For effective conservation of soil and water, we must treat and use the. The principles of conservation agriculture conservation agriculture emphasizes that the soil is a living body, essential to sustain quality of life on the planet. Soil and water conservation is the basis of such a program, and also helps improve land impoverished by erosion and overusemakes it more productive so that it can support more people. Mechanization of conservation agriculture in zambia. The paper focuses on conservation agriculture ca, defined as minimal soil disturbance notill, nt and permanent soil cover mulch combined with. The three principles of conservation agriculture disturb the soil as little as possible, keep the soil covered as much as possible, and. What is conservation agriculture ca ca is a set of soil management practices that minimize the disruption of the soils structure, composition and natural biodiversity. How conservation agriculture works in different types of farms. Conservation agriculture aims to boost agricultural production by optimising the use of farm resources and helping to reduce widespread land degradation through the integrated management of available soil, water and biological resources combined with external inputs.
Conservation agriculture ca is defined as a sustainable agriculture production system comprising a set of farming practices adapted to the requirements of crops and local conditions of each region, whose farming and soil management techniques protect the soil from erosion and degradation, improve its quality and biodiversity, and contribute to the preservation of the. We hope this booklet will encourage more farmers to adopt cf. The participant acknowledges that highly erodible land conservation wetland conservation, adjusted gross income certifications, and member information for entities and joint operations are on file with the fsa. In particular, it recognizes the importance of the upper 020 cm of soil as the most active zone, but also the zone most vulnerable to erosion and degradation. Each participant that is a nonindividual receiving payment under an ein is required to be registered. Conservation agriculture enables these people to grow more food with less work. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Conservation agriculture ca can be defined by a statement given by the food and agriculture organization of the united nations as a concept for resourcesaving agricultural crop production that strives to achieve acceptable profits together with high and sustained production levels while concurrently conserving the environment fao 2007. In order to keep the land productive, a good conservation program is imperative. Pdf au niveau mondial, limpact du travail du sol sur lenvironnement est frequemment. Conservation farming cf speak for themselves and many thousands of smallscale farmers in zambia are now benefiting from these simple practices. No till manual planting to the rescue of the smallscale farm of.
Conservation agriculture a manual for farmers and extension workers in africa conservation agriculture holds special promise for africa, where farming communities face the problems of low yields, impoverished soils, lack of capital, and labour shortages brought on by the scourge of. About icrisat the international crops research institute for the semiarid tropics icrisat is a nonprofit, nonpolitical organization. It offers them a real chance to improve their lives. Conservation agriculture is a farming system that promotes minimum soil disturbance i. The importance of conservation agriculture ca research and cassava production for food security in recent years, the mechanisation division of the agricultural research council institute for agricultural engineering arciae has focused its research efforts on specific areas such as conservation agriculture research and mechanised cassava. In this handbook, we also explain the principles of conservation agriculture ca. This manual is part of sustainets effort to promote sustainable. As well as referring to recent achievements and experiments, the content is based on experiences from many years of implementation and draws on a variety of perspectives. It enhances biodiversity and natural biological processes above and below the ground surface, which contribute to increased water and nutrient use efficiency and to improved and sustained crop. Despite high variability in the types of crops grown and specific management regimes, all forms of conservation agriculture share three core principles.
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