Adaptation of direct-sowing mulch-based cropping systems for annual cash crop production in Cambodian rainfed uplands

The production of annual cash crops (soybean, maize, cassava) in upland rainfed agriculture has been practised for more than 60 years in Cambodia. Today it is an important dimension in the development of smallholder agriculture on the western and northern pioneer fronts. Current tillage-based cropping systems induce soil depletion, weakening the production systems. A 9-year R&D program, initiated in 2004, has implemented the DATE methodology (Diagnosis, Design, Assessment, Training and Extension) to adapt direct-sowing mulch-based cropping alternatives for the sustainable production of soybean, maize and cassava on-farm, with and for farmers. The cropping systems that have developed integrate cover crops for biomass input to allow a rapid improvement of production capacity, even when instituted on severely degraded soil, setting the technical basis for sustainable agriculture that needs limited inputs of agrochemicals and that is adapted to smallholders conditions.