Adoption of conservation agriculture in Malawi (#journal)

Adoption and extent of conservation agriculture practices among smallholder farmers in Malawi

Understanding factors affecting farmers' adoption of improved technologies is critical to success of conservation agriculture (CA). This study explored why  farmers adopted the three principles of CA (minimum soil disturbance, permanent soil cover, and crop rotations), in 10 communities in Malawi. From a total of 15,854 households in the study areas, 18% of smallholders had adopted CA, on 2.1% of all cultivated land. The first stage of the research showed that hired labor, area of land cultivated, membership to farmer group, and district influenced farmers' decisions to adopt CA. The second stage suggested that total cultivated land, duration of practicing CA, and district influenced farmers' decisions. Agency and social structures influenced adoption and extent of CA. Future policy should address ways to provide access to information and long-term support to farmers to enable them to embrace the technology fully.

Land use practices to improve water quality (#journal)

Estimating water quality effects of conservation practices and grazing land use scenarios

Conservation management practices such as reduced tillage, fertilizer management, and buffer strips are well-established means by which to control erosion and nutrient losses from fields planted in annual row crops. However, agricultural systems which include perennial plant cover may represent an alternative way to reduce these losses. In this study, management intensive rotational grazing (MIRG) was tested as a means by which to improve water quality on highly vulnerable row crop land, compared to more traditional conservation management schemes in Southeastern Minnesota. The effects of both sets of alternative scenarios were evaluated with a watershed-based modeling approach using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool. Watershed-wide implementation of all conservation management practices resulted in reductions in sediment (52%) and total P (28%) loads.

Addressing water scarcity (book)

Chasing Water: A Guide for Moving from Scarcity to Sustainability

Water scarcity is spreading and intensifying in many regions of the world, with dire consequences for local communities, economies, and freshwater ecosystems. Current approaches tend to rely on policies crafted at the state or national level, which on their own have proved insufficient to arrest water scarcity. To be durable and effective, water plans must be informed by the culture, economics, and varied needs of affected community members. Chasing Water tells a cohesive  story that sustainable water sharing in the twenty-first century can only happen through open, democratic dialogue and local collective action.