By WT Bunderson, ZD Jere, SWD Ng’oma, JM Paul, R Museka, B Mbale and C Thierfelder

1. CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE WITH
FAIDHERBIA IN MALAWI:
Total LandCare and CIMMYT
Thematic Session on Conservation Agriculture
CONFERENCE ON BEATING FAMINE
IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
WT Bunderson, ZD Jere, SWD Ng’oma, JM Paul,
R Museka, B Mbale and C Thierfelder

2. Crop resilience
to drought and
dry spells:
Healthy maize
under Faidherbia
vs. stressed crop
outside

3. Maize Crop under Faidherbia in 2014/15

4. Sunflower Crop under Faidherbia in 2014/15

5. Winter Beans under Faidherbia after maize harvest

6. Groundnut Crop under Faidherbia in 2014/15

7. Cowpea Relay Crop under Faidherbia after maize harvest

8. Cowpea Relay Crop under Faidherbia after maize harvest

9. Effects of Faidherbia on Farmer Maize Yields (kg/ha) in
Malawi under CA vs. Ridge Tillage, 2010/11 (all plots used
the same type & amount of fertilizer at modest rates)
38% Increase in Yield

10. Effects of Faidherbia on Maize Yields under CA vs Ridge Tillage,
2013/14 (different letters are significant at p < 0.001)

11. Effects of Faidherbia on Maize Yields under CA vs Ridge
Tillage, 2013/14 (different letters are significant at p < 0.05)

12. Maize Yields with CA Under and Away from Faidherbia from 40
farmer fields in Zambia – Average Yield Increase was 220%
(Source: CFU Zambia)

13. CORE PRINCIPLES OF CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE AND COMPLEMENTARY PRACTICES
Minimal Soil
Disturbance
No Ploughing
No Tilling
No Ridging
No Banking
Good Soil Cover
Growing Crops
Crop Residues & Other
Plant Biomass
No Burning
Organic Manures
Compost
Animal Manures
Green Manures
Crop Rotations /
Crop Associations
Full & Partial Rotations
Intercropping /
Associations
Methods & Tools for
Planting
Dibble Sticks
Chaka Hoes
Rippers
Other Soil & Water
Conservation Measures
Contour Vetiver Hedges
Raised Foot-Paths
Storm Drains
Agroforestry
Soil Fertility
Ground Cover
Wood Products/Uses
Herbicides
Weed Control with
Increased Yields
Conservation of soil
nutrients and moisture
Chemical Fertilizers
Soil Fertility
Increased Yields
& Ground Cover

14. CA System Promoted by TLC
● Minimum soil disturbance (mandatory, non-negotiable)
 No ploughing, ridging or tillage by manual or mechanical means
 Direct sow into a) small holes on the flat or top of old ridges with
hoe or dibble stick, or b) rip lines with animal drawn rippers
● Retention of crop residues & other biomass on the ground to
maximize capture of rainfall & minimize runoff & soil loss
(whenever feasible &practical)
● Crop rotations, associations and agroforestry (whenever
possible given the limited size of land holdings)
Complement CA with quality seed, organic/chemical fertilizers &
herbicides as available to maximize yield potential

15. Crop Residues in situ - maximizes capture of rainfall,
conserves moisture, adds OM, reduces runoff & erosion

16. Planting holes with dibble sticks or hoes is an age old
practice, here residues were burned by mice hunters

17. Maize Rotation with Beans (left) and Groundnuts (right)
Legume rotations and intercrops improve soil
fertility, reduce pests & disease, offer better diets,
and increase returns to land and labor

18. CA with Faidherbia – increases yields and
resilience to drought

19. CA with Cowpeas and Faidherbia / No Herbicides
● Retain crop residues on the ground surface
● Control burning through community bye-laws
● Min till: Plant on top of old ridges with dibble stick
● Use Hybrid or OPV maize with 90 cm rows & 1 seed every 45 cm
● Cut weeds by shallow scraping of the soil with hoe or blade (no
deep cultivation or banking as done with ridges)
● If possible, apply moderate fertilizer in holes between maize
stations at 40-60 kg N, 12-15 kg P/ha
● Direct sow cowpeas 4-6 weeks after maize between rows with 1
seed every 20 cm maize (drought tolerant Sudan variety)
● Cowpeas add value for income, weed control, nutrition, and good
ground cover through June

20. ● ● ● ● ● ●
◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
● ● ● ● ● ●
● Maize 24,700 plants per ha
◦ Cowpeas 55,555 plants per ha
45 cm
Maize Spacing Within the Row
90 cm
between
maize rows
20 cm
PLANT SPACING OF MAIZE WITH COWPEAS

21. CA with Maize & Cowpea Relay Crop – high value crop on same land
as maize, controls late season weeds and provides good soil cover

22. Cowpea Crop after the Maize Harvest

23. Crop resilience
to drought
and dry spells:
Healthy maize
under Faidherbia
vs. stressed crop
outside

24. Benefits of CA based on
interviews of 2000 farmers
Farmer surveys revealed several key benefits of CA:
●Increased food security with resilience to dry spells
●Significant savings in labour for land preparation,
ridging, weeding and banking with opportunities to
improve, expand & diversify farming
●Increased income from higher yields and reduced labor
and input costs

25. Key Challenges to Adoption
1. Conflicting technical messages on CA, including planting basins and the
policies of the MOA that support both contour ridging and CA
2. Resistance to Change: Culture of ridging and clean fields – need
compelling evidence that CA is better than the traditional practice
3. Limited knowledge on application with other crops
4. Insistence on the adoption of all 3 principles at the onset
5. Requirement for a dense cover of crop residues/biomass
6. Misguided perceptions on the need for inputs and/or tools
7. Concerns about effective methods and costs for weed control
8. Failure of linear extension systems: Need for participatory farmer led
approaches to jointly identify and evaluate challenges and options
9. Limits on membership in groups/clubs: Perceptions that membership in
CA groups is fixed which restricts others from joining.

26. Key Actions to Address Challenges
● Strengthen knowledge and support for CA among stakeholders
through meetings, field days, exchange visits, the media and
publications with compelling evidence of its benefits and application
with different crops in different agro-ecologies.
● Provide options for good weed control with and without herbicides
● Harmonize the production and delivery of extension messages
among implementers to avoid distorting the basic concept of CA and
creating confusion among extension staff &farmers.
● Promote participatory farmer led systems of extension by engaging
community leaders, farmers, researchers and extension staff
● Limit provision of free or subsidized inputs: The risk is that CA
becomes an input or project driven instead of attracting interest
based on its true merits.

27. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Information in this presentation was produced by Total
LandCare with support and collaboration from the CFU
Zambia, CIMMYT, Governments of Malawi, Tanzania,
Mozambique and Zambia, the Royal Norwegian Embassy,
USAID, and the British Government through DFID
TOTAL LANDCARE
P.O. Box 2440
Area 14, Plot 100
Lilongwe, Malawi
Tel: +265 1 770 904 / 905; Fax: +265 1 770 919
Email: total.landcare.mw@gmail.com
Website: www.totallandcare.org
from the British people