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Chapter 8. Assessing the application and practice of conservation agriculture in Malawi

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Title Chapter 8. Assessing the application and practice of conservation agriculture in Malawi
 
Creator Bunderson, W. Trent
Thierfelder, Christian
Jere, Zwide D.
Museka, R.G.K.
 
Subject on-farm research
crop yield
labour saving technologies
conservation agriculture
 
Description The Conservation Agriculture (CA) system promoted by Total LandCare (TLC) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is based on 14 years of experience grounded on the principles of minimum soil disturbance, good soil cover and crop associations. The platform to promote CA in Malawi was to build a strong base of knowledge about best practices through an innovative non-linear research–extension approach. Long-term on-farm trials were conducted in multiple sites across Malawi to compare yields and labour inputs of CA with conventional ridge tillage on the same footing. Results showed the superiority of CA in terms of maize and legume yields with significant savings in labour and resilience to climate change. The results provided the basis to upscale CA although adoption was lower than expected. Key challenges included: (i) lack of exposure and training; (ii) conflicting extension messages; (iii) misconceptions about inputs and tools for CA; (iv) resistance to change unless CA is clearly seen to be a better practice; (v) fears about controlling weeds, pests and diseases under CA; and (vi) perceptions that increased termites and earthworms are harmful to soils and crops.
 
Date 2022
2023-05-08T20:09:30Z
2023-05-08T20:09:30Z
 
Type Book Chapter
 
Identifier Bunderson, W. T., Thierfelder, C. L., Jere, Z. D., & Museka, R. G. K. (2022). Assessing the application and practice of conservation agriculture in Malawi. In S. Mkomwa & A. Kassam (Eds.), Conservation agriculture in Africa: Climate smart agricultural development (pp. 151–175). CABI.
978-1-78924-574-5
https://hdl.handle.net/10568/130282
https://doi.org/10.1079/9781789245745.0008
 
Language en
 
Rights Copyrighted; all rights reserved
Limited Access
 
Format p. 151-175
 
Publisher CABI International