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Conservation Agriculture
Across the worls in 2015/16, Conservation Agriculture was spread across the global covering 180 million hectares of annual cropland, of which some 50% was located in the Global South. In fcat more than 80 countries are now reporting the adoption and spread of Conservation Agriculture. Since 2008/09, the cropland area of Conservation Agriculture globally has been increasing at an annual rate of 10.5 million hectares. Current estimate suggests that the area of Conservation Agriculture cropland is more than 200 million hectares (more that 14% of the global annual cropland area). There is also significant area of Conservation Agriculture under perennial systems involving orchards, plantations and cropping with trees. And there are also sustainable pasture and rangeland systems that follow the principles of Conservation Agriculture, and this in recent years is being labeled or should I say relabeled as being Regenerative Agriculture. I thought you and your group may be interested in knowing this. Conservation Agriculture has already been adopted by many millions of smallholders in all continents and more smallholder farmers in Africa and Asia are adopting this alternate paradigm where knowledge and participatory extension support is available. Amir KassamConservation Agriculture
World
"Few farmers are interested in the Federal Emissions Reduction Fund, there are a significant number of farmers interested in sequestering soil carbon in the belief that they are benefiting through improved ecological health and farm productivity. But government soil carbon policy is not persuading these farmers to commit to building carbon under a government scheme."Biden government "to establish and expand programs that encourage farmers, ranchers, and landowners to adapt practices that scientists believe can help draw down atmospheric carbon—including conservation tillage, planting cover crops, reforestation, and using methane digesters for livestock operations. " Biden promises to invest in cover cropsSecretary Vilsack said “When we emerge from this crisis, we are going to have an incredible opportunity before us to position American agriculture to lead our nation and the world in combating climate change and reaping the new, good-paying jobs that will come from that leadership.”Rgenerative Farming likely to improve biodiversity in New Zealand "The report is one of three reports released today that outline the possible effects of regenerative farming on animals big and small, and ways to measure these impacts. The second report outlines how to assess the impact of regenerative farming on the welfare of animals raised for production, while the third examines how invertebrates like spiders and worms can be counted to evaluate the impact of regenerative farming practices." World
Corn Belt soil lost 1/3 rich topsoil "nearly 30 million acres - has completely lost its carbon-rich topsoil, according to University of Massachusetts Amherst research, with a method using satellite imagery to map areas. Their research suggests erosion has removed nearly 1.5 petagrams of carbon from hillslopes." "USDA should also use the government-owned Commodity Credit Corporation to create a federal “carbon bank” that would offer credits for the carbon sequestered by sustainable management practices. It suggests allocating $1 billion to purchase carbon credits at $20 per ton, which could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 megatons every year" That is about 5% of US emissions.
Global acheivements in soil and water conservation: Conservation Agriculture Kassam "involves the application of three inter-linked principles that underpin agricultural production systems based on locally formulated practices: (i) permanent no or minimum mechanical soil disturbance, which in practice entails direct seeding through mulch into no-till soils; (ii) maintenance of soil cover with crop residues and green manure crops, particularly legumes; and (iii) diversified cropping system involving annuals and perennial in rotations, sequences and associations. "ConservationSoil Lifespans How would we estimate the ‘lifespan’ of a soil?
The Land Institute is seeking to develop perennial grain crops to replace the annual plants and has been scouring the world for perennial species. Already, working with Fengyi Hu and his team at Yunnan University in China, it has developed a perennial rice with yields that match, and in some cases exceed, those of modern annual breeds. Farmers are queueing up for seed. The long roots of the perennial varieties bind and protect the soil. Some perennial rice crops have now been harvested six times without replanting. One estimate suggests that perennial systems hold five times as much of the water that falls on the ground as annual crops do.
Mediterranean
Mediterranean
Early Roman farmers planted a multistory canopy of olives, grapes, cereals and fodder crops known as cultura promiscua. Interplanting of understory and overstory crops smothered weeds, saved labour, and prevented erosion by shielding the ground all year. Roots of each crop reached to different levels and did not compete with each other. Instead, the multicrop system raised soil temperatures and extended the growing season." Montgomery Dirt p58
This ancient mode of agriculture permits the use of the earth to its maximum potential. Plants with different stages of growth and nutrient requirements can be placed next to each other. Likewise, the solar energy necessary for photosynthesis benefits from the staggered offset of the foliage over time.
Central Europe
Central Europe
Permaculture Comprehensive study on a wide range of soil and biodiversity indicators, we examined nine farms utilizing permaculture and paired control fields with locally predominant agriculture in Central Europe.
Tillage/ploughing destroys soil health. IT:
1 - Buries plant residues which then rot anaerobically, releasing methane gas.
2 - Causes soil compaction as the pores that facilitate air movement and water penetration are destroyed.
3 - Is devastating to the natural microbiome of the soil (the bacteria, fungi, worms and insects, etc, etc, etc) that makes soil healthy and naturally productive.
4 - Facilitates the germination of previously dormant, buried seeds, mostly hardy weeds.
5 - Exposes soil to wind and rain resulting in erosion.
6 - Kills all the living plants in the soil, thereby stopping the exudates that feed the microorganisms that survived the ploughing, so they also die, further depleting what is called the soil food web and the next crop will suffer without them.
7 - Releases volatile nitrogen into the atmosphere from the bodies of all the organisms that were killed during tillage.
Networks
Networks
There is an interactive platform to help decision-makers see that soil carbon is manageable and show how it can be improved to deliver major climate, biodiversity and food security benefits. Deborah Bossio introduces the platform, Soils Revealed, and explains how regenerative land management practices can help the public and private sectors meet NDC goals.
Read Deborah Bossio’s article: Solid Ground: Earth’s Soils Reveal Climate, Biodiversity & Food Security Solutions
Read TNC’s press release launching the platform
Visit the Soils Revealed platform directly to explore the maps: https://soilsrevealed.org/
Mexico revolutionary way to reverse semi-arid land degradation
Australian farmers and scientists trial ways to improve soil moisture
Global Supply Chains water energy land "Is globalisation compatible with sustainable and resilient supply chains?
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