Mobilizing greater crop and land potentials sustainably
Abstract
The supply side of the food security engine is the way we farm. The current engine of conventional tillage farming is faltering and needs to be replaced. It is faltering because it causes unacceptable level of soil erosion and land degradation, and loss in yield potential, productivity, efficiency, resilience and ecosystem services. ‘Business as usual’ is no longer considered to be a suitable option for the future. This article addresses the supply side issues of agriculture to meet future agricultural demands for food and by industry with the alternate Conservation Agriculture (CA) paradigm (involving no-till seeding and weeding in soils with mulch cover and in diversified cropping) that is able to raise productivity sustainably and efficiently, reduce costly inputs, regenerate degraded land, minimize soil erosion, and harness the flow of ecosystem services. CA is an ecosystems approach to farming capable of enhancing not only the economic and environmental performance of crop production and land management, but also promotes a mindset change for producing ‘more from less’, the key attitude towards sustainable production intensification. CA is spreading globally in all continents at an annual rate of some 10 million hectares of cropland. In 2013–2014, CA covered more than 157 million hectares of rainfed and irrigated cropland and it is likely that its current spread is close to some 200 million hectares. In addition, perennial cropping systems such as orchards and plantations are being transformed into CA systems in all continents. In addition to being a best option for large-scale farmers, CA offers a real pro-poor agricultural development model to support sustainable agricultural intensification for low input smallholder farmers.
References
ANA 2011. Programa Produtor de Água (Programme for Water Producers).
Basch, G., Kassam, A., Friedrich, T., Santos, F.L., Gubiani, P.I., Calegari, A., Reichert, J.M. and dos Santos, D.R. 2012. Sustainable soil water management systems. In Soil Water and Agronomic Productivity. Eds.: Lal, R. and Stewart, B.A., Advances in Soil Science, CRC Press, 229-289.
Beddington, J. 2011. The Future of Food and Farming Futures: Challenges and choices for global sustainability. London, UK, Government Office for Science.
Bonte-Friedheim, C. and Kassam, A. 1994. Challenges to the Biophysical and Human Resource Base. In The Future of the Land: Mobilizing and Integrating Knowledge for Land Use Options. Eds.: Fresco, L.O., Stroosnijder, L., Bouma, J. and van Keulen, H., Chichester, UK, John Wiley, 337-384.
Brisson, N., Gate, P., Gouache, D., Charmet, G., Oury, F.X. and Huard, F.2010.Why are wheat yields stagnating in Europe? A comprehensive data analysis for France. Field Crops Research 119. 201-212. Crossref https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2010.07.012
CCC 2011. Specified Gas Emitters Regulation Results for the 2010 Compliance Year. Climate Change Central.
Corsi, S., Friedrich, T., Kassam, A., Pisante, M. and Sà, J. de M. 2012. Soil organic carbon accumulation and greenhouse gas emission reductions from CA: a literature review. Integrative Crop Management 16. Rome, FAO.
Derpsch, R. 2003. Published with slight changes as a Special Publication by No-till on the Plains Inc., with the title "Understanding the Process of Water Infiltration". 2. (3): 1-4.
Dregne, H.E. and Chou, N.T. 1992. Global desertification dimensions and costs. In Degradation and Restoration of Arid Lands. Ed.: Dregne, H.E. Lubbock, Texas Technical University, USA, 73-92.
ECAF 2011. Making Sustainable Agriculture Real in CAP 2020: The Role of CA. Brussels, ECAF.
FAO 1978-1981. Report on the Agro-ecological Zones Project. Vol. 1. Methodology and results for Africa; Vol. 2. Results for Southwest Asia; Vol. 3. Methodology and results for South and Central America; Vol. 4. Results for Southeast Asia. World Soil Resources Report, No. 48. 1-4, Rome, FAO.
FAO 2011. Save and Grow: A policymaker's guide to the sustainable intensification of smallholder crop production. Rome, FAO.
FAO 2012. World Agriculture Towards 2030/2050: The 2012 Revision. Eds.: Alexandratos, N. and Bruinsma, J., Rome, FAO ESA Working Paper 12-30.
FAO 2014. World Cereal Production in 2016.
FAO 2016. Save and Grow in Practice: Maize, Rice and Wheat. FAO, Rome.
FAO/IIASA 1982. Potential population supporting capacities of lands in the developing world. Rome, FAO and IIASA.
FAO/IIASA 2002. Global agro-ecological assessment for agriculture in the 21st Century: methodology and results. Rome-Laxenburg, FAO-IIASA.
Farooq, M. and Siddique, K.H.M. 2015. CA. Basel, Springer International.
Freixial, R. and Carvalho, M. 2010. Aspectos prácticos fundamentales en la implantación de la agricultura de conservación/siembra directa en el sur de Portugal. In Proceedings of the European Congress on CA: Towards Agro-Environmental Climate and Energetic Sustainability. Madrid, ECAF, 361-369.
Gibbs, H.K. and Salmon, J.M. 2015. Mapping the world's degraded lands. Applied Geography 57. 12-21. Crossref https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2014.11.024
Goddard, T.M., Zoebisch, M., Gan, Y., Ellis, W., Watson, A. and Sombatpanit, S. eds. 2007. No-Till Farming Systems. Special Publication No. 3. Bangkok, World Association of Soil and Water Conservation (WASWAC).
González-Sánchez, E.J, Ordoñez-Fernández, R., Carbonell-Bojollo, R., Veroz-Gonzalez, O. and Gil-Ribes, J. 2012. Meta-analysis on atmospheric carbon capture in Spain through the use of CA. Soil and Tillage Research 122. 52-60. Crossref https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2012.03.001
Haugen-Kozyra, K. and Goddard, T.M. 2009. CA protocols for green house gas offsets in a working carbon markets. Paper presented at the IV World Congress on CA, 3-7 February 2009, New Delhi, India.
ITAIPU 2011. Cultivando Agua Boa (Growing Good Water).
Jat, R.A., Sahrawat, K.L. and Kassam, A. 2014. CA: Global Prospects and Challenges. Wallingford, UK, CABI.
Kassam, A., Basch, G., Friedrich, T., Shaxson, F., Goddard, T., Amado, T., Crabtree. B., Hongwen, L., Mello, I., Pisante, M. and Mkomwa, S. 2013. Sustainable soil management is more than what and how crops are grown. In Principles of Soil Management in Agro-ecosystems. Eds.: Lal, R. and Stewart, R.A. Advances in Soil Science, Boca Raton, CRC Press, 338-387.
Kassam, A., Friedrich, T., Derpsch, R. and Kienzle, J. 2015. Overview of the Worldwide Spread of CA. Field Actions Science Reports 8.
Kassam, A., Friedrich, T., Shaxson, T.F. and Pretty, J.N. 2009. The spread of CA: Justification, sustainability and uptake. International Journal of Agriculture Sustainability 7. (4): 292-320. Crossref https://doi.org/10.3763/ijas.2009.0477
Kassam, A., Mkomwa, S. and Friedrich, T. 2016. CA for Africa: Building Resilient Farming Systems in a Changing Climate. Wallingford, UK, CABI. https://doi.org/10.1079/9781780645681.0000
Lal, R. and Stewart, R.A. eds. 2013. Principles of Soil Management in Agro-ecosystems. Advances in Soil Science. CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/b14972
Lalani, B., Dorward, P., Holloway, G. and Wauters, E. 2016. Smallholder farmers' motivations for using CA and the roles of yield, labour and soil fertility in decision making. Agricultural Systems 146. 80-90. Crossref https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2016.04.002
Landers, J. 2007. Tropical crop-livestock system in CA: The Brazilian experience. Integrated Crop Management Vol. 5. Rome, FAO.
Laurent, F., Leturcq, G., Mello, I., Corbonnois, J. and Verdum, R. 2011. La diffusion du semis direct au Brésil, diversité des pratiques et logiques territoriales: l'exemple de la région d'Itaipu au Paraná. Confins 12. https://doi.org/10.4000/confins.7143
Li, H., Hea, J., Bharucha, Z.P., Lal, R. and Pretty, J. 2016. Improving China's food and environmental security with CA. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. Crossref https://doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2016.1170330
Lindwall, C.W. and Sonntag, B. eds. 2010. Landscape Transformed: The History of Conservation Tillage and Direct Seeding. Knowledge Impact in Society. Saskatoon, University of Saskatchewan.
MEA 2005. Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Synthesis. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Washington, DC, Island Press.
Mello, I. and van Raij, B. 2006. No-till for sustainable agriculture in Brazil. Proceedings of World Association of Soil and Water Conservation, P1. 49-57.
Montgomery, D.R. 2007. Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations. Berkeley-Los Angeles, University of California Press.
Pimentel, D., Harvey, C., Resosudarmo, P., Sinclair, K., Kurz, D., McNair, M. et al. 1995. Environmental and economic costs of soil erosion and conservation benefits. Science 267. (5201): 1117-1123. Crossref https://doi.org/10.1126/science.267.5201.1117
Pretty, J. 2002. Agri-Culture: Reconnecting People, Land and Nature. Earthscan.
Sims, B. and Kassam, A. 2015. East Anglia Branch visit to Tony Reynolds at Thurlby Grange Farm: No-till farming in the Lincolnshire fens. TAA Agriculture for Development 26. Winter, 51-52.
Soane, B.D., Ball, B.C., Arvidsson, J., Basch, G. and Roger-Estrade, F.M.J. 2012. No-till in northern, western and south-western Europe: A review of problems and opportunities for crop production and the environment. Soil and Tillage Research 118. 66-87. Crossref https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2011.10.015
Thierfelder, C., Bunderson, W.T., Jere, Z.D. and Mutenje, M. 2015. Development of CA (CA) systems in Malawi: Lessons learned from 2005 to 2014. Experimental Agriculture. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0014479715000265
Uphoff, N. 2015. The System of Rice Intensification (SRI): Responses to Frequently Asked Questiond. SRI-Rice. Ithaca, USA, Cornell University.
Copyright (c) 2017 Amir Kassam, Gottlieb Basch, Theodor Friedrich, Emilio Gonzalez, Paula Trivino
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
