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Developing No-Till Packages for Small-Scale Farmers

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Developing No-Till Packages for Small-Scale Farmers Developing No-Till Packages for Small-Scale Farmers Javier Ekboir Introduction conditions of small-scale farmers. No-till demonstrates, those differences are has been found to cut unit production extremely important to the potential Population and income growth are costs (often up to 50%) and to reduce development and adoption of no-till in inducing an intensification of agricultural risks. Small-scale farmers small-scale agriculture. agriculture, which threatens the have used the additional income and sustainability of natural resources in First, no-till represents a major shift in time to start new income-generating rural environments and the livelihoods the agricultural paradigm, with activities. No-till has also benefited of small-scale farmers who depend on consequent implications for researchers women and children in rural those resources to survive. Though no and farmers. The old paradigm was households by facilitating some of the single action will reduce poverty and based on massive soil disturbance with tasks they perform, such as weeding. increase the sustainability of plows and powerful tractors. The new Living standards rise as families have agricultural production, technical paradigm, whose best exponent is no- more money for nutrition, education, change can play a prominent role in till, is based on three principles: and housing. In addition to its economic alleviating these problems. Among the minimizing soil disturbance, covering benefits, no-till confers significant technologies capable of achieving these the soil with plants or plant residues for environmental benefits. It substantially two goals simultaneously, no-till is one as long as possible, and rotating crops. reduces erosion and has the potential to of the most promising in most Since this technology is very sensitive to diminish pollution from agrochemicals, environments, 1 especially for small- environmental conditions, the specific because of a fall in the volume of scale farmers. components of no-till packages differ chemicals used and a shift to less toxic across locations but still share some of No-till is sometimes regarded as products. By reducing fuel consumption the principles mentioned above. Even unsuitable for small-scale farmers, but and conserving organic matter in the though packages that reflect all three as this report will show, much evidence soil, no-till reduces the emission of principles yield the highest long-term indicates that this view is generally greenhouse gas from agriculture. economic and environmental benefits, it untrue. Because it reduces the labor and No-till is characterized by two profound has been difficult to develop them. Most effort invested in food production, no- differences from other agricultural packages only minimize soil till is particularly appropriate for the technologies. As this report movements and keep the soil covered. Second, no-till technology is the outcome of a complex social process, 1 No-till has been developed basically for areas where flood irrigation is not used. Development of no-till or reduced till packages for flood irrigated areas is still in its infancy. Unless otherwise and understanding the development indicated, in the remainder of this report the term no-till refers to packages developed for areas where flood-irrigation is not used (i.e., rain fed or where other irrigation systems are used). 1 2001 CIMMYT World Wheat Overview and Outlook and adoption of no-till requires a new million hectares worldwide were Improvement Center (CIMMYT), which framework for the socioeconomic study cropped under no-till, mostly by large- has participated in developing no-till of technical change. In the traditional scale farmers (Derpsch 2001). A large technology since the 1970s. Based on an framework, technical change occurs number of small-scale farmers have extensive review of experiences with along a continuum that starts with also adopted no-till, but because these no-till, 3 including CIMMYT’s basic research, is followed by adaptive farmers crop small areas, their adoption experience, this report explores a research, and ends with adoption by of no-till should not be measured in number of issues related to the farmers. Most exchanges of numbers of hectares but in numbers of development and adoption of no-till information between the agents adopters. Although accurate estimates technology, especially in small-scale involved in technology development are lacking, in recent years adoption of agriculture. It begins with a description and adoption are represented as no-till has occurred at a rapid pace in of no-till’s special features and the unidirectional and indirect flows, several countries. It is estimated that innovation systems through which the mediated by markets or printed more than 90% of small-scale farmers technology evolves. As mentioned material. In the new framework, which in southern Brazil use no-till (Denardin earlier, a new framework for the is based on the concept of “innovation and Kochhann 1999); the number of no- socioeconomic study of technical systems,” technology development and till farmers in Ghana in 2000 was change is needed to understand the adoption are social phenomena in estimated at 100,000 (Ekboir, Boa, and development and adoption of no-till. which agents interact in several ways, Dankyi, forthcoming); and about This report describes that framework creating multiple information flows in 100,000 ha of wheat were planted with and reviews the methodological many directions. These agents (e.g., no-till in India and Pakistan in 2001 difficulties involved in measuring the public research and extension systems, (Peter Hobbs, personal communication, benefits and adoption of no-till. This innovative farmers, commercial firms, 2001). No-till has been promoted in information provides the context for a foreign research institutions) form Central America for the last 20 years series of six case studies of no-till networks that co-evolve with the with localized successes. No-till experiences among small-scale farmers technologies they create. Just as no-till programs have been established for in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The packages are location-specific, no-till small-scale farmers in Bolivia, Burkina concluding sections of the report networks and their evolution are also Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, discuss key factors that condition the unique. In some cases, as in South Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, effectiveness of no-till programs for America, the main forces driving the Mali, Mozambique, Paraguay, Senegal, small-scale farmers, including the innovation system were the South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, implications for national and commercial interests of input suppliers Zambia, and Zimbabwe, but they are international agricultural research. and commercial farmers’ need for too new to show an impact. Although sustainable technologies. In other cases, no-till is also being promoted in China What Is No-Till? as in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South and Kazakhstan, 2 insufficient Asia, the no-till package was developed information is available to evaluate Because so many terms have been used through the interaction of researchers these experiences. to describe no-till, it is important at the in national and international Given its potential to reduce rural outset to define what we mean by no- organizations. poverty and increase the sustainability till, to describe some of its benefits, and No-till has already had a major impact of agricultural production, especially discuss the factors that encourage and on agriculture throughout the world, for farmers with few resources, no-till is restrict its adoption. Readers who are but the impact on small-scale particularly relevant to the mission of already familiar with this information agriculture is not always well the International Maize and Wheat may wish to proceed to the next documented or understood. It is estimated that in 2000/01 about 59 2 For information on no-till in Kazakhstan, see CIMMYT and ICARDA (2000). 3 Aside from a literature review, more than 150 interviews and field visits were conducted. 2 2001 CIMMYT World Wheat Overview and Outlook section, which reviews the More specifically, no-till is defined as locations when one principle is not distinguishing features of the no-till planting crops in previously followed. research process (p. 8). unprepared soil by opening a hole, Because of technical and economic narrow slot, trench, or band of the Farmers in developing countries have constraints, packages that combine all smallest width and depth needed to practiced seeding without tillage for three principles are used in only a few obtain proper coverage of the seed. At centuries. Traditionally, this practice locations. The development of least 30% of the soil surface remains has been associated with slash-and- sustainable no-till packages requires a covered with residues of commercial or burn agriculture, in which farmers strong research effort, especially by cover crops 5 (Wall 1998; Derpsch 1999). slash the vegetation on a plot of land, interdisciplinary teams, which are This definition excludes systems in burn the dry residues, and then seed difficult to build. Also, short-term which residues are burnt and crops are into the uncovered soil. Slash-and-burn economic considerations may prevent planted without tillage (a practice used agriculture results in rapid soil farmers from using appropriate in ancient times and still used in parts degradation and is sustainable only rotations. For example,
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