1. What are the characteristics of these two fields?
Forest/fallow land
Continuously cropped land.

2. Forest land
Very little or no soil disturbance and plant roots enmesh soil particles to improve soil structure
Production and recycling of foliage results in biological activity, humus formation and dark colored top soil with greater number of soil organisms.
Tree canopy and litter fall protect soil from the erosive forces of wind and water.
Soil remains moist for longer periods after rain
Soil remains productively active.

3. Annual crop fields Soil may be productively dead.
Biomass is largely removed,
Soil may be tilled several times
Reduced soil organism population
Soil is much drier.
Soil may be productively dead.

4. Traditionally shifting cultivation was used to simulate forest land conditions to maintain arable land productivity
Shifting cultivation is no more feasible because of increased pressure on arable land due to:
increased human population and related factors
How then can we improve and sustain the productivity of a field such as this one?

5. Sustainable Food Production Systems
Sustainable food production will require the creation of favorable conditions for soil life and the management of OM to ensure a fertile soil in which healthy plants can grow all the time as it is in the forest.
- creation of forest land conditions on the arable land through the adoption of
CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE

6. What is Conservation Agriculture?
.CA is a farming system that conserves, improves and makes more efficient use of natural resources possible through integrated management of available soil, water and biological resources.
This is achieved through a set of principles and practices that aim at sustaining the productivity of a given piece of land in an environmentally friendly and profitable manner

7. Principles of CA Three key principles Little or no soil disturbance
Permanent soil cover
Crop rotations/associations

8. Principles and practices. 1. Little or no soil disturbance
No soil inversion, no incorporation of residue
Direct seeding through crop/weed residue

9. Direct seeding - mechanical

10. Minimal soil disturbance

11. Principles and practices. 2. Ensure Permanent soil cover
Food/Cover crops
No burning
Mulch

12. Principles and practices. 3. Practice Crop Rotations/associations
Soyabean to be replaced with maize next season
Maize to be replaced with soyabean next season

13. Intercropping

14. Summary of key features of CA
No ploughing, disking or soil cultivation (no turning over of the soil)
Crop and cover crop residue stay on the surface
No burning of crop residue
Permanent crop and weed residue mulch protects the soil
Crop rotations, intercropping and cover crops are used to maximize biological controls
The closed-nutrient recycling of the forest is replicated on the arable land

15. Center for No-Till Agriculture
Building healthy soil for healthy plants for healthy people

16. Benefits of CA
Economic
Agronomic
Environmental

17. Benefits of CA Economic benefits that improve production efficiency
Time and labor savings
Reduction in costs
Higher efficiency

18. Benefits of CA Agronomic benefits that improve soil productivity
Organic matter increase
In-soil water conservation
Improvement of soil structure and thus rooting zone

19. Environmental benefits
Environmental benefits that protect the soil and make agriculture more sustainable
Reduction of soil erosion
Improvement of water quality
Improvement of air quality
Increase in biodiversity

20. Disadvantages of CA Disadvantages mentioned by some farmers:
Equal or slightly lower grain yield during the first year
Higher incidence of pest in the first year
Sometimes too much mulch cover impedes germination of seeds
High cost of equipment change over

21. Constraints to the adoption of CA
Mind-set of the plough and burning
Competition for crop residues
Social issues – Communal grazing rights
Weed control
Insufficient fertility amendments
Knowledge intensity
Land tenure
Equipment
Excess soil water
Time frame
Policies
Input market linkages

22. The CA Commandment Prelude
“There is nothing wrong with our soil, except our interference”
Edward Faulkner
From Plowman’s Folly (1943)
The commandment
Thou shall live from the fruits of the soil. Therefore, thou shall feed, care for and protect thy soil with all thy might.

23. Center for No-Till Agriculture
Building healthy soil for healthy plants for healthy people