Global CA-CoP CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
for sustainable agriculture and ecosystem management
Amir Kassam
Moderator
Global CA-CoP
Invitation to Conservation Agriculture webinar
Mainstreaming Conservation Agriculture (CA) is a process of aligning and providing coherent multi-stakeholder support to achieve and sustain the transformation of conventional tillage-based agriculture into the alternate CA paradigm. There is a particular challenge for farmers, especially smallholders, in many parts of the world to access no-till planting and other equipment compliant for sustainable mechanization and cropping systems Policy and institutional support and incentives from government, private and civil sectors constitute a major driving force for mainstreaming CA systems at the sub-national, national and international levels.
This sub-theme presentation will highlight the policy and institutional support systems, including commercial and financial investments and infrastructure development, for mainstreaming CA farming systems and value chains. A particular emphasis will be paid to availability and access to CA equipment and machinery as well as seeds of cover crops, particularly by smallholders. It will also consider incentives and institutional support to farmers and their communities to adopt and improve CA-based agricultural land management. It will touch upon the developmental role of CA famer organizations, research, education, service providers and investment in CA uptake and scaling, and the relevance of CA quality assurance and certification schemes. The sub-theme will elaborate upon the role of CA in climate smart agriculture to support the implementation of international conventions, treaties and agreements such as on climate change, biodiversity, land degradation as well as the UN SDGs.
Mainstreaming of CA with national policy and institutional support and for global governance to support national and international needs and commitments
Thursday 19 November 2020
15:00-16:00 hrs (Rome Time – CET)
(Please connect 10 minutes before the webinar starts to ensure the audio works properly)

Pre-pandemic Tom Goddard was a Senior Policy Advisor with the agriculture and forestry ministry in Alberta, Canada. He has also consulted internationally on soils, conservation, evaluations and policy development. His background in extension, soil science and fieldwork across a range of agriculture, industry and government environments has enabled him to translate across disciplines, industries and provide pragmatic solutions to current and strategic issues. Technically his research has focused on landscapes and scales beyond test tubes and small plots using technology, models and expert knowledge. Tom has combined his writing, foresight, technical and policy experience to help governments and industry to develop and grow Conservation Agriculture at scales.
Moderator – Prof. Gottlieb Basch (President of ECAF / University of Évora & Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, Portugal)
1. Introduction to the webinar– Dr. Fenton Beed, NSPLD Team Leader (FAO)
2. Mainstreaming of CA with national policy and institutional support and for global governance to support national and international needs and commitments- Mr. Tom Goddard, retired Senior Policy Advisor, Alberta, Canada
3. Questions and answers
4. Closing remarks – Josef Kienzle (FAO) and Gottlieb Basch (ECAF)
· 3 December 2020: Promoting CA-based knowledge and innovation systems and information sharing and communication – Dr. Rachid Mrabet, Research Director of INRA, Morocco

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