Key lessons from international experiences about conservation agriculture and considerations for its implementation in dry areas

Land scarcity and soil degradation in dry areas are increasingly recognized and being documented. Their impact on the livelihood .of people and the resilience of ecosystems is a source of growing concern. Alternative land management practices and strategies are needed to mitigate/reverse currènt negative trends. Conservation agriculture (CA) may contribute to this goal. Indeed, CA emerged historically in response to soil erosion crises and their negative economic consequences. The adaptation of CA in diverse situations, inc1uding small-scale farming, ·of rainfed and irrigated agriculture has given way to developing various CA systems spanning a wide array of practices ranging from reduced tillage (RT) to no-tillage (NT) with varying degrees and means of soil coyer. CA is perceived as a powerful tool of land management in dry areas. It allows farmers to improve their productivity and profitability especially in dry years while conserving and even improving the natural resource base and the environment. However, CA adaptation indrylands faces critical challenges linked to water scarcity and drought hazard, low biomass production and acute competition between conflicting uses inc1uding soil coyer, animal fodder, cooking/heating fuel, raw material for habitat etc. Poverty and vulnerability of many smallholders that rely more on livestock than on green production are other key factors. This paper builds on selected lessons from a wealth of international experiences with the development, fine-tuning and dissemination of CA-based systems, their known drivers, constraints and impacts, to address the potential and challenges of CA in dry areas. It suggests ways and means that may he1p in designing and shaping alternative programs, tools and strategies aimed at sustainable land management in dry areas. (Résumé d'auteur

What are the strategies and steps to build-up a dairy system in a harsh environment? The case of smallholder dairy farmers of Unaí - Brazil.

In the district of Unaí (Minas Gerais, Brazil), smallholder farmers face numerous challenges such as restricted access to land, capital and labor, weak collective organization and climatic constraints. Yet, they are eager to access local markets to sustain their livelihoods and are ready to adapt their production systems in different ways to overcome the above constraints and achieve their place in existing productive supply chains. The dairy sector offers them a unique opportunity to achieve their goals. To understand how small holder farmers in Unaí took their place themselves in the dairy sector, we interviewed 24 smallholder farmers that deliver milk for the local cooperative. Our aim was to analyze the trajectories they followed from installation up to now in order to build specialized dairy production systems. Trajectories differ in terms of the feeding strategies and sources of feed for cows in the dry periods; of the breeds used for milk production; of the sources of financial resources for investment in the production system; of the relative synchronization of milk production in dry and wet periods, among others. This variability is related to how much smallholder farmers try to provide security to their systems, and in doing so, decrease its vulnerability both to internal and external events. (Résumé d'auteur

Climate smart strategies to strengthened coffee farmers adaptive capacity to climate change. [P74]

In the last 30 years Kenya's national coffee production decreased by about 70%. In some areas like Muranga County, the decline was up to fivefold and coffee is now replaced by food crops in lower altitudes due to erratic rainfall and increased temperature. Projected mean temperature increase between 3ºC and 4ºC may result in yield losses of 8 - 22 percent by 2050 unless climate smart adaptation practices are undertaken. Adaptation depends on farmers noticing climate change has indeed affected them and perceiving the need for, and benefits from new production strategies. However, there is marked difference in the way scientists and farmers perceive climate change and how it affects agriculture. Therefore, this study aims to: 1) explore how cropping systems are changing; 2) analyse how scientists and farmers respectively perceive climate change; 3) present farm-level adaptation strategies and how climate smart strategies strengthen adaptive capacity of farmers. The study is based on interview of 120 farmers and collection of meteorological data. The data were analyzed in four directions: (1) farmers' perceptions about climate change, (2) trends for temperature and rainfall over 30 years, (3) relations between farmers' perception and climate data, (4) identification of adaptation strategies and adaptive capacity based on livelihood adaptation frameworks. The results revealed 1) 91 percent of the farmers perceived climate has changed, observing extended warmer seasons, changes in onset and cessation of rainfall which is indeed supported by meteorological data. 2) Only 54 percent of farmers are responding to the perceived changes, introducing climate smart practices such as varietal change, intercropping, irrigation and crop-livestock mixed farming. 3) Access to finance, human capacity building and information on weather are vital to strengthen farmers' adaptive capacity. We recommend further researches on future suitable places for coffee, with business as usual and climate smart practices to predict future winners and losers. (Texte intégral