Next Steps for Conservation Agriculture

Abstract

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.

Assessment of the Effectiveness of Biophysical Soil and Water Conservation Structures: A Case Study of Offa Woreda, Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia

“…Commonly determined conservation systems are conventional methods. Modern conservation systems are specially built on fragile lands outside the doors of cultivated and grazing lands [24,25]. According to farmer reviews, the development of a cutting-edge degree in soil conservation recognized domestically as "Dega" (a cutting-edge soil conservation shape) occurred with the help of the authorities through the campaign.…”

Farmers who tinker: Grounded alternatives to incrementalism and the growth imperative

“…One result is a proliferation of categories for sustainable practices, many of which are then adopted or shared by the nascent discussions of these same practices in North America and elsewhere. Concepts like regenerative agriculture, resilient agriculture, Agriculture 4.0, agro‐ecology and climate‐smart agriculture have received increasing cachet over the last 10 years (Buitenhuis et al., 2022; Charatsari et al., 2022; Giller et al., 2021; Gordon et al., 2022; Landers et al., 2021; Schulte et al., 2022). Of these, regenerative agriculture and Agriculture 4.0, which both refer to suites of technologies and practices, have particular relevance to this study.…”

“…In the below results, ‘tinkering’ farmers are shown experimenting with regenerative agricultural practices. However, more central than the links to one particular target practice, tinkering is here framed as a practice in transition—highlighting that policy interventions common in these discourses often struggle to consider pathways between the so‐called ‘conventional’ agriculture and the many ‘alternative’ agricultures needed for a warming planet (Ibrahim & Johansson, 2021; Knook et al., 2022; Landers et al., 2021). Reconsidering pathways for sustainable transitions is key in European contexts where such discourses have cachet in policy circles.…”

Non-Invasive Evaluation of Different Soil Tillage and Seed Treatment Effects on the Microbial Originating Physiological Reactions of Developing Juvenile Maize

“…In recent decades’, emphasis in soil tillage has, in addition to increasing crop productivity, included the concept of conservation tillage (from minimum to zero tillage technologies) that ensures reduction in soil erosion and water preservation through maintenance of the soil surface covered by plant residue [ 5 ]. Conservation tillage, including no-tillage soil cultivation, organic mulch soil cover, and crop species diversification, was practised globally on about 200 M ha (on 14% of field cropland), in all continents in 2021 [ 6 ]. There are many advantages and disadvantages of conservation tillage in contrast to conventional tillage.…”

“…In the last 8 years, conservation agriculture cropland has expanded at an average rate of more than 5.3 M ha per year. Over the last decade, the adoption of this practise has been intense mainly in Europe and Africa [ 6 ].…”