Challenges and constraints of conservation agriculture adoption in smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa: A review

Abstract

Common farming practices in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) such as intensive and repeated tillage, complete crop residue removal, and biomass burning create risks of soil degradation. To reduce these risks, conservation agriculture (CA) uses minimal soil disturbance, crop residue retention, and crop rotation in order to reduce soil erosion, improve soil quality and crop production, and facilitate climate change mitigation and adaptation. Nevertheless, CA adoption in SSA is extremely low. This paper aims to review current practices, challenges, and constraints to the adoption of CA in SSA. Our analyses show that CA is practiced in only about 1.25% of the total cultivated area in SSA, despite two decades of efforts to promote CA adoption among smallholder farmers. Specific difficulties in CA adoption by smallholder farmers in SSA may be attributed to i) lack of locally adaptable CA systems, particularly those integrating the needs of livestock production; ii) lack of adequate crop residues for surface mulch; iii) inconsistent and low crop yields; iv) lack of smallholder CA equipment for direct sowing; v) limited availability, high cost, and inadequate knowledge associated with the use of appropriate fertilizer and herbicides; and vi) lack of CA knowledge and training. Other problems relate to the management of specific soil orders, e.g., CA implementation on steeply sloping land and poorly drained soils such as Vertisols. CA adoption by smallholder farmers is also obstructed by socio-economic factors due to smallholder farmers' focus on short term yield increases and their lack of access to markets, loans, and education. To facilitate wider adoption by smallholder farmers in SSA, CA approaches should be downscaled to fit the existing tillage tools and the specific agroecological and socio-economic farm settings. (c) 2024 International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation, China Water and Power Press, and China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY

Keywords

Crop residue; Soil degradation; Climate change; Crop rotation; Minimal soil disturbance

Published in

International Soil and Water Conservation Research
2024, volume: 12, number: 4, pages: 828-843
Publisher: KEAI PUBLISHING LTD

SLU Authors

• Hounkpatin, Ozias

  • Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • University of Bonn

UKÄ Subject classification

Soil Science
Environmental Sciences and Nature Conservation

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2024.03.001

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/133029