Conservation Agriculture for Improving Food Security and Livelihoods of Rural Smallholders In Rainfed Regions of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean

Oral Session

Special Sessions

Conservation agriculture refers to agricultural systems that minimize tillage, retain permanent soil cover, and utilize crop rotations or mixtures. With the advent of sophisticated machinery, herbicides, and genetically-modified crops, conservation agriculture has been widely adopted especially by large-scale farmers in more than 105 million ha worldwide. It is still unclear, however, if conservation agriculture practices are suited for resource-poor farmers in the developing world because of biophysical, social, economic and gender barriers. Traditional farming practices among the bottom billion typically include total soil inversion, competing use of crop residues, and cultivation of food/cash crops with exclusion of non-edible crops. In this symposium, the opening session will provide scientific and development-oriented insights of conservation agriculture as well as USAID perspectives on the topic within the context of sustainable intensification in the Feed the Future initiative. Then, keynote speakers will open sub sessions with 30-minute presentations highlighting long-term experiences and knowledge on biophysical and socio-economic aspects of conservation agriculture. This will be followed by 20-minute presentations, during which researchers will present key findings from ongoing projects on conservation agriculture that involve collaboration between U.S. universities and host-country partners in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Research results will cover farming practices, soil quality, crop yields, resilience, field- and farm-level production systems, economic impact, as well as gender-related and social network factors that contribute to the success or failure of conservation agriculture practices in disadvantaged regions of the world.

Cosponsor(s):

S06 Soil & Water Management & Conservation, S04 Soil Fertility & Plant Nutrition, Land Management & Conservation, Global Agronomy, Education & Extension, Agronomic Production Systems
Monday, October 22, 2012: 8:00 AM-4:25 PM
Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 203, Level 2
Organizers:
Adrian Ares and Michael Mulvaney
8:00 AM
Introductory Remarks
8:05 AM
Conservation Agriculture in African Rainfed Small Scale Farming Systems: The Agnostic View.
Bruno Gerard, CIMMYT; Frederic Baudron, CIMMYT; Isaiah Niagumbo, CIMMYT; Fred Kanampiu, CIMMYT; Christian Thierfelder, CIMMYT; Menale Kassie, CIMMYT; Moti Jaleta, CIMMYT
8:35 AM
Conservation Agriculture & Sustainable Intensification of African Farming Systems.
Jerry Glover, U.S. Agency for International Development
9:35 AM
Sanrem-CRSP: An International Program to Improve Food Security, Rural Livelihoods and Resource Conservation Through Conservation Agriculture.
Adrian Ares, Virginia Tech; Keith Moore, SANREM CRSP; Michael Mulvaney, Virginia Tech, SANREM CRSP
10:05 AM
Break
10:20 AM
Improving Soil Quality and Crop Productivity Through Conservation Agriculture in Mali, Western Africa.
Mamadou D. Doumbia, Institut d'Economie Rurale; M. Kone, Institut d'Economie Rurale; S. Traore, Institut d'Economie Rurale; O. Samake, Institut d'Economie Rurale; P. Sissoko, Institut d'Economie Rurale; P.V. Vara Prasad, Kansas State University; T. Dalton, Kansas State University; Jesse Naab, Savanna Agricultural Research Institue
10:50 AM
Improving Soil Quality and Crop Productivity Through Conservation Agriculture in West Africa.
P.V. Vara Prasad, Kansas State University; Jesse Naab, Savanna Agricultural Research Institue; Mamadou D. Doumbia, Institut d'Economie Rurale
11:10 AM
Developing Sustainable Conservation Agriculture for Smallholder Farmers In Southern Africa.
Neal Eash, University of Tennessee; Forbes Walker, University of Tennessee; Christian Thierfelder, CIMMYT; Makoala V. Marake, National University of Lesotho; Michael Wilcox, University of Tennessee - Knoxville; Dayton Lambert, University of Tennessee - Knoxville; August Basson, Growing Nations
11:30 AM
Social Networks and Smallholder Conservation Agriculture In East Africa.
Keith Moore, SANREM CRSP; Jennifer N. Lamb, Virginia Tech; Jay Norton, University of Wyoming; Rita Laker-Ojok, Appropriate Technology-Uganda; Julian Nyachowo, Appropriate Technology-Uganda; Dominic N. Sikuku, Manor House; Dennis S. Ashibonje, Manor House; Bernard Bashaasha, Makerere University; Eusebius Mukhwana, SACRED-Africa
11:50 AM
Lunch Break
12:50 PM
Conservation Agriculture for Smallholder Farms In Eastern Uganda and Western Kenya.
Jay Norton, University of Wyoming; Emmanuel Omondi, University of Wyoming; Urszula Norton, University of Wyoming; Dominic S. Ngosia, Sustainable Ecological Agricultural Training Extension Centre; Judith Odhiambo, University of Wyoming; Jeremiah Okeyo, University of Wyoming; John Robert Okalebo, Chepkoilel University College; Patrick S. Oluko, Chepkoilel University College
1:10 PM
Conservation Agriculture In Southeast Asia.
Stephane Boulakia, CIRAD – PERSYST; Leng Vira, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; Kou Phally, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; Florent e. Tivet, CIRAD; Hoa Tran Quoc, CIRAD – PERSYST; Pascal Lienhard, CIRAD – PERSYST; Lucien Seguy, CIRAD – PERSYST
1:40 PM
Conservation Agriculture Among Tribal Societies In India and Nepal.
Catherine Chan-Halbrendt, University of Hawaii at Manoa; Travis Idol, University of Hawaii at Manoa; Keshab Thapa, LI-BIRD; Pravat Roul, OUAT; Narendra K. Chaudhary, IAAS
2:00 PM
Conservation Agriculture for Food Security in Cambodia and the Philippines.
Manuel R. Reyes, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; Stephane Boulakia, CIRAD – PERSYST; Agustin R. Mercado, World Agroforestry Centre; Victor B. Ella, University of the Philippines Los Banos; Lyda Hok, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; Don Immanuel Edralin, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
2:20 PM
Break
2:35 PM
Gendered Knowledge of Conservation Agriculture Practices in the Philippines.
Maria Elisa Christie, Virginia Tech; Mary Harman, Virginia Tech; Helen Dayo, University of the Philippines-Los Baños, Los Baños, Philippines; Agustin R. Mercado, World Agroforestry Centre; Victor B. Ella, University of the Philippines Los Banos; Manuel R. Reyes, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
2:55 PM
Conservation Agriculture In Latin America and the Caribbean.
Ademir Calegari, Instituto Agronômico do Paraná
3:25 PM
Pathways to Conservation Agriculture In the Andes.
Jeffrey Alwang, Virginia Tech; Victor Hugo Barrera, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, Ecuador
4:05 PM
Soil Organic Matter Characterization in Bolivia and Ecuador.
Michael Mulvaney, Virginia Tech, SANREM CRSP; Michael Graham, Virginia Tech, SANREM CRSP; Kang Xia, Virginia Tech; Victor Hugo Barrera, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, Ecuador; Ruben Botello, Fundación PROINPA; Ana Karina Saavedra Rivera, Fundación PROINPA
4:25 PM
Adjourn
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