CA-CoP CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE

for sustainable production intensification

Alert No. 26 (12 November 2012)

1.      6th World Congress of Conservation Agriculture to be held June 22-26, 2014, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

 

The 6th World Congress of Conservation Agriculture will be held June 22-26, 2014, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. See the flyer and learn more at www.ctic.org/WCCA 

Direct your inquiries to:

Karen A. Scanlon

Conservation Technology Information Center

3495 Kent Avenue, Suite J100

West Lafayette, IN 47906, USA

Tel: 765-494-2238

Fax: 765-463-4106

Email: [log in to unmask]

 

2.      International Conference to mark 20 years of work on CA in China, 19-21 November 2012 at Beijing

 

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 19-21 November 2012 at Beijing, 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. 

 

To express your interest and to be kept informed please click here  and complete the brief Expression of Interest form.

Contact: Sally Brown (Email sally.brown@sallybcc.com.au)

On behalf of the ACTFA 2013 Organising Committee

 www.conferenceconnections.com.au
 

6.      Conference on Conservation Agriculture for Smallholders in Asia and Africa, Bangladesh, 8-13 December 2013

 

Themes for the conference are – i) Machinery: Design and development of CA-based crop establishment and herbicide spraying machinery, implements, tools for smallholders,; ii) Weed management: Suitable weed management options (chemical, mechanical, crop rotation and biological); iii) Soil, water and agronomy; iv) Commercialization: adoption and continuous improvement of CA-based technologies; and v) Policy and institutional framework for the adoption of CA.

 

For further information and expression of interests: Richard Bell ([log in to unmask]) or Enamul Haque ([log in to unmask])

 

7.      Overview of the global spread of Conservation Agriculture. By T. Friedrich, R, Derpsch and A.Kassam. Field Actions Science reports Special Issue 6: 1-7, 2012:  reconciling Poverty Alleviation and Protection of the Environment.

 

8.      Conservation agriculture in eastern and southern provinces of Zambia: Long-term effects on soil quality and maize productivity. By Christian Thierfelder, Mulundu Mwila and Leonard Rusinamhodzi. Soil & Tillage Research 126 (2013) 246–258.

 

9.      Assessing the impact of adaptive agricultural research on accelerating

technology deployment: The case of zero tillage wheat in India. By Olaf Erenstein and Vijay Laxmi. Outlook on AGRICULTURE Vol 39, No 2, 2010, pp 121–126.

10.  To till or not to till? The diffusion of conservation agriculture in Xieng Khouang province, Lao PDR: Opportunities and constraints. By Guillaume Lestrelin, Khamla Nanthavong, Etienne Jobard, Anousith Keophoxay, Pascal,  Lienhard, Chanxay Khambanseuang and Jean-Christophe Castella. Outlook on AGRICULTURE Vol 41, No 1, 2012, pp 41–49 doi: 10.5367/oa.2012.0075

 

11.   A monitoring and evaluation report of the Conservation Agriculture project (CAP1) in ZambiaBy Jens B. Aune, Progress Nyanga and Fred H. Johnsen. Noragric Report No. 68 (October 2012)  Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Noragric, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB).

 

12.  Specific enumeration and analysis of the community structure of culturable pseudomonads in agricultural soils under no-till management in Argentina. By Betina Agaras, Luis G. Wall, Claudio Valverde. Applied Soil Ecology 61 (2012) 305– 319.

 

13.  Conservation agriculture in Central Asia—What do we know and where do we go from here? By K.M. Kienzler, J.P.A. Lamers, A. McDonald, A. Mirzabaev, N. Ibragimov, O. Egamberdiev, E. Ruzibaev and A. Akramkhanov. Field Crops Research 132 (2012) 95–105

 

14.  Weed seed bank response to tillage and residue management in semi-arid Zimbabwe. By R. Mandumbu, S.J. Twomlow, P. Jowah, N. Mashingaidze, L. Hove and C. Karavina. Archives of Phytopathology and Plant Protection iFirst article 2012, 1–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03235408.2012.722842

 

15.  A comparative analysis of conservation agriculture systems: Benefits and challenges of rotations and intercropping in Zimbabwe. By Christian Thierfelder, Stephanie Cheesman, and Leonard Rusinamhodzi. Field Crops Research 137 (2012) 237–250.

 

16.  Harnessing Ecosystem Services from Agriculture in Brazil and Canada. By T. Goddard, A.Kassam, I. Mello, H. Bartz, T. Freidrich and F. Laurent. Poster presented at the Growing the Bioeconomy: Social, Environmental and Economic Implications October 2-5, 2012, Banff, Alberta, Canada

 

17.  About the necessity of standardizing No-tillage research. By Derpsch, R., Duiker, S., Franzluebbers, A., Gall, C., Köller, K., and Reicosky, D.C., 2012. Proceedings on CD, 19th ISTRO Conference, IV SUCS Meeting. Striving for Sustainable High Productivity, 24 – 28 September , Montevideo, Uruguay

 

18.  Avoiding Future Famines: Strengthening the Ecological Foundation of Food Security through Sustainable Food Systems. A UNEP Synthesis Report. UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya.

 

19.  An Assessment of the Multi-Functionality of Agroecological  Intensification. By Jeffrey C. Milder, Kelly Garbach, Fabrice A.J. DeClerck, Laura Driscoll and Maywa Montenegro. 2012. Report prepared for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation under contract #20885 with EcoAgriculture Partners, Washington DC.

 

20.  Reducing Disaster Risks to Food Security in Southern Africa: Towards Integration and Co-operation. REOSA Policy Brief No. 4. July 2012. Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office for Southern Africa, FAO.

 

21.  Reaping the benefits of no-tillage farming. By Howard Buffet. Nature, Vol. 484, page 455,  26 APRIL 2012.

 

22.  No silver bullets for African soil problems. By Ken Giller. Nature, Vol 485, page 41, 3 M AY 2 0 1 2.

 

23.  Two Wheel Tractor Newsletter November 2012. Produced by R. Jeff Esdaile, Agricultural. Consultant, Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia.

 

24.  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

 

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

e-mail: [log in to unmask]

URL: www.fao.org/ag/ca

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