ABSTRACT
Conservation agriculture (CA) has been actively promoted in many countries in Africa during the last 10 years. The main principles of CA are direct planting of crop seeds, permanent soil cover, and crop rotation (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO] 2011). This chapter will not use CA in the strict meaning of the word, but rather as a common denominator to describe concepts such as conservation tillage, conservation farming, and reduced tillage. This chapter will summarize experiences on CA from Zambia, Malawi, and Ethiopia. CA is also increasingly receiving policy support in Africa and is promoted under Pillar 1 “Land and Water Management” in the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) of the African Union (CAADP 2011). CA in
10.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 223 10.2 Variations in CA Methods across Africa ......................................................224
