Conservation Agriculture: The role of Academia in its technology transfer

Today, almost all players in the different agricultural sectors know what Conservation Agriculture is about and the potential benefits CA is able to generate. Whereas in many parts of the world the adoption and regular practice of CA, whether continuous or rotational, has reached considerable levels both in terms of acreage and percentage of arable land (Derpsch and Friedrich, 2009) other regions lag far behind in the uptake of CA. This is certainly the case for Europe and Africa. Despite the scientific and empirical evidences generated in numerous studies and on-farm experiments showing that CA works over many agro-ecologies, it appears that something is missing to have this technology broadly accepted in these two continents. This contribution tries to identify the main reasons for the lack of adoption and to provide possible approaches to overcome the reluctance and even resistance to try or to continue the application of the principles of CA. It further attempts to give suggestions on the potential role of academia in the adoption of CA

Sustainable Soil Management: Its perception and the need for policy intervention

As stated in the strategic objectives of the Global Soil Partnership “healthy soils and sustainable soil management are the precondition for human well-being and economic welfare and therefore play the key role for sustainable development”. Although the functional properties of a healthy soil are well understood, in practice it is easily overlooked what is necessary to achieve and sustain healthy agricultural soils. This contribution intends: to discuss the concept of sustainable soil management in agricultural production with regard to soil health, and to highlight its importance in the achievement of both Sustainable Development Goals and the 4 per mille objectives, as well as for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). In Europe, soil and the need for its conservation and stewardship gained visibility at the beginning of this century during the discussions related to the Soil Thematic Strategy. This higher level of awareness concerning the status of Europe’s soils led to the introduction of soil conservation standards into the cross-compliance mechanism within the 1st Pillar of CAP. These standards were applied through the definition of Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAECs) which are compulsory for all farmers receiving direct payments, and in the last CAP reform in 2014, through the introduction of additional Greening Measures in Pilar 1. Despite these measures and the claim of some writers that they already contributed to significantly reducing soil erosion, the EC Joint Research Centre still reports water erosion in Europe amounting to almost one billion tonnes annually. Regarding soil conservation, soil carbon stocks or the provision of additional ecosystem services, measures called for in GAEC 4 (Minimum soil cover), in GAEC 5 (Minimum land management reflecting site specific conditions to limit soil erosion), and in GAEC 6 (Maintenance of soil organic matter level through appropriate practices, etc.), give the impression that a lot is being done to conserve Europe’s agricultural soils. Knowing, however, that it is the member states who define these standards allowing them to be tailored to national and regional contexts, it becomes clear why agricultural practices and soil management on the majority of European cropland still follow a ‘business-as-usual’ model. Further, the introduction of the ‘Greening’ obligations continue to maintain the status quo for Europe’s cropland soils as there is no added value opportunity available beyond the 5% Ecological Focus Area, accounted for by the existing landscape areas not directly used for production, and the maintenance of permanent pasture lands. In light of the above, urgent action is needed to extend these timid efforts of agricultural soil conservation to include measures that can apply directly to a much larger area under agricultural production while preserving and enhancing the production potential and capacity of the farmland. Crop production and agricultural land management based on the principles of Conservation Agriculture (no-till seeding and weeding, maintaining soil mulch cover, crop diversification) has proven to improve decisively the delivery of all soil-mediated productivity and ecosystem services, including soil carbon sequestration (4 per mille), the efficient use of natural resources and external inputs and thus improved cost efficiency and profit, while maintaining or increasing productivity. However, especially in Europe, institutional and policy support is needed to mainstream this truly agro-ecological approach of Conservation Agriculture to sustainable farming and land management

Impact of soil tillage and land use on soil organic carbon decline under Mediterranean conditions

Soils under Mediterranean climate conditions frequently have low to very low levels of soil organic matter (SOM), as a result of low biomass production under the predominantly rainfed conditions and the intensive tillage operations commonly practiced. In order to assess both short and long-term impacts of soil tillage and land use on soil organic carbon, two sets of experiments were performed. One consisted in the identification and soil analysis of 3 pairs of sites under different soil types and land use over 5 to 30 years; in the second experiment a long-term fallow area was repeatedly submitted to different types of soil tillage management (mouldboard plough + disc harrow; non-inversion tine cultivation; no-till) over 3 years. Soil texture, bulk density and SOM were analysed along the whole soil profile in the first experiment, whereas bulk density and SOM to a depth of 30 cm was measured before the first tillage operations and at the end of the observation period in the second experiment. The results clearly indicate that tillage based land use, irrespective of the type of land use, caused a considerable decline in SOM content in the tilled soil layer. Very small and inconsistent differences in SOM between paired soil profiles were observed in the lower part of the profiles. In the second experiment with three types of tillage systems, SOM content decreased with tillage intensity. Avoidance of soil disturbance is an important step towards halting SOM decline under Mediterranean climate conditions

Making Sustainable Agriculture Real in CAP 2020: The Role of Conservation Agriculture

Europe is about to redefine its Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) for the near future. The question is whether this redefinition is more a fine-tuning of the existing CAP or whether thorough changes can be expected. Looking back to the last revision of CAP the most notable change is, undoubtedly, the concern about EU and global food security. The revival of the interest in agricultural production already became evident during the Health Check as a consequence of climbing commodity prices in 2007/08. It is therefore no surprise that “rising concerns regarding both EU and global food security” is the first topic to appear in the list of justifications for the need for a CAP reform. Other challenges mentioned in this list such as sustainable management of natural resources, climate change and its mitigation, improvement of competitiveness to withstand globalization and rising price volatility, etc., while not new are considered worthwhile enough to be maintained and reappraised

Innovative Soil Management Practices (SMP) Assessment in Europe and China

The growing world population poses a major challenge to global agricultural food and feed production through the pressure to increase agricultural outputs either by increasing the land area dedicated to agriculture or by productivity increases. Whether in developed or developing regions, agricultural intensification based on conventional approaches has resulted in severe environmental impacts and innovative soil management practices are needed to halter ongoing soil degradation and promote sustainable land management capable to produce more from less. The iSQAPER project – Interactive Soil Quality Assessment in Europe and China for Agricultural Productivity and Environmental Resilience – aims to develop a Soil Quality app (SQAPP) linking soil and agricultural management practices to soil quality indicators. This easy friendly tool will provide a direct and convenient way to advise farmers and other suitable actors in this area, regarding the best management practices to be adopted in very specific and local conditions. In this particular study from iSQAPER, we aimed to identify the most promising innovative soil management practices (SMP) currently used and its geographical distribution along different pedo-climatic regions in Europe (Boreal, Atlantic, Mediterranean Temperate, Mediterranean Semi-Arid, Southern Sub-Continental and Northern Sub-Continental) and China (Middle Temperate, Warm temperate and Central Asia Tropical). We have identified 155 farms where innovative SMP’s are used, distributed along 4 study site regions located in China (Qiyang, Suining, Zhifanggou and Gongzhuling) and 10 study site regions located in Europe (The Netherlands, France, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Poland and Estonia) and covering the major pedo-climatic regions. From this identification we concluded that the most used innovative SMP’s in the study site regions in Europe are Manuring & Composting (14%), Min-till (14%), Crop rotation (12%), Leguminous crops (10%), Change of Land Use Practices (10%), Residue Maintenance (8%), notill (8%) and permanent soil cover (6%). In China, innovative SMP’s are Manuring & Composting (24%), Residue maintenance/Mulching (16%), No-till (11%), Irrigation management (9%), Change of Land Use Practices (7%), Cover crops (7%), Crop rotation (7%) and Green manure (7%). The implementation of such practices reflects the general concern of farmers regarding Erosion and Soil Organic Matter (SOM) decline problems in their soils, while other threats such as Compaction or Water Holding Capacity are still not managed correctly in these regions

Mobilizing greater crop and land potentials: Replacing the faltering engine

Prof Amir Kassam (University of Reading & UN Food & Agriculture Organisation - FAO) and Dr Gottlieb Basch (University of Evora, Portugal, and President of the European Conservation Agriculture Federation, ECAF) then presented their paper on ensuring the supply side of food production: ‘Mobilizing greater crop and land potentials: replacing the faltering engine’. They explained that the engine of the supply side of food security is the way we farm. The current engine of conventional farming method is seen to be faltering and needs to be replaced. The presentation focused on the new paradigm of Conservation Agriculture (CA) (involving no-till farming with mulch soil cover and diversified cropping) that raises productivity sustainably and efficiently, reduces inputs, regenerates degraded land, minimises soil erosion and harnesses the flow of ecosystem services. There is empirical and scientific evidence that future food supplies can be assured sustainably by shifting away from conventional agriculture towards the more sustainable paradigm of CA. They suggested that the supply side of future food security will be determined by how successful we are in facilitating the global up-scaling of this new engine of sustainable agriculture - Conservation Agriculture

Soil Quality Indicator: a new concept

During the last century, soil under agricultural practices has been intensively exploited for food and feed production. This exploitation has compromised soil natural functions and ecosystems services, including its fertility potential for agriculture. Also, soils became more vulnerable to a wide range of threats. To overcome this situation, new and better management practices are needed to prevent soil from degradation. However, to adopt the best management practices in a specific location, it is necessary to evaluate the soil quality status first. Different soil quality indicators have been suggested over the last decades in order to evaluate the soil status and are often based on the performance of soil chemical, physical and biological properties. However, the direct link between these properties and the associated soil functions or soil vulnerability to threats is most of the time difficult. This present work is part of the iSQAPER project– Interactive Soil Quality Assessment in Europe and China for Agricultural Productivity and Environmental Resilience, where new soil quality concepts are explored to provide better information regarding the most promising agricultural management practices effects on soil quality. We have developed a new conceptual soil quality indicator which determines the soil quality status, regarding its vulnerability towards different threats. First, different indicators were specifically developed for each of the eight threats considered - Erosion, SOM decline, Poor Structure, Poor water holding capacity, Compaction, N. Leaching, Soil-borne pests and diseases and Salinization. As an example for the case of Erosion, the RUSLE equation for the estimate of the soil annual loss was used. Secondly, a reference classification was established for each indicator to integrate all possible results into Good, Intermediate and Bad classification. Finally, all indicators were combined together to return a single evaluation of the soil status, using different techniques that are dependent on the soil quality indicator final use. Some of the advantages of this new concept include the evaluation of soil quality based on soil vulnerability to threats, together with the evaluation of soil properties in a context and also the possibility to link directly soil management practices that are able to ameliorate soil vulnerability towards specific threats

Mitigation of Climate Change through Conservation Agriculture in Europe

Agriculture and climate change are closely related. In this communication, the European Conservation Agriculture Federation (ECAF) presents how the European agricultural sector can respond to climate change through Conservation Agriculture (CA). It is based on the outcomes and the realization of several European (LIFE) public-funded projects based on the assessment of CA performance in Europe, and on a literature review on the topic. In terms of contribution, approximately 10% of greenhouse gases (GHGs) globally emitted come from the European Union (EU). Within the GHGs emitted in Europe, around 10% derive from agriculture. In order to reduce these emissions the 21st meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) and the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP) was held at the end of 2015 in Paris. It concluded with the adoption of a historic agreement to combat climate change and promote measures and investments for a low-carbon, resilient and sustainable future, the so-called Paris Agreement. Scientific studies, carried out in different European biogeographic regions and countries, agree that the less soil is tilled, the more carbon is sequestered and stored in it. These studies show that, during several years of Conservation Agriculture, it is possible to sequester large amounts of CO2 per hectare and year in soils, when compared to systems based on soil tillage. In relation to conventional tillage systems the implementation of CA in EU-28 countries in both annual and perennial crops could result in an annual sequestration of almost 190 millions of tons CO2 as soil organic carbon. The amount of CO2 sequestered into the soil through the application of the CA would contribute significantly to reach the targets committed in Paris Agreement by 2030. Considering accepted European emission reduction targets, carbon sequestration that could take place on farmland under Conservation Agriculture would amount to 22% of reductions committed in all diff use emission sectors by 2030, which corresponds to 10% of total annual diff use emissions. This would allow for some flexibility in the reduction of emissions in other sectors such as housing or transport

Sustainable Soil Management: Its perception and the need for policy Intervention in the European context

As stated in the strategic objectives of the Global Soil Partnership “healthy soils and sustainable soil management are the precondition for human well-being and economic welfare and therefore play the key role for sustainable development”. Although the functional properties of a healthy soil are well understood, in practice it is easily overlooked what is necessary to achieve and sustain healthy agricultural soils. This contribution intends: to discuss the concept of sustainable soil management in agricultural production with regard to soil health, and to highlight its importance in the achievement of both Sustainable Development Goals and the 4 per mille objectives, as well as for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). In Europe, soil and the need for its conservation and stewardship gained visibility at the beginning of this century during the discussions related to the Soil Thematic Strategy. This higher level of awareness concerning the status of Europe’s soils led to the introduction of soil conservation standards into the cross-compliance and recently into the greening mechanisms within the 1st Pillar of CAP. However, the business-as-usual model of tillage based agriculture continues and soil degradation through erosion, soil organic matter and soil biodiversity decline and compaction together with general yields’ stagnation continues. In light of the above, urgent action is needed to extend the timid European eff orts of agricultural soil conservation and to include measures that would cover and apply directly to a much larger area under agricultural production while preserving and enhancing the production potential and capacity of the farmland. Crop production and agricultural land management based on the principles of Conservation Agriculture (no-till seeding and weeding, maintaining soil mulch cover, crop diversification) has proven to improve decisively the delivery of all soil-mediated productivity and ecosystem services, including soil carbon sequestration (4 per mille), the efficient use of natural resources and external inputs, and thus improved cost efficiency and profit, while maintaining or increasing productivity. However, especially in Europe, institutional and policy support is needed to mainstream this truly agro-ecological approach of Conservation Agriculture to sustainable farming and land management

The Role of Sustainable Agricultural Soil Management in Enhancing Ecosystem Services

Over many centuries, agricultural soil management has led to wind and water erosion of soil and to degradation of soil physical, chemical, biological, and hydrological qualities. This is because the dominant farming paradigm is based on mechanical tillage of various types to control weeds and to soften the top soil to serve as a seedbed for crop establishment, and to loosen the compacted subsoil layer. Consequently, tillage is still considered to be normal and necessary, and mechanized tillage is considered to be a symbol of ‘modern’ agriculture. However, it is also known to be the major root cause of soil degradation, leading to loss of many of the ecosystem functions and services, including biological production. Over the last few decades, the concept of sustainable production intensification (SPI) has taken shape. SPI methods aim at supporting productive agricultural systems capable of delivering maximum yields and ecosystem services while being resource efficient and resilient. Overall, this translates into producing more from less, and sustainably, primarily with regards to soil and water, but also from other inputs such as fertilizers, plant protection products, energy, labour and capital. It also means that certain ecosystem services that are soil-mediated, such as carbon sequestration, water resource quantity and quality, water regulation, control of erosion, biological nitrogen fixation, control of certain weeds, insect pest and diseases, can be enhanced. The three interlinked principles of Conservation Agriculture: (i) minimal soil disturbance (based on no-till), (ii) permanent soil cover; and (iii) crop diversity, are increasingly being accepted as constituting the core or foundation elements that simultaneously improve the overall soil conditions necessary to enhance its ecosystem functions while allowing for increased levels of productivity with reduced inputs. This communication discusses the evidence on the role of Conservation Agriculture in sustainable soil management for enhancing ecosystem services and production intensification