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Limits of conservation agriculture to overcome low crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/11564/
https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-0114-x
doi:10.1038/s43016-020-0114-x
 
Title Limits of conservation agriculture to overcome low crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa
 
Creator Corbeels, M
Naudin, K
Whitbread, A M
Kühne, R
Letourmy, P
 
Subject Smallholder Farmers
Crop Yield
Sub-Saharan Africa
 
Description Conservation agriculture (CA) has become a dominant paradigm in scientific and policy thinking about the sustainable intensification
of food production in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet claims that CA leads to increasing crop yields in African smallholder
farming systems remain controversial. Through a meta-analysis of 933 observations from 16 different countries in sub-Saharan African studies, we show that average yields under CA are only slightly higher than those of conventional tillage systems (3.7% for six major crop species and 4.0% for maize). Larger yield responses for maize result from mulching and crop rotations/intercropping. When CA principles are implemented concomitantly, maize yield increases by 8.4%. The largest yield benefits from CA occur in combination with low rainfall and herbicides. We conclude that although CA may bring soil conservation benefits, it is not a technology for African smallholder farmers to overcome low crop productivity and food insecurity in the short term.
 
Publisher Nature Research
 
Date 2020-07
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/11564/1/Corbeels_etal_CA_SSA_NatureFood_2020.pdf
Corbeels, M and Naudin, K and Whitbread, A M and Kühne, R and Letourmy, P (2020) Limits of conservation agriculture to overcome low crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa. Nature Food (TSI), 1 (7). pp. 447-454. ISSN 2662-1355