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DEVELOPMENT OF CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE (CA) SYSTEMS IN MALAWI: LESSONS LEARNED FROM 2005 TO 2014

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2015

CHRISTIAN THIERFELDER ,
W. TRENT BUNDERSON ,
ZWIDE D. JERE ,
MUNYARADZI MUTENJE  and
AMOS NGWIRA
CHRISTIAN THIERFELDER*
Affiliation:
CIMMYT, P.O. Box MP 163. Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe
W. TRENT BUNDERSON
Affiliation:
Total LandCare, PO Box 2440, Lilongwe, Malawi
ZWIDE D. JERE
Affiliation:
Total LandCare, PO Box 2440, Lilongwe, Malawi
MUNYARADZI MUTENJE
Affiliation:
CIMMYT, P.O. Box MP 163. Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe
AMOS NGWIRA
Affiliation:
Chitedze Research Station, P. O. Box 158, Lilongwe, Malawi
*
‡Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Summary

Conservation agriculture (CA) was introduced to farmers in Malawi to address soil degradation, declining crop productivity and the need to adapt to climate variability and change. This research from 2005 to 2014 aimed at analysing the effects of CA on longer-term productivity and profitability compared with conventional systems as practiced in two communities of Central Malawi. CA treatments outyielded conventional ridge tilled control plots in Mwansambo and Zidyana on average by between 22 and 31%, respectively. An economic analysis from 2011 to 2014 found that, on average, income was 50 and 83% greater in CA systems than in conventional systems. The crops were produced with 28 -39 less labour days ha−1 compared with the conventional practice, leading to greater net benefits. Despite the higher returns with CA, there are still challenges with residue retention, weed control, adequate rotations, management of pests and diseases as well as other socio-economic constraints. At the same time, there are opportunities to address these challenges through site-specific and adaptive research using innovation systems approaches.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 52 , Issue 4 , October 2016 , pp. 579 - 604
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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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References

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