Rationale for conservation agriculture under irrigated production in Central Asia : lessons learned
Material type:
TextLanguage: English Publication details: New Delhi (India) : 4th World Congress on Conservation Agriculture, 2009.Subject(s):
In:
World Congress on Conservation Agriculture; 4: Innovations for improving efficiency, equity and environment p. 146-155Summary: The irrigated lowlands of Central Asia have been cultivated for at least 5000 years. The large-scale mechanization, introduced during the recent Soviet-time era, provoked slowly but clearly reduced soil fertility. To revert this trend, crop management technologies that conserve natural resources are imperative. Conservation agriculture (CA) technologies, which are practiced worldwide on 95 million hectares, have been proven suitable for a wide variety of agro-ecological situations, yet mostly in rainfed areas. There various arguments to introduce CA practices also in the irrigated lowlands in Central Asia. Following a review of the current status for CA in the irrigated areas of Central Asia it is argued here that the prospects and need for CA in this region are enormous. Yet, the introduction and spread of CA practices needs to be shouldered by an awareness creation of all stakeholders including farmers, researchers, extensionists and policy makers. This necessitates in some countries legal, administrative and economic reforms. Also intensive training and education of farmers needs to be scheduled aside from the planning to ensure that the necessary agricultural equipment such as seeders and planters become available and accessible. There is also a demand for further research efforts particularly on the development of implements as well as on assessing the financial benefits from investments in CA practices. But introducing CA could alleviate the present pressure on existing land and water resources in Central Asia and reduce soil salinity which in turn could increase household income for the rural poor.
| Item type | Current library | Collection | Call number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference paper | CIMMYT Knowledge Center: John Woolston Library | CIMMYT Staff Publications Collection | CIS-5472 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 637886 |
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The irrigated lowlands of Central Asia have been cultivated for at least 5000 years. The large-scale mechanization, introduced during the recent Soviet-time era, provoked slowly but clearly reduced soil fertility. To revert this trend, crop management technologies that conserve natural resources are imperative. Conservation agriculture (CA) technologies, which are practiced worldwide on 95 million hectares, have been proven suitable for a wide variety of agro-ecological situations, yet mostly in rainfed areas. There various arguments to introduce CA practices also in the irrigated lowlands in Central Asia. Following a review of the current status for CA in the irrigated areas of Central Asia it is argued here that the prospects and need for CA in this region are enormous. Yet, the introduction and spread of CA practices needs to be shouldered by an awareness creation of all stakeholders including farmers, researchers, extensionists and policy makers. This necessitates in some countries legal, administrative and economic reforms. Also intensive training and education of farmers needs to be scheduled aside from the planning to ensure that the necessary agricultural equipment such as seeders and planters become available and accessible. There is also a demand for further research efforts particularly on the development of implements as well as on assessing the financial benefits from investments in CA practices. But introducing CA could alleviate the present pressure on existing land and water resources in Central Asia and reduce soil salinity which in turn could increase household income for the rural poor.
Borlaug Institute for South Asia|Conservation Agriculture Program
Text in English
0903|Berta
CGUR01|CSAY01
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