*CA-CoP* *CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
**for sustainable production intensification*

*Dear Subscribers,
*
*Updating CA Data base in AquaStat, FAO** ** *

*We are updating the CA land area data base displayed in AquaStat (
www.fao.org/ag/ca), and will be contacting our regular sources of
information in the next few weeks. However, anyone else who would like to
provide information on the land area under CA systems at the national level
would be most welcome. 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 please adhere to the reference 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 for seeding
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. Area under strip tillage can
be included only if the disturbed area is less than the above set limits.*

* 2. Maintenance of organic soil cover: Three categories are distinguished:
30-60%, >60-90% and >90% ground cover, measured immediately after the
direct seeding/planting operation. For this data base, area with less than
30% cover is not considered as being under CA.*

*3. Crop rotation/association: Rotation/association should involve at least
3 different crops. However, repetitive wheat or maize or rice cropping that
meets requirements 1 and 2 above 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
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
URL: www.fao.org/ag/ca* *

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