Sanrem-CRSP: An International Program to Improve Food Security, Rural Livelihoods and Resource Conservation Through Conservation Agriculture.

The Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Collaborative Research Support Program (SANREM CRSP) is sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade Bureau (USAID/EGAT) and is carried out by seven U.S. universities and 34 host-country organizations. The main goal of SANREM’s current phase is increasing smallholder food security in rainfed areas through the development of participatory conservation agriculture production systems (CAPS) adapted to the biophysical and societal conditions found in disadvantaged regions of  Bolivia, Cambodia, Ecuador, Ghana, Haiti, India, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Philippines, and Uganda.  CAPS consist of minimizing soil disturbance by tillage, maintaining a year-round soil cover, and utilizing crop rotations or mixtures. The program is structured around the activities of seven lead research projects that also collaborate with four cross-cutting research projects working across disciplines on economic and impact analysis, gendered knowledge, technology networks and soil quality and carbon sequestration. The SANREM Knowledgebase continuously compiles information and insights gained through current and previous SANREM phases. In the last year, SANREM supported 56 undergraduate and graduate students (30 women) and provided short-term training for more than 7000 people. Research results indicated trends to reduced land preparation costs (up to 30%), enhanced resilience to drought events, and increased adoption of CAPS among farmers in some of the study sites.