Year 2016, Volume 1, Issue 1

Year : 2016
Volume : 1
Issue : 1
   
Authors : Atef HAMDY, Adel ALY, Noureddin DRIOUECH
Title : CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE BETWEEN CONCEPT AND APPLICATION
Abstract : The challenges of agricultural sustainability have become more intense in recent years with the sharp rise in the cost of food, energy and production inputs, climate change and water scarcity. The question is how to meet such challenges? How should be agriculture in the 21st century? The worldwide scientific and empirical evidences highlighted the important role could be achieved through rapid adoption and spread of conservation agriculture (CA). Experience worldwide over the past four decades has demonstrated how CA through the simultaneous application of a set of practices of minimal mechanical soil disturbance, organic soil cover and diversified cropping can lead to greater and stable yields, better use of production costs, enhanced crops, soil and ecosystem health, and improved climate change adaptability and mitigation. However, despite of the beneficial effects of the CA on the environment sustainability and in improving productivity and economics, yet the question arise: why CA is not spreading faster and why then do the majority of farmers are still using other tillage implements? This could be mainly attributed to the fact that much of the current production system science and education as well as the policy and institutional support systems for the modern tillage-based agricultural practices are not suitable to transformation towards enhance conservation agriculture. Furthermore for a greater number of countries there is lack of knowledge about CA systems and their management and absence of funded research and extension services. The needed enabling policies, and practical actions to promote the transformation of current production systems towards CA ones will be fully discussed in this paper.
For citation : Hamdy, A., Aly, A., Driouech, N. (2016). Conservation agriculture between concept and application. AGROFOR International Journal, Volume 1. Issue No. 1. pp. 202-215. DOI:10.7251/AGRENG1601202H
Keywords : conservation agriculture, soil management, environmental sustainability, Mediterranean
   
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