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

cg.contributor.affiliationTotal LandCareen_US
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Maize and Wheat Improvement Centeren_US
cg.contributor.donorCGIAR Trust Funden_US
cg.contributor.initiativeDiversification in East and Southern Africaen_US
cg.coverage.countryMalawien_US
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2MWen_US
cg.coverage.regionEastern Africaen_US
cg.creator.identifierChristian Thierfelder: 0000-0002-6306-7670en_US
cg.howPublishedFormally Publisheden_US
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1079/9781789245745.0008en_US
cg.isbn978-1-78924-574-5en_US
cg.placeUnited Kingdomen_US
cg.subject.actionAreaResilient Agrifood Systemsen_US
cg.subject.impactAreaClimate adaptation and mitigationen_US
dc.contributor.authorBunderson, W. Trenten_US
dc.contributor.authorThierfelder, Christian L.en_US
dc.contributor.authorJere, Zwide D.en_US
dc.contributor.authorMuseka, R.G.K.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2023-05-08T20:09:30Zen_US
dc.date.available2023-05-08T20:09:30Zen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/130282en_US
dc.titleChapter 8. Assessing the application and practice of conservation agriculture in Malawien_US
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_US
dcterms.accessRightsLimited Accessen_US
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_US
dcterms.extentp. 151-175en_US
dcterms.issued2022en_US
dcterms.languageenen_US
dcterms.licenseCopyrighted; all rights reserveden_US
dcterms.publisherCAB Internationalen_US
dcterms.subjecton-farm researchen_US
dcterms.subjectcrop yielden_US
dcterms.subjectlabour saving technologiesen_US
dcterms.subjectconservation agricultureen_US
dcterms.typeBook Chapteren_US

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