Maize-based conservation agriculture systems in Malawi: Long-term trends in productivity

Thierfelder, Christian; Chisui, John L.; Gama, Mphatso; Cheesman, Stephanie; Jere, Zwide D.; Bunderson, W. T.; Eash, Neal S.; Rusinamhodzi, Léonard

doi:10.1016/j.fcr.2012.11.010

Cited by 115 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The effects of striga have also been associated with declining soil fertility 85 . A study comparing CA with herbicides and conventional treatments with manual weeding only on 54 paired demonstration plots in Malawi 86 showed a drastic reduction in striga emergence under CA fields (Fig. 6).…”

Section: Pest and Disease Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, these past researches were largely conducted within experimental stations and did not take into account socio-economic constraints in real farm situations that could hinder the widespread adoption of CA. Recently, more studies reporting results from onfarm and on-station trials have been published concentrating on some of the above-mentioned challenges and constraints 28,37,68,73,86,94,96,97,99,101,102,104,[113][114][115][116] .…”

Section: Constraints To Adoption Of Ca Systems In Southern Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Conservation agriculture in Southern Africa: Advances in knowledge

Thierfelder¹,

Rusinamhodzi²,

Ngwira

et al. 2014

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

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140

112

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The increasing demand for food from limited available land, in light of declining soil fertility and future threats of climate variability and change have increased the need for more sustainable crop management systems. Conservation agriculture (CA) is based on the three principles of minimum soil disturbance, surface crop residue retention and crop rotations, and is one of the available options. In Southern Africa, CA has been intensively promoted for more than a decade to combat declining soil fertility and to stabilize crop yields. The objective of this review is to summarize recent advances in knowledge about the benefits of CA and highlight constraints to its widespread adoption within Southern Africa. Research results from Southern Africa showed that CA generally increased water infiltration, reduced soil erosion and run-off, thereby increasing available soil moisture and deeper drainage. Physical, chemical and biological soil parameters were also improved under CA in the medium to long term. CA increased crop productivity and also reduced on-farm labor, especially when direct seeding techniques and herbicides were used. As with other cropping systems, CA has constraints at both the field and farm level. Challenges to adoption in Southern Africa include the retention of sufficient crop residues, crop rotations, weed control, pest and diseases, farmer perception and economic limitations, including poorly developed markets. It was concluded that CA is not a 'one-size-fits-all' solution and often needs significant adaptation and flexibility when implementing it across farming systems. However, CA may potentially reduce future soil fertility decline, the effects of seasonal dry-spells and may have a large impact on food security and farmers' livelihoods if the challenges can be overcome.

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Section: Pest and Disease Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Constraints To Adoption Of Ca Systems In Southern Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation agriculture in Southern Africa: Advances in knowledge

Thierfelder¹,

Rusinamhodzi²,

Ngwira

et al. 2014

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

Self Cite

140

112

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This is because when one modifies the CA practices, it is expected that they will suit the environment thereby making the system more efficient. The CA system then performs better on the usual reported bio-physical benefits (Ngwira et al, 2011;Ngwira, et al, 2012;Kaczan et al, 2013;Thierfelder et al, 2013;Ngwira et al 2014a;Thierfelder et al, 2015c;Thierfelder et al, 2016). However, such anecdotal benefit need to be confirmed by controlled experiments to ascertain its attribution.…”

Section: Modification Of Ca At Adoptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…al., 2013;Thierfelder et al, 2013;Wendt et al, 2013;Lal, 2015;Cheesman et al, 2016). Some studies have informed that CA sequesters 0.2-0.7 C per hectare per year (Kaczan et al, 2013;Powlson et al, 2016), however, cereal-based CA system need to be diversified enough to be able to measure carbon sequestration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smallholder Farmer Innovation and Contexts in Maize-Based Conservation Agriculture Systems in Central Malawi

Kaluzi¹,

Thierfelder²,

Hopkins³

2017

SAR

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The increased threat of food insecurity and climate change requires more sustainable ways of agriculture intensification in African smallholder farming systems. Ample evidence confirms that maize-based conservation agriculture (CA) systems lead to increased soil health and yield enhancement yet their overall uptake remains low in Africa. An array of studies on challenges and solutions to CA systems conducted in southern Africa principally focussed on the views of scientists, often neglecting the views of CA farmers. Therefore, this study assessed farmer decision making, innovation and contexts during implementation of maize-based CA systems in communities of central Malawi. A survey involving interviews with 226 CA farmers was deployed, triangulated with key informants comprising extension workers and policy makers. The study showed that about 58% of smallholder farmers did not adapt CA practices to their circumstances because they were strictly following change agents" recommendations. The major challenge noted was competition for crop residues due to mice hunters and grazing livestock. Local by-laws initiated by the communities have started to privatise the crop residues and its grazing. However, other innovations were often not documented by extension workers, consequently neglecting more than half of the potential solutions provided by farmers. The establishments of a National Conservation Agriculture Task Force and CA guidelines are positive developments for coordination of stakeholders and harmonisation of CA messages in Malawi. However, for greater adoption, non-linear interaction and learning must be encouraged in practice by fully embracing innovative farmers and the voices of the pool of stakeholders with varying experiences.

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“…In Eastern and Southern Africa, CA has too often been promoted as a goal in itself, and too rarely as a means to an end (and when it did, it was often promoted as a means to the wrong end, such as the promotion of CA to increase yields, which inevitably takes 2-5 cropping seasons until a significant yield benefit is observed, Thierfelder and colleagues [58] except where water is a major limiting factor or where delayed planting leads to severe yield penalties). The success or failure of CA interventions should not be measured by the intensity of tillage or by the quantity of surface mulch in the target area, but by the impact of the intervention on e.g., cost of production, erosion control and water productivity.…”

Section: The Need For An Iterative Multi-scale Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where to Target Conservation Agriculture for African Smallholders? How to Overcome Challenges Associated with its Implementation? Experience from Eastern and Southern Africa

Baudron

Thierfelder²,

Nyagumbo³

et al. 2015

Environments

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Since the paper by Giller et al. (2009), the debate surrounding the suitability of conservation agriculture (CA) for African smallholders has remained polarized between proponents and opponents. The debate also gave rise to a few studies that attempted to identify the "niche" where CA would fit in the region, but the insight offered by these studies has been limited. In this paper, we first analyze the rationale of adoption where it occurred globally to define "drivers" of adoption. Our analysis suggests that CA has first and foremost been adopted under the premises of being energy-saving (time and/or power), erosion-controlling, and water-use efficient, but rarely to increase yield. We then define the niche where CA fits, based on these drivers of adoption, as systems where (1) the energy available for crop establishment is limited and/or costly (including labor and draft power); (2) delayed planting results in a significant yield decline; (3) yield is limited or co-limited by water; and/or (4) severe erosion problems threaten the short-to medium-term productivity of farmland. In Eastern and Southern Africa, this niche appears rather large and likely to expand in the near future. When implemented within this niche, CA may still be limited by "performance challenges" that do not constitute drivers or barriers to adoption, but limitations to the performance of CA. We argue that most of these performance challenges can (and should) be addressed by agronomic and socio-economic research, and provide four OPEN ACCESSEnvironments 2015, 2 339 examples where the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and its partners have been successfully alleviating four very different challenges through research and development (R&D) in Eastern and Southern Africa. Finally, we describe an iterative and multi-scale R&D approach currently used by CIMMYT in Eastern and Southern Africa to overcome challenges associated with the implementation of CA by African smallholders. This approach could also be useful for other complex combinations of technologies aiming at sustainable intensification.

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Maize-based conservation agriculture systems in Malawi: Long-term trends in productivity

Cited by 115 publications

References 36 publications

Conservation agriculture in Southern Africa: Advances in knowledge

Conservation agriculture in Southern Africa: Advances in knowledge

Smallholder Farmer Innovation and Contexts in Maize-Based Conservation Agriculture Systems in Central Malawi

Where to Target Conservation Agriculture for African Smallholders? How to Overcome Challenges Associated with its Implementation? Experience from Eastern and Southern Africa

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