially decided how to spend PES money, decision-making has become more equitable over time. We conclude with some recommendations on how to increase attention to gender in PES projects and future research to improve outcomes.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document