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

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cg.contributor.affiliationTotal LandCareen
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Maize and Wheat Improvement Centeren
cg.contributor.donorCGIAR Trust Funden
cg.contributor.initiativeDiversification in East and Southern Africa
cg.coverage.countryMalawi
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2MW
cg.coverage.regionEastern Africa
cg.creator.identifierChristian Thierfelder: 0000-0002-6306-7670en
cg.howPublishedFormally Publisheden
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1079/9781789245745.0008en
cg.isbn978-1-78924-574-5en
cg.placeUnited Kingdomen
cg.subject.actionAreaResilient Agrifood Systems
cg.subject.impactAreaClimate adaptation and mitigation
dc.contributor.authorBunderson, W. Trenten
dc.contributor.authorThierfelder, Christian L.en
dc.contributor.authorJere, Zwide D.en
dc.contributor.authorMuseka, R.G.K.en
dc.date.accessioned2023-05-08T20:09:30Zen
dc.date.available2023-05-08T20:09:30Zen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/130282
dc.titleChapter 8. Assessing the application and practice of conservation agriculture in Malawien
dcterms.abstractThe 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.en
dcterms.accessRightsLimited Access
dcterms.bibliographicCitationBunderson, 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.en
dcterms.extentp. 151-175en
dcterms.issued2022en
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseCopyrighted; all rights reserved
dcterms.publisherCAB Internationalen
dcterms.subjecton-farm researchen
dcterms.subjectcrop yielden
dcterms.subjectlabour saving technologiesen
dcterms.subjectconservation agricultureen
dcterms.typeBook Chapter

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