CA-CoP CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
for sustainable
production intensification
Alert No. 22 (15 June 2012)
1. The 20th Aapresid Congress will be held from 8-10 August 2012, Rosario, Argentina
For more information visit Aapersid website http://www.aapresid.org.ar/english/ where the congress site is under construction at http://www.20si.org.ar/
2.
International Conference to mark 20 years
of work on CA in China, 25-27 October 2012 at Linfen, Shanxi
2012 is the 20th year of work on Conservation
Agriculture in the People’s Republic of China. Conservation Tillage Research
Centre, Ministry of Agriculture (CTRC), China Agricultural University (CAU),
the Shanxi Agricultural Mechanization Bureau (SAMB), the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) and the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering (CSAE)
will organize an international conference from 25-27 October 2012 at Linfen,
Shanxi, China, to mark 20 years of work on CA in China. The announcement for the Conference
and Call for Papers is attached and more details can be found at: http://www.cn-ct.net/donet/english/En_index.aspx
(or http://www.cn-ct.net/)
3.
Third International Agronomy Congress on “Agriculture
Diversification, Climate Change Management and Livelihoods” at New Delhi during
November 26–30, 2012
The Indian Society of Agronomy in collaboration with Indian Council
of Agricultural Research (ICAR), National Academy of Agricultural Sciences
(NAAS), Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), American Society of
Agronomy (ASA) and Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS), New
Delhi shall be organizing the Third International Agronomy Congress on “Agriculture
Diversification, Climate Change Management and Livelihoods”, at New
Delhi during November 26–30, 2012. The first & Second circular of the
Congress are available on Indian Society of Agronomy (ISA) website: www.isa-india.in.
(Copy of the second circular is attached for ready reference). The theme of the Congress will be addressed
through 10 symposia, of which one pertains to “Best management practices with conservation
agriculture”
4. Third International Conference on Conservation Agriculture in South East Asia, Hanoi, 10-15 December 2012
CIRAD and NOMAFSI as part of the Conservation
Agriculture Network for Southeast Asia (CANSEA) and the University
of Queensland are
delighted to invite scientists, development and extension workers, policy-makers,
and graduate / post-graduate students to attend and contribute to the 3rd International Conference on Conservation Agriculture in
Southeast Asia which will be held in Hanoi, Vietnam on 10th-15th
December 2012. Conference title is: "Conservation
Agriculture and Sustainable Upland Livelihood: Innovations for, with and
by Farmers to Adapt to Local and Global Changes". Attached
is the Call for Papers, with more information is available at www.conservation-agriculture2012.org
5. The next Australian Controlled Traffic Farming Association (ACTFA) conference will be in Toowoomba, Queensland on 25 - 27 February 2013
The
program will:
· present papers from growers, scientists, machinery and technology people from around the world and showcase Australian innovations
· include field trips to grain and vegetable farms, two dinners and much discussion time
· develop proposals for future cooperation, interaction and innovation
· offer a post Conference tour in Queensland.
To express your interest and to be kept informed please
click here and complete the brief Expression of Interest
form as
soon as possible
Contact:
Sally Brown
On behalf of the CTF 2013 Organising Committee
Conference Connections
PO Box 108 Kenmore QLD 4069 Australia
Telephone +61 7 3201 2808 Fax
+61 7 3201 2809
Mobile 0407 178 200
Email sally.brown@sallybcc .com.au
www.conferenceconnections.com.au
6. Tailoring conservation agriculture technologies to West Africa semi-arid zones: Building on traditional local practices for soil restoration. By Rabah Lahmar, Babou Andre Bationo, Nomaou Dan Lamso, Yadji Guero, Pablo Tittonell. Field Crops Research 132 (2012) 158–167. doi:10.1016/j.fcr.2011.09.013
7. Adoption analysis of resource-conserving technologies in rice (Oryza sativa)–wheat (Triticum aestivum) cropping system of South Asia. By Ram Singh, Erenstein Olaf, Yashpal Singh Sahrawat, Neelam Chaudhary and M. L. Jat. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 82 (5): 405–9, May 2012
8. Soil Carbon Sequestration by Switchgrass and No-Till Maize Grown for Bioenergy. By Ronald F. Follett, Kenneth P. Vogel, Gary E. Varvel, Robert B. Mitchell, John Kimble. BioEnergy Research. DOI 10.1007/s12155-012-9198-y
9. Conservation agriculture effects on soil organic matter on a Haplic Cambisol after four years of maize–oat and maize–grazing vetch rotations in South Africa. By E. Dube, C. Chiduza, P. Muchaonyerwa. Soil & Tillage Research 123 (2012) 21–28
10. Earthworm activity and soil structural changes under conservation agriculture in central Mexico. By A. Castellanos-Navarrete, C. Rodrı´guez-Aragonés, R.G.M. de Goede, M.J. Kooistra, K.D. Sayre, L. Brussaard, M.M. Pulleman. Soil & Tillage Research 123 (2012) 61–70
11. Tillage and weed control effects on productivity of a dry seeded rice–wheat system on a Vertisol in Central India. By J.S. Mishra and V.P. Singh. Soil & Tillage Research 123 (2012) 11–20
12. The scaling up of agroecology: spreading the
hope for food sovereignty and resiliency SOCLA’s Rio+20 position paper prepared
by Miguel A Altieri, with
contributions by Clara Nicholls,
Fernando Funes and other members of SOCLA
This is a contribution to discussions at Rio+20 on issues at
the interface of hunger, agriculture, environment and social justice. May,
2012. www.agroeco.org/socla
13. Benefits of Conservation Agriculture. Farmers Weekly 61, 11 May 2012.
By Peter Hittersay
Trials conducted by the Agriculture Research
Council at its Zeekoegat experimental farm in Roodeplaat have compared
conventional farming with Conservation Agriculture, and have identified many
benefits to CA.
14. Cover Crops: Power No-Till Pays Off. By Mark Parker, No-Till Farmer,
May 2012
From conservation to higher yields to reduced fertilizer
and herbicide use, cover crops brought immediate payback for Jacob Farms.
15. What I have Learnt from No-tilling: Putting Worldly No-Till Knowledge to Work. By Bill Crabtree, No-Till Farmer, May 2012
After 20 odd years of research, consulting and
no-till enthusiasm, ‘No-Till Bill’ has purchased a farm and is taking his own
advice.
16. Conservation Agriculture Research Study 2011, Malawi. Concern Universal, January 2012
A study was jointly
commissioned by Concern Universal (CU) and the Ministry of Agriculture &
Food Security (MoAFS) to assess the appropriateness and viability of
conservation agriculture (CA) as a technological approach to increasing the
agricultural production of smallholder vulnerable households in Malawi. The aim
of the study is to inform policy and practice and stimulate discussions and critical
thinking amongst government, donors and development practitioners.
17. Approaches to the Implementation of Conservation Agriculture Among Promoters in Malawi: Baseline Study
A Study Commissioned by the National Conservation Agriculture Task Force
Secretariat at the Department of Land Resources for the Ministry of
Agriculture, Irrigation & Water Development, P. O. Box
30192, Lilongwe 3, Malawi. Facilitated by IFPRI, March 2012.
18. Two Wheel Tractor Newsletter June 2012, Produced by R. Jeff Esdaile, Ag. Consultant, Tamworth NSW Australia
19. Up-dated Conservation Agriculture Data Base in AquaStat, FAO
The CA land area data base has been updated based on
the feedback received from our regular sources of information and has been
posted in AquaStat. The latest figures can be seen at the FAO CA-Website at (http://www.fao.org/ag/ca/6c.html).
However, updating of the data base is an ongoing process, and anyone who would like to provide information on the land area under CA systems at the national level is most welcome to do anytime. Ideally, we would appreciate receiving the CA area information at the sub-national level, together with any relevant historical information on adoption, cropping pattern, farm size, agro-ecology, constraints, etc.
For the recording of area under CA, please adhere to the quantification of the CA definition on the FAO-CA website: http://www.fao.org/ag/ca/6c.html
1. Minimum Soil Disturbance: Minimum soil disturbance refers to low disturbance no-tillage and direct seeding. The disturbed area must be less than 15 cm wide or less than 25% of the cropped area (whichever is lower). There should be no periodic tillage that disturbs a greater area than the aforementioned limits. Strip tillage is allowed if the disturbed area is less than the set limits.
2. Organic soil cover: Three categories are distinguished: 30-60%, >60-90% and >90% ground cover, measured immediately after the direct seeding operation. Area with less than 30% cover is not considered as CA.
3. Crop rotation/association: Rotations/associations should involve at least 3 different crops. However, repetitive wheat or maize cropping is not an exclusion factor for the purpose of this data collection, but rotation/association is recorded where practiced.
We would further like to stress that the database counts actual land area under annual crops with CA (permanent no-till). Area under perennial crops will be recorded separately. No-till area by crop will not be recorded to avoid double recording of the same land area.
Amir Kassam
Moderator
CA-CoP
Plant Production and Protection Division
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Viale
delle Terme di Caracalla
00153 Rome
Italy
Tel: +39-06-5705-6375
URL: www.fao.org/ag/ca
Save and Grow
Sustainable Crop Production Intensification
To subscribe to the CA-CoP-L list, send an e-mail to [log in to unmask] leaving the subject line blank and placing only the one-line message: ‘SUBSCRIBE CA-CoP-L Name Surname’ in the message part without any further text such as an address, etc.
To unsubscribe from the CA-CoP-L
list, send an e-mail message to [log in to unmask] leaving the subject line blank and placing
only the one-line message: 'SIGNOFF
CA-CoP-L' in the message part without any further text such as a name,
address, etc.
To unsubscribe from the CA-Cop-L list, click the following link:
&*TICKET_URL(CA-Cop-L,SIGNOFF);