Many machines like zero till seed-cum-ferti drill, happy seeder, bed planter, ridge nd furrow planter, strip till drill etc have developped under CA. What is gap which is need to done under CA.
Actually in CA you have to follow three principle, so that you can do anything for fulfilling these criteria. Reduced tillage, crop rotation and residue retention are three factors which you have to maintain. Now use your ideas and machinery to conduct research on CA.
Dear Bir Jahangir Shriazy, For small farmers the placement of organic amendment is needed close to plantings to optimize its use but reduce the quantity needed to apply. The equipment needs to be cost effective and simple and farmers need to trained on its use. Many times the advantages of organic amendment are stymied by the cost and labor requirements. The organic amendment will help to address environmental issues and the organic amendments have utility in addressing greenhouse gas issues as they can accumulate in the soil. Simple cost effective compost pile makers and turners are also needed in the conservation agriculture agenda.
The CA involves those technologies which disturb the soil to the minimum extent and application of crop residue management, cover crops and suitable crop rotation with the aim of improving the sustainable productivity.
All those technologies which provide opportunity to minimize cost of production, saving and conversing the water and nutrients in the field and also increasing yield through crop diversification benefiting the environment etc. Developing regional climate resilient techniques and revisiting the existing one are the re-searchable issues in CA. The ultimate aim is to tackle the climate change and variability issue impacting the crop production and food security.
You are absolutely right Paul Reed Hepperly and thanks for your nice comments.
Availability , affordability accessibility of the zero till machinery are indispensable for the dissemination and adoption of Conservation Agriculture, especially in WANA region. They type and size of the machines are varying according to the soil type and farm size.
I agree with you Yahya, affordability of the CA machinery is a challenge amongst the smallholders in sub Saharan Africa. Most of them are still using rudimental tools for agricultural production. This is not effective and hence contributes to lowered productivity all the time. Other issues which may be of interest to focus on include the feasibility of introducing CA equipment in some community (e.g two wheeled tractors) and the profitability issues. Constraint analysis could also be carried out to get some answers on the issue....
Many thanks Kafula, I agree with you. As for the feasibility issue, the introduction of sophisticated machines will lead to farmer reluctance. What is needed is the locally manufactured suitable machines .
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