Adoption Of Conservation Agriculture Practices Research Articles

Poverty and resilience impacts of conservation agriculture adoption against climatic-shocks in Eastern Ethiopia

The aims of this study are to analysis adoption and impacts of conservation agriculture on poverty and resilience to drought in Eastern Ethiopia. Multi-stage sampling method was employed and four districts were randomly selected from Eastern Hararghe Zone. Using cross-sectional survey data collected in 2023 from 430 households, multinomial endogenous switching regression was applied in impact evaluation. The result shows farm experience, education, climatic-shocks experience, access to climate information, access to extension, number of oxen, farm size, labor force, livestock and distance to market are determinants of conservation agriculture (CA) adoption in terms of inter-cropping, crop rotation and crop residue retention or mulch practices in its single and combination of practices. Poverty was evaluated based on cost-of-basic-need and resilience to drought is in its index. Accordingly, the food poverty line and total consumption expenditure or total poverty line was found to be 6582.7ETB and 8620.70ETB per Adult/Equivalent per year in the study area. Results of average treatment effect on treated shows adoption is significantly reduced poverty and increased resilience to drought condition in the area. The study also shows importance role of extension service in adoption of CA practices. There is a need to encourage extension facilities and awareness to promote better adoption of CA particularly, in its combination. The combination of practices increased consumption expenditure of adopters by 73.3 percent compared to non-adopters, given its significant impact on households’ poverty and resilience to drought in moisture stress area of eastern Ethiopia. So, it is crucial to more advances farmers and experts’ information on climate shocks and conservation agricultural practices adoption. The policymakers ought to develop and encourage farmers’ asset building plan including livestock, adult education, market linkage facilities, extension and weather related information delivery service to enhance adoption of conservation agricultural practices to combat the current and future drought.

Maize crop residue cover mapping using Sentinel-2 MSI data and random forest algorithms

The return of crop residues to cultivated fields has numerous agronomic and soil quality benefits and, therefore, the areal extent of crop residue cover (CRC) could provide a rapid measure of the sustainability of agricultural production systems in a region. Recognizing the limitations of traditional CRC methods, a new method is proposed for estimating the spatial and temporal distribution of maize residue cover (MRC) in the Jilin Province, NE China. The method used random forest (RF) algorithms, 13 tillage indices and 9 textural feature indicators derived from Sentinel-2 data. The tillage indices with the best predictive performance were STI and NDTI (R2 of 0.85 and 0.84, respectively). Among the texture features, the best-fitting was Band8AMean-5*5 (R2 of 0.56 and 0.54 for the line-transect and photographic methods, respectively). Based on MSE and InNodePurity, the optimal combination of RF algorithm for the line-transect method was STI, NDTI, NDI7, NDRI5, SRNDI, NDRI6, NDRI7 and Band3Mean-3*3. Likewise, the optimal combination of RF algorithm for the photographic method was STI, NDTI, NDI7, SRNDI, NDRI6, NDRI5, NDRI9 and Band3Mean-3*3. Regional distribution of MRC in the Jilin Province, estimated using the RF prediction model, was higher in the central and southeast sections than in the northwest. That distribution was in line with the spatial heterogeneity of maize yield in the region. These findings showed that the RF algorithm can be used to map regional MRC and, therefore, represents a useful tool for monitoring regional-scale adoption of conservation agricultural practices.

Effect of adoption of conservation agriculture on household food security of smallholder maize farmers in Ghana

This cross-sectional study set out to examine the effect of conservation agriculture (CA) adoption on the food security of smallholder maize farmers in the Adansi Akrofuom District in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Using the multistage sampling technique, 400 small-scale farmers who have been introduced to CA were selected. The findings of the study show that crop rotation, row planting, fertilizer application, improved seeds and cover cropping were the CA practices often implemented by the farmers. Age of the farmer, household size, years of education, religion, access to extension, frequency of group visits, and the area under CA cultivation were significant predictors of farmers' adoption of CA practices. Implementation of CA practices has a significant effect on household level of food security. There was an agreement among the farmers that access to credit is the greatest challenge they face in using CA practices. The paper proposes that efforts towards the continuous and high adoption of CA practices must be given more attention since they can affect farmers’ household food security.

Effect of Tillage and Mulching on Growth and Yield Performance of Barley under Different Nitrogen and Irrigation Application Rates

Background: Integrated management of soil, water and nutrient resources is critical in improving animal feed production sustainably as it is highly resource demanding. Barley is considered as an excellent choice for animal feed owing to its rich nutritional composition, energy content, palatability, versatility and economic feasibility. Implementing sustainable crop management practices that improve soil health as well as enhance water and nitrogen availability is critical for improving crop productivity and ensuring improved animal feed production in these challenging environments. In arid regions with scarce water resources and less fertile soil, an interplay between water availability and nitrogen fertilization plays a significant role in enhancing barley production. Thus adoption of conservation agricultural practices coupled with optimized irrigation and fertilization regime is crucial in establishing sustainable animal feed production in the region. However, much insight is not delivered in the area of interactive effects of irrigation and fertilization with conservational agricultural practices on sustainable intensification of animal feed production in arid and semi-arid lands. The study investigated the interactive effect of tillage, mulching, irrigation and nitrogen application rates on growth and yield performance of barley under Kuwait’s environmental conditions. Methods: The study was conducted at KISR Station for Research and Innovation-KSRI (29.3156°N, 47.8403°E), Kuwait. The effect of tillage and mulching on the growth and yield performance of barley was evaluated under combinations of three different irrigation (100% ETc, 75% ETc and 50% ETc) and fertilization application rates (0 kg/ha, 50 kg/ha and 100 kg/ha). Split-split plot experimental design was employed with three replications to study the effect of different treatments on plant height, number of plants per square meter, spike length, number of spikes per square meter, biomass yield, grain weight, harvest index and residue yield. Result: Tillage, mulching, irrigation and fertilization application rates imposed a significant interaction effect on barley biomass and grain yield. Minimum tilled plots with mulching under 100% ETc irrigation and 100 kgN/ha recorded the highest biomass and residue yield. For grain yield, minimum as well as conventional tillage with mulching produced the highest value under 100% ETc irrigation and 50 kgN/ha. Highest plant height and number of spikes per square meter was noted in plots with minimum tillage and mulching under 100% ETc irrigation.

Risk aversion, impatience, and adoption of conservation agriculture practices among smallholders in Zambia

Sustainable agricultural practices such as conservation agriculture have been promoted in southern Africa for nearly three decades, but their adoption remains low. It is of policy interest to unpack behavioural drivers of adoption to understand why adoption remains lower than anticipated. This paper assesses the effects of risk aversion and impatience on the extent and intensity of the adoption of conservation agriculture using panel data collected from 646 households in 2021 and 2022 in Zambia. We find that 12% and 18% of the smallholders were impatient and risk averse, respectively. There are two main empirical findings based on panel data Probit and Tobit models. First, on the extensive margin, being impatient is correlated with a decreased likelihood of adopting combined minimum-tillage (MT) and rotation by 2.9 percentage points and being risk averse is associated with a decreased propensity of adopting combined minimum tillage (MT) and mulching by 3.2 percentage points. Being risk averse is correlated with a decreased chance of adopting basins by 2.8 percentage points. Second, on the intensive margin, impatience and risk aversion are significantly correlated with reduced adoption intensity of basins, ripping, minimum tillage (MT), and combined MT and rotation by 0.02–0.22 ha. These findings imply a need to embed risk management (e.g., through crop yield insurance) in the scaling of sustainable agricultural practices to incentivise adoption. This can help to nudge initial adoption and to protect farmers from yield penalties that are common in experimentation stages.

Design and Test of Bionic Elastic Row Cleaner with Improved Straw Cleaning Performance

No-tillage seeding is of great significance for adjusting and improving soil structure in Northeast China. The conventional no-tillage seeder faces several issues with its row cleaner, such as a low straw cleaning rate and a high working resistance. To address these problems, this paper utilizes the bionic design method and develops a bionic elastic row cleaner inspired by the motion behavior of mole excavation. The bionic structure includes bent teeth and a torsion spring for lateral throwing. The MBD–DEM coupled simulation technology is proposed as the experimental optimization method, and it analyzes the interactions between different row cleaners, straw, and soil. The results indicate that a bionic elastic row cleaner with curved teeth and a torsion spring for lateral throwing (BA-T) had a higher straw cleaning rate and total kinetic energy of straw. It also had lower working resistance. The field test results indicate that the BA-T improved the straw cleaning rate by 13.04% and reduced the working resistance by 39.24% compared to a flat row cleaner. This outcome also validates the accuracy of the simulation experiments. This study contributes to the design of new and efficient row cleaners suitable for maize straw mulching and no-tillage conditions, thereby promoting the adoption of conservation agriculture practices.

Understanding the Potential of Conservation Agriculture towards Improving Food Security and Sustainability of Natural Resources in Chongwe District of Lusaka

Conservation agriculture (CA) represents a promising solution to the challenges faced by smallholder farmers in Chongwe District. This paper outlines the potential benefits of CA, including increased crop yields, improved food production, reduced input costs, and enhanced nutritional quality and diversity of food crops. Policymakers, agricultural extension services, and development organizations need to prioritize the promotion and adoption of CA practices, providing support for training, capacity building, and access to resources for farmers. The paper also calls for targeted interventions to raise awareness about the benefits of CA, address misconceptions, and integrate CA principles into agricultural policies and programs. By prioritizing and supporting the shift towards CA, stakeholders can contribute to creating a more resilient and sustainable agricultural system that benefits farmers.

A systematic review on the impact of incentives on the adoption of conservation agriculture: new guidelines for policymakers and researchers

ABSTRACTFacing the new challenges of sustainable development in the agricultural sector requires transitioning toward sustainable systems, such as conservation agriculture (CA) practices. Despite several decades of work to diffuse CA technologies, the adoption rate remains below expectations in several countries. Different policy scenarios have been adopted to address this situation, mainly incentives. However, evidence of their effectiveness and possibilities of reinforcement are not clearly defined in the literature. The purpose of this systematic review is to examine the evidence of the impact of incentives on the adoption of conservation agriculture practices to help academics and politicians understand how to effectively spread sustainable innovations such as CA. Results show that four kinds of incentives are evaluated Agri-Environment Schemes (AES)/Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES), input subsidies, direct subsidies, and market-based incentives. The impact of PES and input subsidies was significant and positive for the diffusion of CA. However, the component of minimum tillage dissemination was not significantly affected by PES agglomeration payments or greater levels of direct subsidies, respectively. The incentives investigated are not sufficiently diversified in type, which consequently limits their usefulness. Three recommendations for the deployment of incentives were made in light of these findings.

Insights into agroecological farming practice implementation by conservation-minded farmers in North America

IntroductionThe transformation of our food system towards a more resilient agroecological framework is one of the most pressing needs faced by our global community. Understanding the use of multiple conservation practices is important in the development of research, education, and policy to accelerate their more widespread integration of into farming systems.MethodsThe aim of this study was to conduct a preliminary investigation of the trends regarding multiple practice adoption of conservation farming practices by conventional and organic farmers engaging with sustainable farming methods. Forty farmers were interviewed regarding their use of conservation practices, as well as their motivations, barriers, and future plans for new implementation and expansion of current practices.ResultsFarmers spontaneously identified cover crops and vegetation strips as the most frequently used conservation practices; however, upon more specific inquiry, we found that more than 50% of farmers used additional agroecological conservation practices including local crop varieties, intercropping, managed grazing, crop rotations, and no-till, with many farmers using multiple practices. Overall, we found no correlation of organic certification with the number of conservation practices implemented by farmers. The major motivations towards the adoption of practices included improved soil quality and profitability. Main identified barriers included financial means and risk, lack of knowledge, and access to resources. Farmers showed interest in further implementation of additional conservation practices, including expanded use of cover crops, tree plantings, and no-till practices.DiscussionFurther understanding complementarities, as well as differences in barriers and motivations, can contribute to the design of effective education strategies and financial incentives to promote the simultaneous implementation of agroecological conservation practices.

Effect of Conventional and Conservation Agriculture Practices on Dissipation of Metribuzin and Clodinafop-Propargyl, Soil Enzymatic and Microbial Activities in Wheat in a Rice-Wheat System

ABSTRACT Soil enzymes and microbial activity are an indicator of soil quality for assessing the sustainability of agricultural ecosystems. The present study determined the persistence of metribuzin and clodinafop-propargyl and response of soil quality indicators to (1) conservation agriculture (continuous zero tillage and surface residue retention) and conventional agriculture (continuous tillage and removal/incorporation of residues) practices and (2) weed management practices in a wheat field under rice-wheat system. The shift from conventional to conservation agriculture practices increased the dissipation of metribuzin and clodinafop propargyl and significantly enhanced soil dehydrogenase (DHA) and urease activity. The residues of metribuzin and clodinafop in grain and straw samples from all treatment were below maximum residue limits (<0.01 µg g−1). Post-emergence application of clodinafop-propargyl plus metribuzin caused significant inhibition in DHA and urease activity at 7 days after treatment (DAT) compared to unsprayed control. However, from 31 DAT till crop harvest (115 DAT), herbicide treated plots had higher enzymatic activity than unsprayed plots. Intervention of one hoeing following herbicide application had greater stimulation in enzyme activity than sole herbicide. Conservation agriculture practices had higher colony development (CD) and ecophysiological (EP) indices than conventional agriculture practices for heterotrophic bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes. All tillage, residue and weed management practices had non-significant effect on alkaline phosphatase activity and phosphate solubilizers, in soil. Adoption of conservation agriculture practices along with integrated weed management seems to be the best way of sustaining the soil biological parameters and cycling of various important soil nutrients which may potentially alter vital soil processes resulting in increased agricultural sustainability.

Soil aggregates associated carbon and enzyme activities under long-term nitrogen and rice straw incorporation in Rice-Wheat system

ABSTRACT Intensive tillage and burning or removal of crop residues have led to a decline in soil organic carbon (SOC) content, posing a significant threat to soil quality and global food production. To mitigate this, adoption of conservation-agriculture practices, including residue retention/incorporation, is necessary to promote soil structural stability, increase SOC content, and enzyme activities, and restore carbon (C) sustainability in the rice-wheat system (RWS). Therefore, the long-term effects (10 years) of rice straw incorporation (RS) (0, 5, 7.5, and 10 Mg ha−1) and nitrogen (N) levels (0, 90, 120, and 150 kg N ha−1) in wheat on soil aggregate associated C pools and enzyme activities were studied. The results revealed that RS incorporation levels of RS7.5 and RS10 had 15.1% and 15.5% higher water-stable aggregates. Within the aggregate fractions, enzyme activities and C pools were significantly higher in the macro-aggregates fraction (Ma-A >0.25 mm) and least in micro-aggregates (Mi-A <0.25 mm). Under Ma-A fraction, treatments RS10 and N150 had higher enzyme activity compared to RS0 and N0. Under Ma-A, very labile C, labile C, less labile C, and recalcitrant C were increased by 34%, 25%, 33%, and 48% in RS10 over RS0 and by 20%, 28%, 23%, and 15% in N150 over the N0 level, respectively. Thus, the study concluded that the addition of crop residues (7.5 and 10 Mg ha−1) along with the N level of 150 kg ha−1 is a suitable management practice to promote soil structural stability and enzyme activities encouraging long-term SOC sustainability in the RWS.

Analysis of adoption of conservation agriculture practices in southern Africa: mixed-methods approach

In southern Africa, conservation agriculture (CA) has been promoted to address low agricultural productivity, food insecurity, and land degradation. However, despite significant experimental evidence on the agronomic and economic benefits of CA and large scale investments by the donor community and national governments, adoption rates among smallholders remain below expectation. The main objective of this research project was thus to investigate why previous efforts and investments to scale CA technologies and practices in southern Africa have not led to widespread adoption. The paper applies a multivariate probit model and other methods to survey data from 4,373 households and 278 focus groups to identify the drivers and barriers of CA adoption in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The results show that declining soil fertility is a major constraint to maize production in Zambia and Malawi, and drought/heat is more pronounced in Zimbabwe. We also find gaps between (a) awareness and adoption, (b) training and adoption, and (c) demonstration and adoption rates of CA practices in all three countries. The gaps are much bigger between awareness and adoption and much smaller between hosting demonstration and adoption, suggesting that much of the awareness of CA practices has not translated to greater adoption. Training and demonstrations are better conduits to enhance adoption than mere awareness creation. Therefore, demonstrating the applications and benefits of CA practices is critical for promoting CA practices in all countries. Besides, greater adoption of CA practices requires enhancing farmers’ access to inputs, addressing drudgery associated with CA implementation, enhancing farmers’ technical know-how, and enacting and enforcing community bylaws regarding livestock grazing and wildfires. The paper concludes by discussing the implications for policy and investments in CA promotion.

Pathways from information to the adoption of conservation agriculture practices in Malawi and Tanzania

Abstract To reduce agriculture's carbon, land and water footprint, the diffusion of conservation farming methods is one commonly cited proposition. Yet the process of translating available information on new conservation farming methods into farmers' practices is often a black box in many studies. This understanding is critical to inform strategies for scaling these complex, knowledge-intensive, but necessary practices for improving agriculture's resource and climate balance sheet. By implementing a series of mediation analysis using data from 700 households in Malawi and 930 households in Tanzania, this study examines how an improved understanding of conservation agriculture (CA) principles is an important mediator in the pathway from extension contact to the adoption of two of the CA practices examined. For the adoption of conservation tillage, the share of the mediated treatment effect was in the 31.5–34.4% range, while it was 31.6–46.9% for the adoption of soil cover (mulching). Our results suggest that unless learning from external sources strongly correlates with improved farmers' technical understanding of new farming practices, private learning by doing must be a critical adjunct to other avenues of learning. Beyond the basic promotional goals, improving farmers' technical know-how needs to be the centerpiece of holistic efforts in support of conservation farming and similar knowledge-intensive practices necessary for agriculture's sustinability goals.

Nitrogen Pollution Originating from Wastewater and Agriculture: Advances in Treatment and Management

Nitrogen pollution in the environment has become a global concern. Being multidimensional and complex, nitrogen pollution requires a comprehensive package of efforts for its effective management. This article reviews the existing technologies for the treatment and management of nitrogen pollution, water soluble or gaseous, originating from wastewater and agriculture. In the wastewater section, technologies for the wastewater treatment as well as the recovery of nitrogen are reviewed, including physico-chemical and biological techniques. Hybrid treatments could combine the strengths of these strategies to enhance nitrogen removal in wastewater. Moreover, the use of solid wastes to develop efficient adsorbents for nitrogen recovery from wastewater and their subsequent valorization in agricultural soils can be highly rewarding. The agriculture-associated nitrogen pollution can be addressed by the effective management of nitrogenous fertilizers, soils, and crops and the adoption of conservation agriculture practices. It is crucial to improve nitrogen use efficiency in crop production to tackle the challenges of climate change, food security, and environmental degradation. The breeding of crop genotypes possessing an improved nitrogen efficiency and engineering the legume symbiosis can be quite helpful for this. Future research directions have been recognized to foster the research into sustainable management of nitrogen. Collaborative efforts and a comprehensive understanding of existing knowledge of these techniques are required to upscale these techniques for field-scale applications. By presenting a detailed overview of strategies for nitrogen treatment and management in wastewater and agriculture, this article intends to enable a better understanding on this theme.

Factors influencing the adoption of conservation agriculture by smallholder farmers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

AbstractThe various efforts done to promote conservation agriculture (CA) in the Sub-Saharan Africa and the Republic of South Africa have diminished over time. This study was carried out to determine the factors that influenced the adoption of CA in the Okhahlamba Local Municipality of Uthukela District Municipality in Kwa-Zulu Natal Province of South Africa. It used a dataset collected through a structured questionnaire from 273 smallholder farmers. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select the households, whereas descriptive statistics (such as frequency count and percentages) and logistic regression analysis were used to determine the factors that influenced the adoption of CA. The results revealed that the respondents’ age, access to credit, visits by extension agents, and training showed a significant influence on the adoption of CA practices by farmers. The results emphasized the important role of extension agents and of more female farmers in the promotion of CA practices. The study recommended intentional and direct effort by all stakeholders in promoting and encouraging farmers’ participation at all age levels, and to make the CA programmes flexible to accommodate the illiterate farming households. The study further recommended additional extension agents to adequately guide and train farmers on CA through all-inclusive extension services.

Farmers’ perspectives as determinants for adoption of conservation agriculture practices in Indo-Gangetic Plains of India

Understanding the farmer's perspective has traditionally been critical to influencing the adoption and out-scaling of CA-based climate-resilient practices. The objective of this study was to investigate the biophysical, socio-economic, and technical constraints in the adoption of CA by farmers in the Western- and Eastern-IGP, i.e., Karnal, Haryana, and Samastipur, Bihar, respectively. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was administered to 50 households practicing CA in Western- and Eastern-IGP. Smallholder farmers (<2 ha of landholding) in Karnal are 10% and Samastipur 66%. About 46% and 8% of households test soil periodically in Karnal and Samastipur, respectively. Results of PCA suggest economic profitability and soil health as core components from the farmer's motivational perspective in Karnal and Samastipur, respectively. Promotion and scaling up of CA technologies should be targeted per site-specific requirements, emphasizing biophysical resource availability, socio-economic constraints, and future impacts of such technology.

Conservation Agricultural Practices Impact on Soil Organic Carbon, Soil Aggregation and Greenhouse Gas Emission in a Vertisol

Conservation agriculture (CA), comprising of minimum soil disturbance and crop residue retention (&gt;30%), with a diversified cropping system, has become increasingly popular around the world. It is recognized as a sustainable practice to improve soil health by augmenting key soil properties. However, scanty information exists about the effect of CA practices on soil organic carbon (SOC), aggregation and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in a vertisol. Thus, this study investigated the effect of CA practices on SOC, soil aggregation and GHG emission under soybean-wheat and maize-chickpea cropping systems in a vertisol in Central India. Treatment consisted of three different tillage practices, being conventional tillage (CT), reduced tillage (RT), and no tillage (NT) under four cropping systems viz., Soybean–Wheat, Soybean + Pigeon pea (2:1), Maize–Chickpea and Maize + Pigeon pea (1:1). Regardless of cropping system, the soil under NT and RT exhibited better aggregation (20.77 to 25.97% increase), and SOC (12.9 to 19.4% increase) compared to the CT practice in surface layers. The aggregate-associated C concentration increased with aggregate size, and it was highest with large macroaggregates and lowest with silt and clay fractions across different tillage and cropping systems. Higher SOC stock was recorded under NT (4.22 ± 0.133 Mg C/ha) compared to RT (3.84 ± 0.123 Mg C/ha) and CT (3.65 ± 0.04 Mg C/ha) practices at 0 to 5 cm depth. Thus, the adoption of CA practices reduced CO2 emissions, while also contributing to increases in SOC as well as improvement in soil structure.

An Analysis on Constraints Perceived by the Farmers in Adoption of Conservation Agriculture Practices in Selected Districts of Tamil Nadu

The study was conducted to find out the constraints perceived by the farmers in adoption of conservation agriculture practices. Ex post facto research design was used for this study. The study was conducted in 12 blocks of Cuddalore, Viluppuram and Tiruvarur districts respectively. The constraints part of the interview schedule had open ended questions which were administered to 233 respondents to collect constraints related to adoption of conservation agriculture practices as perceived by the farmers. It has been found from the study that lack of awareness on conservation agriculture principles, non-availability of labours, lack of local manufacturers of conservation agriculture machineries, strong belief in ploughing, insufficient training programme were the major knowledge, agronomical, technology, socio-economic and institutional constraints respectively. Also, suitable suggestions and strategies such as capacity building of farmers as well as extension agents on conservation agriculture, promoting local manufacturers to develop technologies which may suit the local conditions, promote minimum tillage concept instead of intensive ploughing and organizing pre-season training programmes on conservation agriculture practices were discussed to overcome the constraints perceived by the farmers.

Conservation Agriculture (C.A): Areas of Improvement in the Adoption of C.A Practices in Eastern Kenya

Conservation agriculture (CA) is defined as a practice that aims to conserve, improve and make more efficient use of natural resources through integrated management of available soil, water and biological resources combined with external inputs. It contributes to environmental conservation as well as to enhanced and sustained agricultural production. It can also be referred to as resource efficient or resource effective agriculture. Majority of Kenyan farmers lack awareness of the benefits of CA thus influencing their commitment to this relatively new practice. Of particular concern is the fact that CA has been marketed in Kenya for over a decade and ground tilling methods in most parts of the country have not yet evolved to CA standards. Uptake of CA technologies is highest amongst wealthier farmers and commercially oriented producers. This is because of stronger risk aversion on the part of the small holder farmer. The number of crops at a given time on a farm was between 4-6 percent for 47% of respondents and 7-10 for 33% of respondents. Only 12.1% of respondents recorded crop diversification of 1-3 comprising planned biodiversity on farm. The role of Conservation agriculture in promoting soil health is tested. 82.3% of respondents credited the reduced erosion on their farms to conservation agriculture. This combined with other benefits of Conservation Agriculture has motivated farmers to integrate conservation agriculture to the management of their farms. Out of the 24 indicators selected for this study, 10 indicators scored best performances. The study was done in Eastern Part of Kenya that fall between 50 to 100% arid and semi-arid areas (ASAL) categories. The counties in the study included Kitui, Machakos, Tharaka Nithi and Makueni counties which are home to 14 million residents [1]. The objective of this research was to assess Conservation Agriculture (C.A): areas of improvement in the adoption of C.A practices in eastern Kenya. In conclusion, 14 out of 24 indicators show good to best performance while six indicators show moderate performance. There are areas that need urgent attention to improve the sustainability of CA agro-ecosystems. An overall score of 3 (indicating moderate performance) was awarded to the agro-ecosystems under CA. The Social dimension and the diversity property of the ecosystem scored the highest performance. The least performance was recorded in the Environmental dimension and the functional properties of the agro-ecosystem. It was therefore recommended that the government through the ministry of agriculture should investing in promoting improvement in the adoption of Conservation Agriculture practices especially in arid areas such as that of eastern Kenya.

Soil organic carbon stock in arid and semi-arid steppe rangelands of North Africa

The assessment of soil organic carbon stock (SOCS) in degraded and rehabilitated soils in steppelands and rangelands of North Africa is crucial for the adoption of adequate management strategies that respond to sustainable development. This study aimed to estimate the SOCS in the surface layer of soils rehabilitated by prickly pear plantations (PPP) and analyze the effects of edaphic factors controlling the variation of SOCS in old PPP (OPPP), young PPP (YPPP) and control plots (unplanted plots). Under arid and semi-arid climates, three steppe sites were sampled in which three plots with OPPP (age = 10–20 years), YPPP (age < 5 years) and controls plots were considered. In each plot, five quadrats were delimited and within each quadrat, two pedological profiles were dug to collect soil samples. The determined parameters were soil organic carbon (SOC), bulk density (BD), pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and total calcium carbonate. The averages of SOCS varied between 14.51 ± 11.03 t/ha (min–max: 0.09–35.88 t/ha) under arid climate and 17.32 ± 9.05 t/ha (range: 0.26–41.84 t/ha) under semi-arid climate. The variations of SOCS were significant (P = 0.002) between the type of steppe managements but not significant (P > 0.05) among climate zones. Generally, the control plots and OPPP stored more carbon (14–19 t/ha) than steppes with YPPP (11–14 t/ha). SOCS varied significantly with changes in soil depths, it reached 27 t/ha at 15 cm and dropped to 10–18 t/ha at 20 cm. Regardless of the type of climate and rangeland management, SOCS evolved with BD and soil organic matter. This study estimated for the first time the SOCS in soils of degraded steppe rangelands in North Africa. Even if the SOCS remains low degraded steppes rangelands, it is necessary to avoid the loss of SOC in these ecosystems. The adoption of conservation agricultural practices, e.g. organic matter addition and reduced tillage techniques can increase SOC levels in these ecosystems.