eprintid: 11564
rev_number: 10
eprint_status: archive
userid: 3170
dir: disk0/00/01/15/64
datestamp: 2020-08-23 14:18:21
lastmod: 2020-08-23 14:18:21
status_changed: 2020-08-23 14:18:21
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Corbeels, M
creators_name: Naudin, K
creators_name: Whitbread, A M
creators_name: Kühne, R
creators_name: Letourmy, P
icrisatcreators_name: Whitbread, A M
affiliation: Sustainable Intensification Program (SIP), International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Nairobi
affiliation: Agro-ecology and Sustainable Intensification of Annual Crops (AIDA), French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), University of Montpellier, Montpellier
affiliation: ICRISAT (Dar es Salaam)
affiliation: Tropical Plant Production and Agricultural Systems Modelling (TROPAGS), Georg August University of Göttingen, Göttingen
country: Kenya
country: France
country: Tanzania
country: Germany
title: Limits of conservation agriculture to overcome low crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa
ispublished: pub
subjects: GL1
subjects: cr1
subjects: s4004
divisions: CRPS4
crps: crp1.11
full_text_status: public
keywords: Conservation agriculture, Sub Saharan Africa
note: This work was implemented as part of the CGIAR Research Programs on Climate
Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and Maize, which are carried out with
support from the CGIAR Trust Fund and through bilateral funding agreements. The
views expressed in this document cannot be taken to reflect the official opinions of these
organizations.
abstract: Conservation agriculture (CA) has become a dominant paradigm in scientific and policy thinking about the sustainable intensification
of food production in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet claims that CA leads to increasing crop yields in African smallholder
farming systems remain controversial. Through a meta-analysis of 933 observations from 16 different countries in sub-Saharan African studies, we show that average yields under CA are only slightly higher than those of conventional tillage systems (3.7% for six major crop species and 4.0% for maize). Larger yield responses for maize result from mulching and crop rotations/intercropping. When CA principles are implemented concomitantly, maize yield increases by 8.4%. The largest yield benefits from CA occur in combination with low rainfall and herbicides. We conclude that although CA may bring soil conservation benefits, it is not a technology for African smallholder farmers to overcome low crop productivity and food insecurity in the short term.
date: 2020-07
date_type: published
publication: Nature Food (TSI)
volume: 1
number: 7
publisher: Nature Research
pagerange: 447-454
id_number: doi:10.1038/s43016-020-0114-x
refereed: TRUE
issn: 2662-1355
official_url: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-0114-x
related_url_url: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=10.1038%2Fs43016-020-0114-x&btnG=
related_url_type: pub
citation:   Corbeels, M and Naudin, K and Whitbread, A M and Kühne, R and Letourmy, P  (2020) Limits of conservation agriculture to overcome low crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa.  Nature Food (TSI), 1 (7).  pp. 447-454.  ISSN 2662-1355     
document_url: http://oar.icrisat.org/11564/1/Corbeels_etal_CA_SSA_NatureFood_2020.pdf