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2. No-Till Farming Systems for Sustainable Agriculture in South America

Author

Calegari, Ademir, de Araujo, Augusto Guilherme, Tiecher, Tales, Bartz, Marie Luise Carolina, Lanillo, Rafael Fuentes, dos Santos, Danilo Reinheimer, Capandeguy, Facundo, Zamora, Jaime Hernandez, Jump, José Ramiro Benites, Moriya, Ken, Dabalá, Luciano, Cubilla, Luis Enrique, Cubilla, Martin Maria, Carballal, Miguel, Trujillo, Richard, Peiretti, Roberto, Derpsch, Rolf, Miguel, Santiago, Friedrich, Theodor, Dang, Yash P., editor, Dalal, Ram C., editor, and Menzies, Neal W., editor

Published
2020
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7. Overview of the Global Spread of Conservation Agriculture

Author

Friedrich, Theodor, Derpsch, Rolf, and Kassam, Amir

Subjects
contraintes, résidu de récoltes, sostenibilidad, durabilité, no-tillage, culture sans labour, sustainability, lcsh:Social Sciences, lcsh:H, crop residue, cultivo sin labranza, limitaciones, residuos de cosecha, adopción, constraints, adoption
Abstract

The global empirical evidence shows that farmer-led transformation of agricultural production systems based on Conservation Agriculture (CA) principles is already occurring and gathering momentum worldwide as a new paradigm for the 21st century. The data presented in this paper, mainly based on estimates made by farmer organizations, agro-industry, and well-informed individuals provide an overview of CA adoption and spread by country, as well as the extent of CA adoption by continent. CA systems, comprising minimum mechanical soil disturbance, organic mulch cover, and crop species diversification, in conjunction with other good practices of crop and production management, are now practiced globally on about 125 M ha in all continents and all agricultural ecologies, including in the various temperate environments. While in 1973/74 CA systems covered only 2.8 M ha worldwide, the area had grown in 1999 to 45 M ha, and by 2003 to 72 M ha. In the last 11 years CA systems have expanded at an average rate of more than 7 M ha per year showing the increased interest of farmers and national governments in this alternate production method. Adoption has been intense in North and South America as well as in Australia and New Zealand, and more recently in Asia and Africa where the awareness and adoption of CA is on the increase. The paper presents the history of adoption and analyses reasons and actual regional trends for adoption to draw conclusions about future promotion of CA. Au vu des données empiriques mondiales, la transformation des systèmes de production agricole suivant les principes de l’Agriculture de Conservation (AC), conduite par les agriculteurs eux-mêmes, est déjà engagée et s’impose peu à peu dans le monde entier comme un nouveau modèle pour le 21ème siècle. Les données de cet article, principalement fondées sur les estimations d’organisations d’agriculteurs, de représentants de l’agro-industrie et d’autres experts, donnent un aperçu par pays et par continent du niveau d’adoption et de progression de l’AC. Les pratiques de l’AC, qui englobent la perturbation mécanique minimale du sol, l’utilisation des paillis organiques et la diversification des espèces cultivées, associées à d’autres bonnes pratiques de gestion des cultures et de la production, sont aujourd’hui mises en œuvre sur près de 125 millions d’hectares sur tous les continents et dans toutes les écologies agricoles, notamment dans les divers environnements tempérés. Alors que l’AC concernait seulement 2,8 M ha dans le monde en 1973/74, elle s’est étendue à 45 M ha en 1999 et 72 M ha en 2003. Au cours des onze dernières années, elle s’est développée à un rythme moyen de plus de 7 M ha par an, illustrant l’intérêt croissant des agriculteurs et des gouvernements pour ce système de production alternatif. L’adoption de l’AC a été soutenue en Amérique du Nord et en Amérique du Sud, ainsi qu’en Australie et en Nouvelle-Zélande et, plus récemment, en Asie et en Afrique, où la sensibilisation aux principes de l’AC et leur application ne cessent d’augmenter. Cet article retrace l’historique du choix de l’agriculture de conservation et analyse les raisons et les tendances régionales actuelles de ce choix afin d’en tirer les conclusions pour son développement futur. Las pruebas empíricas a nivel mundial muestran que la transformación de los sistemas de producción agrícola guiada por los agricultores y basada en los principios de la agricultura de conservación ya se está produciendo y está cobrando impulso en todo el mundo como un nuevo paradigma para el siglo XXI. Los datos presentados en este trabajo, basados principalmente en estimaciones realizadas por organizaciones de agricultores, la agroindustria y otros entendidos en la materia, proporcionan una perspectiva general de la adopción y la propagación de la agricultura de conservación en diferentes países, así como el alcance de la adopción de este tipo de agricultura en los distintos continentes. Los sistemas de agricultura de conservación, que incluyen una perturbación mecánica mínima de la tierra, el uso de una capa de mantillo natural y la diversificación de las especies de cultivo, en combinación con otras prácticas positivas de gestión de cultivos y de la producción, se utilizan actualmente a nivel mundial en unos 125 millones de hectáreas en todos los continentes y en todas las agroecologías, incluidos los ambientes templados. Mientras en los años 1973-1974 los sistemas agrícolas de conservación ocupaban solo 2,8 millones de hectáreas en el mundo, esta extensión fue creciendo hasta alcanzar los 45 millones de hectáreas en 1999 y los 72 millones en 2003. En los últimos 11 años los sistemas de agricultura de conservación se han extendido a un ritmo medio de más de 7 millones de hectáreas por año, lo que demuestra el creciente interés de los agricultores y los gobiernos nacionales en este método de producción alternativa. La adopción de estos sistemas ha sido especialmente importante en América del Norte y del Sur, así como en Australia y Nueva Zelanda, y más recientemente en Asia y África, donde la concienciación y la adopción de la agricultura de conservación son cada vez mayores. El trabajo presenta la historia de la adopción de estos métodos y analiza los motivos y las tendencias regionales actuales para poder extraer conclusiones sobre el futuro fomento de la agricultura de conservación.

Published
2012

9. Why do medium- and large-scale farmers succeed practicing CA and small-scale farmers often do not? – experiences from Paraguay.

Author

Derpsch, Rolf, Lange, Dirk, Birbaumer, Georg, and Moriya, Ken

Subjects
FARMERS, AGRICULTURAL development, AGRICULTURAL productivity, INDUSTRIAL capacity, ORGANIC compounds
Abstract

Conservation agriculture (CA) is defined as a system comprising no or minimum mechanical soil disturbance, permanent organic soil cover, and crop species diversification [FAO. (2014). What is Conservation Agriculture? FAO CA website, consulted on 15.09.2014. Retrieved September 15, 2014, fromhttp://www.fao.org/ag/ca/1a.html]. The vast majority of medium- and large-scale farmers in Paraguay and neighbouring countries (Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay) who use tractor-based farming systems have moved from conventional agriculture and adopted CA through no-tillage technologies. Among this farmer type, very few wish to return to the old system of tillage agriculture. However, despite massive efforts to transmit the technology to small-scale farmers by development aid projects and local governments, widespread adoption of CA has not happened on farms that use animal traction or manual farming systems; in fact significant dis-adoption of CA practices by smallholders has occurred. Some of the reasons for this dynamic are analysed in this paper. The reasons for dis-adoption by small-scale farmers can be generally divided into two groups. One group has to do with the fact that, comparatively, small-scale farmers are less able to cope with the factors related to CA (e.g. degraded soils, recuperating and maintaining soil fertility and know-how) than medium- and large-scale farmers. The second group of reasons has to do with the approaches and strategies that development aid agencies and local governments have taken towards small-scale farmers, which have influenced small-scale farmers’ ability to adopt and maintain CA practices. Small-scale farmers’ main asset is the soil and the CA/no-tillage system is a knowledge-based, learning-intensive system. However, despite the technical support provided by aid agencies and local governments, small-scale farmers often lack a deeper understanding of the CA concepts and practices. This is attributable to the short- to medium-term and rather conservative transfer-of-technology approaches that have been applied by development aid agency and local government programmes over the years, without any changes and without adaptive research. The latter can be derived, for instance, from the accountability of results to donor agencies or the one-size-fits-all approach applied in order to achieve ‘numbers’. One consequence of this is that ownership by and empowerment of farmers is often absent among dis-adopters. It therefore seems more suitable to apply long term, adaptable approaches to CA with smallholders. The lessons learned in Paraguay may well serve to properly direct future development intervention efforts in this country and also serve to mend development strategies in other countries in South and Central America, Africa or Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2016
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11. Current status of adoption of no-till farming in the world and some of its main benefits.

Author

Derpsch, Rolf, Friedrich, Theodor, Kassam, Amir, and Li Hongwen

Subjects
*NO-tillage, *AGRICULTURE, *NATURE reserves, *SOILS, *CLIMATE change, *ECOSYSTEM services, *RURAL industries, *ENVIRONMENTAL quality, *ENVIRONMENTAL degradation, *AGRICULTURE & the environment, *HEALTH
Abstract

In 1999 no-tillage farming, synonymous of zero tillage farming or conservation agriculture, was adopted on about 45 million ha world wide, growing to 72 million ha in 2003 and to 111 million ha in 2009, corresponding to an growth rate of 6 million ha per annum. Fastest adoption rates have been experienced in South America where some countries are using no-tillage farming on about 70% of the total cultivated area. Opposite to countries like the USA where often fields under no-tillage farming are tilled every now and then, more than two thirds of the area under no-tillage systems in South America is permanently not tilled; in other words once adopted, the soil is never tilled again. The spread of no-tillage systems on more than 110 million ha world-wide shows the great adaptability of the systems to all kinds of climates, soils and cropping conditions. No-tillage is now being practiced from the artic circle over the tropics to about 50°latitude south, from sea level to 3,000 m altitude, from extremely rainy areas with 2,500 mm a year to extremely dry conditions with 250 mm a year. No-till farming offers a way of optimizing productivity and ecosystem services, offering a wide range of economic, environmental and social benefits to the producer and to the society. At the same time, no-till farming is enabling agriculture to respond to some of the global challenges associated with climate change, land and environmental degradation, and increasing cost of food, energy and production inputs. The wide recognition of no-till farming as a truly sustainable system should ensure the spread of the no-till technology and the associated practices of organic soil cover and crop rotation, as soon as the barriers to its adoption have been overcome, to areas where adoption is currently still low. The widespread adoption globally also shows that no-tillage farming cannot any more be considered a temporary fashion or a craze; instead largely through farmers'own effort, the system has established itself as a farming practice and a different way of thinking about sustainable agro-ecosystem management that can no longer be ignored by scientists, academics, extension workers, farmers at large as well as equipment and machine manufacturers and politicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2010
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12. 10 CRITICAL STEPS FOR NO-TILL ADOPTION.

Author

Derpsch, Rolf

Subjects
NO-tillage, AGRICULTURE, SOIL testing
Abstract

The article lists the 10 steps for adopting no-till farming which include improving knowledge of the system, testing the soil and avoiding soils with poor drainage.

Published
2012

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