Abstract
This paper focuses on conservation agriculture (CA), defined as minimal soil disturbance (no-till) and crop residue retention (mulch) combined with crop rotations. The paper then describes the principles based on which CA runs with briefing suggested improvement on conservation tillage, where no-till, mulch and rotations significantly improve soil properties and other biotic factors. This paper also describes some cons of CA with its future strategies. A Case study from the rice-wheat areas of the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia used to describe how CA practices have been used to raise production sustainably and profitably. Benefits in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and their effect on global warming are also discussed. The paper concludes that agriculture in the next decade will have to sustainably produce more food from less land through more efficient use of natural resources and with minimal impact on the environment in order to meet growing population demands. Promoting and adopting CA management systems can help meet this goal. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v11i2.19901 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 11(2): 241-248, 2013
Highlights
Conservation agriculture (CA) is a model of sustainable agriculture as it leads to profitable crops production while protecting and even restoring natural resources
With CA problems arise in the fact that if farms do not produce as much as conventional ways, this leaves the world with less food for more people
Dendooven et al (2011) evaluated the effect of tillage practice and crop residue management on the net global warming potential (GWP) taking into account soil C sequestration, emissions of greenhouse gasses from soil, i.e. CO2, CH4 and N2O, and fuel used for farm operations and the production of fertilizer and seeds
Summary
Conservation agriculture (CA) is a model of sustainable agriculture as it leads to profitable crops production while protecting and even restoring natural resources. CA aims to achieve sustainable and profitable agriculture and subsequently aims at improved livelihoods of farmers through the application of the three CA principles: minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and crop rotations. It is a way to combine profitable agricultural production with environmental concerns and sustainability and it has been proven to work in a variety of agro-ecological zones and farming systems. It is been perceived by practitioners as a valid tool for sustainable land management (FAO, 2007)
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