Adoption Potential for Conservation Agriculture in Africa: A Newly Developed Assessment Approach (QAToCA) Applied in Kenya and Tanzania

Abstract

Conservation agriculture (CA) is often promoted as a set of cropping practices to reduce soil erosion and maintain soil fertility, while decreasing production costs and increasing crop yields. However, CA adoption is extremely low in Africa. Most investigations on constraints of its adoption leave out (i) the characteristics of CA as an emerging innovation and (ii) the wider institutional context. A comprehensive selfassessment tool for a systematic evaluation of factors influencing the CA adoption process at the field, farm and regional scale in a variety of regional contexts in Africa is still lacking. In an attempt to fill this knowledge gap, this article presents the motivation, development and testing of a Qualitative expert Assessment Tool for CA adoption in Africa (QAToCA) and its application. QAToCA is directed to regional experts, research teams and managers of development projects with a focus on CA, and allows them to assess their CA activities along a systematic, expert-based list of questions and criteria. Specifically, it aims at assessing the adoption potential of CA under the varied agro-ecological, socio-economic, cultural and institutional conditions of Africa as well as the specific supporting and hindering factors influencing this process.As an example, its application in Kenya and Tanzania identified a relatively high CA adoption potential. The following factors, however, are noticed to require further improvement: accessibility of markets for CA products and inputs; adaptation of machinery and seeds to the CA practices; introduction of quality implementation measures; and a renewed motivation (interest) among CA service providers.

Impact of land management system on crop yields and soil fertility in Cameroon

“…Practices such as direct-seeding mulch-based cropping (DMC) have permitted a better control of erosion, an important reduction in the cost of production and restoration of soil fertility (Marasas et al, 2001;Brown et al, 2002;Ndah et al, 2015). They have been introduced in north Cameroon since the first decade of the 21st century.…”

“…Sorghum was intercropped with Brachiaria ruziziensis, also called Congo grass. It is a forage crop that is grown throughout the humid tropics (Husson et al, 2008;Naudin, 2012). It requires well-drained soils with low clay contents, moderate to high fertility and does not tolerate strong acidic conditions.…”

Properties, classification, genesis and agricultural suitability of soils in a semiarid pediplain of North Cameroon

“…The low organic matter content has to be substantially increased through effective crop residue management with increased use of leguminous plants as well as judicious use of organic fertilizers (Fasina et al, 2015). It might also been increased trough the introduction of direct-seeding mulch-based cropping (DMC) systems (Brown et al, 2002;Ndah et al, 2015, Tsozué et al, 2015. Soil organic matter was an essential component of soil quality, governing processes like carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, water retention and soil aggregate turnover (Tsozué et al, 2015;Van Leeuwen et al, 2015).…”

Preface

“…As human constructed environments, cities disrupt natural cycles and the patterns of temporal and spatial distribution of environmental and ecological processes (UN 2014). Urbanization causes breaks in connectivity of ecological, hydrological, nutrient, and energy cycles and fluxes that can lead to enhanced exposure to disruptive events (Escadafal et al 2015;Ndah et al 2015;Laudicina et al 2015).…”