What is Conservation Agriculture

(CA) and for What in Africa?

by

Saidi Mkomwa, CARWG Chair, and CEO

African Conservation Tillage Network (ACT)

Email: saidi.mkomwa@act-africa.org

Presented to

Conservation Agriculture Regional Working

Group (CARWG) Annual Meeting 2015,

Pretoria, South Africa, 1-2 December, 2015

Food security is urgent in Africa,

but more so in coming years Global population to increase by 33% to 9 billion by

2050; Africa’s to increase by 115%; by 21% in Asia

60% more food worldwide; 100% in Africa

Worldwide hunger decreased by 132 million in last 20 years; it increased by 64 million in Africa.

Threatening climate change challenges

Farming related land resource degradation

THE GOOD NEWS: Easier to double yields in Africa (say from 1.2 to 2.4 tonnes/ha)

A 1% increase in cereal yield can lift 2 million people out of poverty

Africa has 60% of the global total uncultivated crop land

4 of the world’s top 10 fastest growing economies are in Africa

The Question is How?

A t

ransf

orm

atio

n is

Impera

tive

It must be Sustainable Intensification for adaptation and mitigation to Climate Change

Farming Not based on

Tillage. USA dust storms of

1930s. To reduce the 14% of GHG

emissions from agriculture

Watershed & water

towers conservation. Recharge aquifers, green power.

Agroforestry. Biodiversity,

rainforests, carbon sinks.

Intensified crop–

livestock-tree systems. Curb overgrazing degradation.

40 million hectares destroyed,

2.5 million people migrated

Africa is deforesting at twice the

world rate

The future is bright; but a transformation

anchored on soil health is imperative!

Healthy soils/brown revolution: higher efficiency of use of all inputs; resilience to climate change; sustainability.

Need to increase productivity (reduce escalating inputs costs, labour shortages, reduce climatic shocks).

Special focus on smallholder rainfed agriculture in semiarid lands - home of the poor

Competitive value chain and market access

Innovative pro-poor business models to bring affordable farm inputs and services to the farmers’ doorstep

Adapt and adopt Conservation Agriculture

Africa missed the dramatic gains of the Green Revolution

CA is an approach to managing agro-

ecosystems for improved and sustained

productivity, increased resilience to

rainfall variability, increased profits and

food security while preserving and

enhancing the resource base and the

environment. 1. Continuous minimum mechanical soil

disturbance.

2. Permanent organic soil cover.

3. Diversification of crop species grown in

sequences or associations.

CA is one of the best options for transformation

CA is against Tillage, Not against Mechanisation!

African Innovation

o Dibble stick (Early Egyptians)

o Zai pits(West Africa)

o Skip stone direct seeding technology

Brazilian Perfection & Systematization

Soil cover and zero till reduce evaporation & runoff; increase infiltration

Larger un-compacted root zone retain soil moisture for dry spells; and drain excess to check flooding

Leguminous cover crops fix much needed nitrogen

Crop rotations break pest cycles. & nutrient recycling (e.g. Musangu). Deliberate allelopathy rotations (e.g. with push-pull) can be induced.

Increased soil moisture enables increased land productivity: e.g. 2.5 crops /year; mixed/relay cropping

CA sequesters carbon; reduction in fuel use and GHG emissions. NB Cost saving is the biggest drive to commercial CA adoption

How does CA work?

What are the Benefits of CA?

Adaptation: • Increases crop yields • Higher cropping intensity (1.5 – 2) • Increases resource use efficiency• Enhances system resilience (coping with erratic rainfall)• Reduces soil erosion, improves soil health

Mitigation:• Intensification reduces clearing of forests for agriculture• Improved soil – sequester of carbon• Minimum till reduces the use of diesel by up to 65% - less CO2

emissions• Crop rotations/associations – nitrogen fixing, reduced fertilizer use

Achievement of national goals• Increases farm incomes and profits• Improves food security• Reduces poverty• Enhances ecosystem services

Does CA Work?

150 million ha globally, expanding at the rate of 10 million ha per year (Kassam 2014). 1.22 million ha in Africa.

Increased productivity (for small, medium and large scale farmers).

Savings in labour (up to 60%). Zero tillage. Labour peaks spread. Attracts youths, creates opportunities for enterprise diversification, expansion of cultivated area (from saved time).

CA helps fight climate change (the 14% GHG emissions from agriculture problem changes to a solution):

The entry point to food security for smallholders & commercialise by selling surplus and diversify

In restoring landscapes and improving livelihoods. See Thomas Loronyo, Arusha Tanzania. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0orM79a6oo

In increasing productivity - for the large scale farmers in Africa. See Laurie Session. Laikipia Kenya. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A94xFIxOGs4

The scientific evidence in plenty: CIMMYT; FAO -website: http://www.fao.org/ag/ca/index.html; EU &ACT ABACO project in 6 countries https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAQbfXvE8Ec

Worldwide adoption of Conservation Agriculture

6thSSource World Congress on Conservation Agriculture, Winnipeg, 22-25 June 2014 slide 2/x

USA 36

Canada 18

Australia 17.9

Europe 2

Kazakhstan 2

Africa 1.2

Brazil 32

Conservation Agriculture globally 155 Million ha (~11% of arable cropland)

Argentina 27

Paraguay 3

China 6.7

tropical savannah

continental, dry

temperate, moist

temperate, moist

continental, dry

irrigated

smallholder

smallholder

smallholder

arid

arid

large scale

large

scale

large scale

large scale

large

scale

large

scale

subtropical, dry

tropical

savannah

other LA 2.4

>50% W

(40%)

20%

99%

100% West

(36%)

Russia, Ukraine 5.2

India 1.5

other Asia 0.1

• CA adoption expanding at the rate of 9 million ha annually

• 1.22 million ha in Africa. 65% are smallholders.

Source: Adapted from

Kassam, 2015

Worldwide adoption of Conservation Agriculture

6th World Congress on Conservation Agriculture, Winnipeg, 22-25 June 2014 slide 2/x

100

Dustbowl

1930 20001950

US S

oil C

on

serv

atio

n S

erv

ice

co

nse

rva

tio

n tilla

ge

du

stb

ow

lSib

eria

/USSR

Fa

ulk

ne

r (U

S) –

Fu

ku

ok

a (

Ja

pa

n)

co

mm

erc

ial n

o-t

ill/

US

firs

t n

o-t

ill d

em

on

stra

tio

n in

Bra

zil

Old

rie

ve

/Zim

ba

bw

e

ad

op

tio

n B

razi

lp

lan

tio

dire

to n

a p

alh

a

ex

pe

rim

en

ts in

Ch

ina

, In

do

ga

ng

etic

Pla

ins

Ne

w b

oo

st: C

an

ad

a,

Au

stra

lia

, K

aza

kh

sta

n,

Ru

ssia

, C

hin

a,

Fin

lan

d..

.;

Afr

ica

Arg

en

tin

a, P

ara

gu

ay

;

1980 1990

First

no

-till in

th

e U

S

IITA

no

-till re

sea

rch

50

Mill. h

a

History and Adoption of CA

1970 2010

155 mill ha

firs

t n

o-t

ill fa

rme

rs in

USA

First

WC

CA

in

Ma

drid

Source: Kassam, 2015

Challenges to Upscale CA

1. Continued promotion and development support of

tillage-based agricultural systems by national,

international &private institutions;

2. Weak policies and regulatory frameworks and

institutional arrangements to support the promotion and

mainstreaming of CA;

3. Inadequate awareness, knowledge and expertise of CA

systems and the process of their adoption and spread

among key stakeholders;

4. Inadequate CA-based technology packaging, enterprise

diversification and integration in farming systems (not

adequately addressing livestock intergration is costly);

Paradigm shift; Project based interventions; Incubate Entrepreneurship

5. Inadequate skills and competencies among farmers, &

practitioners;

6. Farmers’ inability to maintain year-round soil cover

through the use of specially introduced cover crops,

intercrops and crop residue;

7. Poor availability &access to CA equipment, machinery

and inputs;

8. Absence of a strong continental body & strategic policy

framework to guide the promotion and mainstreaming of

CA across Africa.

Opportunities to Upscale CA in Africa

CA offers the unique win-win-win option to the pressure

to transform farming in Africa for Food Security-Economic

Growth-Climate Change resilience. Gateway for

smallholders to commercialise.

CA can greatly contribute to the SDG’s specifically SDGs

2,13,17

Good will of Development partners (EU, NORAD, DFID,

USAID, FAO, etc. ) to streamline CA at CAADP-

NEPAD/AU level under a CA framework

Support from research (e.g. CIMMYT, ICRISAT,

CCARDESA), education (e.g. Bunda, Sokoine, Fort Hare,

Gwebi) sectors as well as Govts (e.g. those represented at

CARWG) increasing.

CA Centres of Excellence to work for smallholder

farmers.

Entrepreneurial CA services provision models

Support to Continental CA coordination: quality

assurance, knowledge and information sharing,

events/sharing platforms

Support from the 20 experts strong CA Think-Tank: the

International CA Advisory Panel (ICAAP-Africa) Chaired

by Prof Amir Kassam. http://icaap.act-africa.org/

Linkages with programmes that reduce climatic shocks

e.g. DRR

ACKONWLEDGEMETS TO

CCARDESA, USAID and FAOfor supporting the CARWG meeting

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING

www.act-africa.org