Conservation farming strategies in East and Southern Africa: Yields and rain water productivity from on-farm action research

Rockström, Johan; Kaumbutho, P.G.; Mwalley, J.; Nzabi, A.W.; Temesgen, Melesse; Mawenya, L.; Barron, Jennie; Mutua, J.; Damgaard-Larsen, S.

doi:10.1016/j.still.2008.09.013

Cited by 240 publications

(200 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Additionally, limiting tillage can decrease soil crust formation. Both of these factors contribute to enhancing water infiltration into the soil and subsequently increase water productivity of agroecosystems (Rockström et al 2009). Cover cropping includes the growing of typically a non-harvested or partially harvested crop either in a crop rotation or in the non-main growing season.…”

Section: Crop Residue Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Qualitative Evaluation of CSA Options in Mixed Crop-Livestock Systems in Developing Countries

Thornton

Rosenstock

Förch³

et al. 2017

Natural Resource Management and Policy

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The mixed crop-livestock systems of the developing world will become increasingly important for meeting the food security challenges of the coming decades. The synergies and trade-offs between food security, adaptation, and mitigation objectives are not well studied, however. Comprehensive evaluations of the costs and benefits, and the synergies and trade-offs, of different options in developing-country mixed systems do not exist as yet.Here we summarise what we know about the climate smartness of different alternatives in the mixed croplivestock systems in developing countries, based on published literature supplemented by a survey of experts. We discuss constraints to the uptake of different interventions and the potential for their adoption, and highlight some of the technical and policy implications of current knowledge and knowledge gaps.

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Section: Crop Residue Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Qualitative Evaluation of CSA Options in Mixed Crop-Livestock Systems in Developing Countries

Thornton

Rosenstock

Förch³

et al. 2017

Natural Resource Management and Policy

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“…Several empirical studies have been carried out to investigate the economics and adoption dimensions of CF practices in Zambia and other developing countries (for example, Gebermedhin & Swinton, 2001;Haggblade & Tembo, 2003;Chomba, 2004;Kabwe & Donovan, 2005;Rockström et al, 2009;Chiputwa et al, 2011;Nkegbe et al, 2011;Nyanga et al, 2011;Kassie et al, 2012;. Tembo and Haggblade (2003) and Nyanga et al (2011) observed that the Agro-Ecological Region (AER) in which the smallholder farm household is located is highly significant in determining adoption of CF practices (Note 1).…”

Section: Review Of the Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most literature on agriculture technology adoption consider that the decision to adopt technologies including CF is affected by the characteristics of the farm household head and the household at large (Gebermedhin & Swinton, 2001;Haggblade & Tembo, 2003;Chomba, 2004;Kabwe & Donovan, 2005;Rockström et al, 2009;Chiputwa et al, 2011;Nkegbe et al, 2011;Nyanga et al, 2011;Kassie et al, 2012;. For instance, households that are large in their size are more likely to adopt CF because CF is documented to be labour intensive (Clay & Reardon, 1994;Haggblade & Tembo, 2003;Marenya & Barett, 2007;Kassie et al, 2012).…”

Section: Farmer and Household Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Econometric Analysis of the Factors that Affect Adoption of Conservation Farming Practices by Smallholder Farmers in Zambia

Ng’ombe¹,

Kalinda²,

Tembo³

et al. 2014

JSD

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Despite the efforts to promote adoption of conservation farming (CF) by public and private organizations, the adoption rate among Zambian smallholder farm households has been low. This study used nationally representative data to identify the factors that affect adoption of CF by smallholder farm households in Zambia. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) was employed to help match the adopters and non-adopters of CF based on the distribution of their similar observable characteristics upon which a separate logistic model was applied. The logistic regression analysis showed that age of the household head; access to loans; labour availability; in-kind income and location of the households in agro-ecological regions (AER) I and II significantly increases the odds of adoption of CF. Based on these findings, it is recommended that promotion of adoption of CF practices should be directed towards smallholder farm households in AER I and II and those in remote areas which are less accessible by roads. This could be complemented by improving the road infrastructure so that smallholder farmers in such areas would not only have access to agricultural loans but also be in contact with relevant extension organizations that promote CF.

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“…CA has been reported to increase and stabilize maize yields, conserve soil moisture, increase soil carbon stocks, and improve soil physical and chemical properties in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa (Rosenstock et al 2014;Rockström et al 2009). Kassam et al (2009) reported that CA and agroforestry practices have many features in common, such as increased ground cover and incorporation of legumes in the system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although advantages and disadvantages of CA are well documented in field crops under sole cropping (Giller et al 2009;Chivenge et al 2007;Rockström et al 2009), less is known about its impact in agroforestry systems despite the intense promotion of CAWT in many developing countries (Mutua et al 2014). We hypothesize that CAWT will exacerbate below-ground competition for water and nutrients by trees and therefore reduce crop yields.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farming with trees: a balancing act in the shade

Ndoli¹

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The smallholder agriculture sector in East Africa is the dominant economic and social activity for millions of farm households who are often resource-poor, food-insecure and most vulnerable to climate change. In this region, population pressure has led to shorter fallow periods or continuous cropping even on hillslopes causing erosion and leading to reduced soil organic matter content and nutrient mining without replenishment. Consequently, poor agricultural productivity has led to food shortages and these problems are likely to intensify in the region, as the human population is growing faster than in other parts of the world. Agroforestry, a low-input technology, was shown to contribute to the enhancement of food production while ensuring sustainability in sub-Saharan Africa.Agroforestry may improve food security by increasing soil fertility and providing additional income from tree products. Thus, agroforestry is now receiving increasing attention as a sustainable landmanagement option and some countries in East Africa (e.g. Rwanda) have pledged to restore up to 100% of their agricultural land mainly through agroforestry by the year 2020. Nevertheless, crop yields reduction in agroforestry are frequent due to competition for resources among trees and crops.In recent studies, tree canopy and root pruning were tested to improve light availability and resource use efficiency but studies that tackle crop management and tillage options to optimize crop productivity in the agroforestry systems are scarce.This thesis aims to assess the importance of agroforestry across Rwanda and its implication on crop productivity and food security of farm households, explore and recommend the maize varieties and tillage options that could minimize tree-crop competition in the equatorial savannah of Rwanda and Ethiopia. The approach combined household survey on the contribution of trees on household income and food security in six agroecologies of Rwanda, experiments on the microclimate and fertility effects of trees on crops in sub-humid region of Rwanda, maize variety testing in agroforestry systems and trials on conservation agriculture with trees in the equatorial savannah of two East African countries: Rwanda (Bugesera site) and Ethiopia (Meki site). The survey in Rwanda found that food security increases with increasing farm size and farmers with more trees tended to be wealthier (e.g. with larger land and more often higher crop and livestock income) and therefore tended to be more food secure in half of the agroecologies. The proportion of household income that came from tree products was the least among sources of income suggesting that most tree products are not sold but kept by farmers for their own use. Yet tree vi income was important for about 12% of the farmers, contributing more than 20% of their overall income. Households having low food security relied more on income from tree products than those with higher food security status. Therefore, income from tree products can be seen as a 'safety net' for the po...

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Conservation farming strategies in East and Southern Africa: Yields and rain water productivity from on-farm action research

Cited by 240 publications

References 19 publications

A Qualitative Evaluation of CSA Options in Mixed Crop-Livestock Systems in Developing Countries

A Qualitative Evaluation of CSA Options in Mixed Crop-Livestock Systems in Developing Countries

Econometric Analysis of the Factors that Affect Adoption of Conservation Farming Practices by Smallholder Farmers in Zambia

Farming with trees: a balancing act in the shade

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