Evolution and Adoption of Conservation Agriculture in the Middle East

Abstract

Agriculture commenced in the Fertile Crescent about 6,000 BC probably using a form of minimum tillage, no till, or zero tillage (ZT), and over the millennia, tillage in the Middle East increased and reached a peak in the mid- to late 1900s when cheap fuel and tractors became widely available. As part of an Australian-funded project developing conservation agriculture (CA) for Iraq, more than 40 adaptive research experiments investigated the suitability of elements of CA to northern Syria and Iraq during 2005–2013. These verified that ZT seeding without prior plowing produced similar or better crop growth and grain yields than the conventional tillage (CT) system requiring two or three cultivations before sowing. As was the case in Australia, the elimination of plowing enabled earlier sowing which resulted in improved water-use efficiency and significant yield increases in cereals and legumes especially in dry seasons. In addition, more accurate seed placement and metering with ZT seeders meant seed rates could be reduced. Several research and development projects in North Africa and the Middle East had demonstrated benefits with CA compared to CT, but they did not generate significant farmer adoption, mainly because of a lack of suitable ZT seeders, particularly for small poor farmers. Most imported ZT seeders used for the demonstration trials were too heavy for the size of tractors available, expensive, and complicated to use and maintain. So, the Australian project worked with several machinery workshops to manufacture a number of simple, effective, and affordable seeders in Syria, while in northern Iraq, the initial focus was on the conversion of existing conventional seeders to ZT using parts made locally. When the ZT seeders were available, it was decided to actively promote a flexible cropping package centered on ZT with early sowing and reduced seed rates, while the retention of crop stubbles and crop rotation were encouraged but not depicted as essential. Participatory extension groups were established in Iraq and Syria whereby farmers were able to borrow a local ZT seeder to test on their farm. In the vast majority of cases, farmers’ yields were as good, if not better, with the ZT and early sowing technology than nearby fields sown conventionally, and farmers benefited from significant input savings. On an average, over all three seasons, the grain yield increase with ZT compared to CT was 0.26 t/ha for barley (n = 278), 0.33 t/ha for wheat (n = 264), and 0.23 t/ha for lentil (n = 88). Since 2006/2007, the area under ZT has grown from zero to more than 30,000 ha in Syria and 10,000 ha in northern Iraq in 2012/2013. Many researchers, extensionists, and farmers are convinced that CA is a profitable and sustainable technology which can be applied to a wide range of crops in most areas of the Middle East, and that CA is one of the few methods capable of increasing the resilience of farming systems to climate change. Adoption in other Middle East countries is relatively minor, so more work is needed throughout the region and other dry areas to further raise awareness and encourage adoption of CA using the flexible approach. While ZT plus early sowing may not meet the rigid concept of CA used by some authors, it is a significant change that most small poor farmers in the Middle East can make with little risk of failure.