Developing Sustainable Subsistence Smallholder Conservation Agriculture Production Systems in Southern Africa.

The AIDS crisis, female-, child- and elderly-headed households, and dramatic erosion rates are all factors in the decreasing productivity of Lesotho’s subsistence farming sector. Lesotho continues to produce less food each year, food that must be imported at great cost to the country. Annual maize production hovers at approximately 300 kg/ha while breakeven yields for subsistence farmers are approximately 2000 kg/ha. Our collaborative no-till research shows yields surpassing 5000 kg/ha using manual labor, local hybrids, fertilizers, and pesticides with breakeven yields at approximately 2500 kg/ha. These results indicate that Lesotho can produce more of its grain through successful adoption of low impact no-till agriculture in intensive farming systems.