Files
Abstract
This study is based on a panel survey interviewing 416 farmers practising conservation agriculture for at least
five cropping seasons. Farmers obtained higher yields on conservation agriculture plots than on nonconservation
agriculture ones. The mean maize yield on conservation agriculture was 1546 kg/ha compared to
970 kg/ha for non-conventional draft tillage plots across all 15 districts. However, the contribution of
conservation agriculture to total household food security requirements was limited due to small plot sizes. Labor
and land still remains a major challenge that limits the expansion of conservation agriculture area. Winter
weeding remains a challenge, with 63% of farmers practicing it. Application of residues is still limited (56% of
farmers practising it). Fertilizer application is largely dependent on access to free fertilizer. The survey results
show that the 78 % of the respondent farmers were initially selected by the NGOs and were provided with inputs
such as seed and fertilizer. The other 22% of the farmers in the sample were selected as spontaneous adopters,
who did not initially receive any NGO support to implement conservation agriculture practices. Eleven percent
of the interviewed farmers had stopped conservation agriculture practices by the 2008/09 cropping season due to
withdrawal of input support by NGOs. Research should continue to explore different recommendations for
different areas as farmers face dynamic agro-ecological and soil environments. Conservation agriculture should
not be introduced as a blanket technology for all areas, but should be flexible and adaptable to local conditions.