Abstract
Abstract The focus of this chapter is threefold: (i) to describe the conservation agriculture (CA) system used by Total LandCare (TLC) with smallholder farmers in Malawi; (ii) to compare maize and groundnut yields under CA with conventional ridge tillage (CRT) in different parts of Malawi; and (iii) to evaluate smallholder adoption of CA over time with recommended actions to address key challenges. TLC's experience over the past 10 years shows that CA has tremendous potential to increase the productivity and profitability of crops grown by smallholder farmers at lower cost with enhanced resilience to climate change due to higher and less variable yields under CA relative to CRT during years of low rainfall. The challenge going forward is to coordinate and foster a farmer-driven programme among a broad spectrum of implementers and stakeholders to scale up CA massively across different landscapes. Achieving this aim will require greater collaboration among all stakeholders, including government, donors, NGOs, projects and the private sector, to strengthen the understanding of CA and to harmonize extension messages to reduce confusion and conflict with farmers and extension staff.
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