Soil health

Understanding the impact and adoption of conservation agriculture in Africa: A multi-scale analysis

Conservation agriculture (CA) is increasingly promoted in Africa as analternative for coping with the need to increase food production on the basis of more sustainable farming practices. Success with adopting CA on farms in Africa has been limited, …

Conservation Agriculture in Eastern and Southern Africa

This chapter describes the history and current status of conservation agriculture (CA) in East and South Africa. It examines research results from East and South Africa in an effort to develop a clearer picture of the future of CA systems in the …

Comparative performance of conservation agriculture and current smallholder farming practices in semi-arid Zimbabwe

Conservation agriculture (CA) is currently promoted in sub-humid and semi-arid areas of sub-Saharan Africa as a means to increase crop water use efficiency and stabilize yields. In this study, conducted during three consecutive seasons in a semi-arid …

Failing to yield? Ploughs, conservation agriculture and the problem of agricultural intensification: An example from the Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe

Agricultural intensification, or increasing yield, has been a persistent theme in policy interventions in African smallholder agriculture. This article focuses on two hegemonic policy models of such intensification; (1) the 'Alvord model' of …

Agricultural intensification - Saving space for wildlife ?

Increasing agricultural production and preventing further losses in biodiversity are both legitimate objectives, but they compete strongly in the developing world.In this study, current tensions between agricultural production and environmental …

Cotton expansion and biodiversity loss in African savannahs, opportunities and challenges for conservation agriculture: A review paper based on two case studies

We review agricultural impacts on biodiversity and the potential of conservation agriculture in developing productive and environment-friendly cropping systems.We then analyse experiences from two African landscapes of global importance for …

Conservation agriculture in Zambia: a case study of Southern Province

It is our intent this series will be a source of information on conservation agriculture in Africa. It throws light on controversial issues such as the challenges farmers face in keeping the soil covered, in gaining access to adequate no-tillage …