Conservation Agriculture for Food security and Wealth creation

Conservation Agriculture for Food security and Wealth creation

CA is a technology which is based on the principles of minimum soil disturbance; maximum soil cover; mixing and rotating crops. The adoption of conservation agriculture techniques is helping farmers to increase their yields and conserve natural resources. It focuses on building farmers’ knowledge and skills, using resources they have available and inputs that can be obtained locally. Since adopting this approach, farmers are reporting increases in yields of sorghum, millet and maize. Yield increases have been observed over three years, despite adverse climatic conditions. Forexample a farmer called Charles Kihara in Laikipia county observed that  he harvested 25bags of maize in one acre under CA from the previous low of 6-7 bags using conventional means.

The economic gains from Conservation Agriculture are easily identified on farms of nearly all types and sizes. .Farmers have experienced decreased tractor hours, farm labor, machinery costs, fertilizer, insecticide, fungicide and herbicide, and cost savings from reduced contour terracing and replanting of crops following heavy rains. The economic gains from Conservation Agriculture are easily identified on farms of nearly all types and sizes. Data from southern Brazil show a dramatic reduction - 68.3% - in man-hours/ha, which is the most important factor influencing adoption of CA. Part of the satisfaction which CA generates, derives from the ability to undertake other economic activities in the time saved, and thus increase total income.

Although conservation agriculture (CA) has been around for decades, it's only lately started getting noticed by policymakers as an option to generate an increase in wealth among rural population.Both policymakers and rural development practitioners increasingly recognize that a short-term focus on creating jobs or increasing income is insufficient to generate sustainable rural development or achieve a long-term reduction in rural poverty.The economic benefits at the national level are very important and they strongly argue for policy support for example the estimated soil erosion benefits (avoided losses from sheet, rill and wind erosion) for the United States under CA 1996 ranged from US$90.3 million to US$288.8 million. Conservation agriculture is practiced on about 57 million ha, or on about 3 percent of the 1 500 million ha of arable land worldwide. Most of the land under CA is in North and South America. The level of CA adoption in sub-Saharan Africa is below 10000ha.

CA practice as practiced by Margaret Wangui of Wakulima SHG in  laikipia county. Photo taken on 9^th may 2014

 

Farmer's Conventional Practice