Conservation Agriculture as Practised in Kenya PDF Download

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agricultural conservation
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Author: Y.R. Saavedra González
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 118

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Book Description
Due to the successful adoption of Conservation Agriculture (CA) in the Americas, international organizations and research institutions are now promoting the CA adoption in Africa. However, local constraints have influenced the uptake of CA in most of the African countries. Moreover the empirical evidence of CA adoption in Africa has not clearly shown whether CA practices are suitable for smallholder farmers in Africa. Therefore the aim of this research was to assess Conservation Agriculture as practiced in Western Kenya, addressing its physical and socio-economic constraints by comparing 25 CA adopters and 25 farmers who were not considered as adopters. A detailed agro-economic survey was held in order to gather all the information needed. Subsequently Olympe software was used to analyse the socio-economic characteristics of all households surveyed. Likewise, the ACED Method was applied to calculate soil erosion losses in both CA and NON-CA Plots. Results show that Conservation Agriculture reduces labour requirements, increases yields, improves soil fertility and reduces soil erosion. However, the analysis of the socio-economic constraints is related to a one year period, 2011. Hence these results must be mainly considered in the context of partial CA assessment with regard to certain climate conditions (wetter or drier seasons) and household needs (i.e. lack of income might discourage CA farmers to practice CA in that specific year). Even though CA as practiced in Bungoma district is seemingly suitable for smallholder farmers the heavy dependence on the amount of capital available to purchase chemicals and the current weather conditions suggest the need for an integral assessment of CA over a longer period of time.

Author: J. K. Nyoro
Publisher: IIED
ISBN: 9781843690009
Category : Agricultural industries
Languages : en
Pages : 84

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Book Description

Author: Saidi Mkomwa
Publisher: CABI
ISBN: 1789245745
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 537

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Book Description
Tillage agriculture has led to widespread soil and ecosystem degradation globally, and more particularly in the developing regions. This is especially so in Africa where traditional agricultural practices have become unsustainable due to severe exploitation of natural resources with negative impacts on the environment and food system. In addition, agricultural land use in Africa today faces major challenges including increased costs, climate change and a need to transform to more sustainable production intensification systems. Conservation Agriculture has emerged as a major alternative sustainable climate smart agriculture approach in Africa and has spread to many African countries in the past decade as more development and research, including in sustainable mechanization, has enabled its extension and uptake. It is key to transforming Africa's agriculture and food system given its ability to restore soil health, biodiversity and productivity of millions of smallholder farms as well as larger-scale farms. This book is aimed at all agricultural stakeholders in the public, private and civil sectors in Africa engaged in supporting the transformation of conventional tillage agriculture to Conservation Agriculture. The book will be of interest to: researchers, academics, students, development stakeholders, public and private sector investors and policy makers as well as institutional libraries across the world.

Author: Alexandra Bot
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9789251046258
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 84

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Book Description
The purpose of this publication is to show how conservation agriculture can increase crop production while reducing erosion and reversing soil fertility decline, improving rural livelihoods and restoring the environment in developing countries. Soil organic matter and biological activity in the rooting zone, stimulated by continual additions of fresh organic material (crop residues and cover crops) are the basis of conservation agriculture, as described in the first chapter.

Author: Ram A. Jat
Publisher: CABI
ISBN: 1780642598
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
The book covers the spread of conservation agriculture (CA) to regions including Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Australia, Europe and emerging CA destinations in Asia and Africa. ÿTopics covered include the various components of CA, and how their individual and combined implementation influence productivity, soil health and environmental quality under diverse edaphic and climatic conditions. The book will be useful to teachers, researchers, extensionists, farmers, and students interested in environmental quality.

Author: Muhammad Farooq
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319116207
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 662

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Book Description
Conservation agriculture—consisting of four components including permanent soil cover, minimum soil disturbance, diversified crop rotations and integrated weed management—is considered the principal pathway to sustainable agriculture and the conservation of natural resources and the environment. Leading researchers in the field describe the basic principles of conservation agriculture, and synthesize recent advances and developments in conservation agriculture research. This book is a ready reference on conservation agriculture and reinforces the understanding for its utilization to develop environmentally sustainable and profitable food production systems. The book describes various elements of conservation agriculture; highlights the associated breeding and modeling efforts; analyses the experiences and challenges in conservation agriculture in different regions of the world; and proposes some pragmatic options and new areas of research in this very important area of agriculture.

Author: Amir H Kassam
Publisher: CABI
ISBN: 1780645686
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 319

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Book Description
Tillage agriculture has led to widespread soil and ecosystem degradation globally. This is especially so in Africa where traditional and modern tillage-based agricultural practices have become unsustainable due to severe disturbance and exploitation of natural resources, with negative impacts on the environment and rural livelihoods. In addition, agriculture in Africa today faces major challenges including increased costs of production and energy, the effects of climate change, and the lack of an effective paradigm for sustainable intensification, especially for small- and medium-size holdings. Africa is facing a serious challenge to food security and as a continent has not advanced towards eradicating hunger. In addition, the population is still growing much faster than on most other continents. This pressure has led to the emergence of no-till conservation agriculture as a serious alternative sustainable agriculture paradigm. In Africa, in recent years, conservation agriculture techniques and methods have spread to many countries, as greater development, education and research effort are directed towards its extension and uptake. This book is aimed at agricultural researchers and scientists, educationalists, and agricultural service providers, institutional leaders and policy makers working in the fields of sustainable agriculture and international development, and also at agroecologists, conservation scientists, and those working on ecosystem services.

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agricultural conservation
Languages : en
Pages : 78

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Book Description

Author: Ritesh Saha
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000833224
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 496

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Book Description
Conventional tillage and burning crop residues has degraded the soil resource base and intensified soil degradation with concomitant decrease in crop production capacity. The emerging issue of global warming coupled with greenhouse gases emissions has further aggravated the scenario. Conservation agriculture helps in reducing many negative effects of conventional agriculture such as soil erosion, soil organic matter decline, water loss, soil physical degradation, and fuel use. Conservation Agriculture helps improve biodiversity in the natural and agro-ecosystems. Complemented by other good agricultural practices including the use of quality seeds, integrated pest, nutrient and water management, Conservation Agriculture provides a base for sustainable intensification of the agricultural production system. Moreover, the yield levels in Conservation Agriculture systems are higher than traditional intensive tillage systems with substantially less production costs. This book provides comprehensive understanding of the subject with topics related to climate change mitigation strategies, approaches and impact of conservation agriculture on natural resource management. Print and electronic editions not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bhutan)