Institutional and policy support for Conservation Agriculture uptake

Description

Conservation Agriculture (CA) has been adopted by farmers in at least 78 countries around the world in response to land degradation from intensive tillage and monoculture production systems. Since pioneer farmers started the CA development journey five decades ago it has been refined into a sustainable production system with improved economics and multiple social and environmental co-benefits beyond stopping the immediate land degradation concerns. This chapter reviews experiences of CA in a wide range of countries (including Canada, Kazakhstan, China, Paraguay and Argentina) in order to allow the identification of commonalities and differences. The chapter examines the subsidization of agricultural activities as a barrier to change and evolution of processes and the initial reluctance and skepticism of academia with regard to CA. The chapter considers CA as a disruptive innovation and looks ahead to the future of CA policy on a global scale.

Table of contents

1 Introduction 2 Research institutions 3 Non-government and private sector 4 Conservation Agriculture (CA) development in Canada 5 Conservation Agriculture (CA) development in Kazakhstan 6 Conservation Agriculture (CA) adoption in Europe 7 Conservation Agriculture (CA) development in China 8 Conservation Agriculture (CA) adoption in South Africa 9 Conservation Agriculture (CA) development in Paraguay 10 Conservation Agriculture (CA) development in Argentina 11 Subsidization of agricultural activities as a barrier to change and evolution of processes 12 Initial reluctance and scepticism of academia 13 Commonalities and differences in the global growth of Conservation Agriculture (CA) 14 Conservation Agriculture (CA) as a disruptive innovation 15 The future of Conservation Agriculture (CA) policy 16 Relevance of Conservation Agriculture (CA) at the global policy and governance level 17 Future trends and conclusion 18 Where to look for further information 19 References