Challenges and approaches to mainstream Conservation Agriculture in Africa and Europe

Abstract

Over the past few decades the concept of Conservation Agriculture (CA) has spread globally, and almost exponentially, with an adoption rate of around 10 Mha per year in the past few years. This uptake has, however, been experienced rather unequally throughout the different regions. Whereas in the Americas and Australia the share of cropland under CA is considerable, in Africa and Europe both the area under CA and its share of total cropland lag far behind. This chapter provides an overview of the most recent figures available on CA adoption for Africa and Europe, and identifies the major challenges faced by the spread and adoption of CA. Different reasons are identified for the lagging behind of these two continents as a result of huge contrasts between Africa and Europe in terms of agroecological conditions, infrastructure, education and agriculture. Other challenges, however, such as farmers’ mindsets, missing or inadequate policy frameworks and institutional support, are common. Yet encouraging opportunities do exist, namely with regard to the political agenda that, if followed up subsequently, could result in concerted efforts towards the expansion of truly sustainable agriculture, including the concept of CA. To be successful in the two continents, however, approaches to mainstream CA need to be tailored to the different regions, and even locally.