36
The need for traction animals will be reduced with the introduction of CA, and
farmers can replace oxen with milk- and meat-producing animals. An approach for
mechanisation is to open a planting line with the use of rippers followed by the use
of simple seeders pulled by donkey or ox to deliver seeds and fertiliser. There are
very positive experiences with the use of low-cost seeders in Mali (Aune et al.
2019). Such intensification of the livestock system is not likely to occur unless
farmers change to CA. The benefit of CA is therefore not only reduced erosion and
more crop production but, equally important, an increase in livestock production.
Another approach for ensuring less competition for crop residues is the introduction
of motorised tillage, which would reduce the need for farmers to keep oxen.
The introduction of CA is not likely to succeed unless backed by appropriate
policy measures. Key elements would be a strengthening of the competence of
extension agents on CA in Ethiopia and ensuring that the extension agents have sufficient resources to reach out to farmers. CA should become part of a wider extension programme focusing on crop and livestock intensification. Another critical
policy measure is to improve farmers’ access to key inputs such as seeds, fertiliser
and equipment necessary for practising CA and to ensure functioning markets for
crop and livestock products. Credit or subsidy programmes can make these production factors much more easily accessible to the farmers. An option for improving the
uptake of resource conservation technologies such as CA could be to make access
to credit contingent upon practising CA (Kassie et al. 2015).
In order to succeed with CA, the following factors must be in place:
• Increased crop yield to improve availability of crop residues
• Development of alternative fodder resources such as improved pastures and fodder trees
• Development of bylaws to prevent free grazing of crop land
• Improved management of communal land
• Introduction of partial stall feeding of animals
• Increased emphasis on milk- and meat-producing animals
• Reduced need for oxen ploughing by promoting reduced tillage or zero tillage
• Easy access to seeds, fertiliser, herbicides and farm equipment
• Policy intervention such as credit and extension
For CA to be adopted on a large scale in Ethiopia, it is important to target areas
with conducive conditions for rapid CA uptake. From the discussion above, it
appears that such conditions exist in areas with good market access for crop and
livestock products. CA may be less suited to low-rainfall areas where it may be
challenging to produce sufficient mulch and to diversify the production system.
9 Conclusions
The field experiments on CA show that reduced tillage gives equal yield to conventional tillage whilst zero tillage does not function well under some conditions.
However, despite these neutral or negative yield effects, CA may still be interesting
J. B. Aune
The need for traction animals will be reduced with the introduction of CA, and
farmers can replace oxen with milk- and meat-producing animals. An approach for
mechanisation is to open a planting line with the use of rippers followed by the use
of simple seeders pulled by donkey or ox to deliver seeds and fertiliser. There are
very positive experiences with the use of low-cost seeders in Mali (Aune et al.
2019). Such intensification of the livestock system is not likely to occur unless
farmers change to CA. The benefit of CA is therefore not only reduced erosion and
more crop production but, equally important, an increase in livestock production.
Another approach for ensuring less competition for crop residues is the introduction
of motorised tillage, which would reduce the need for farmers to keep oxen.
The introduction of CA is not likely to succeed unless backed by appropriate
policy measures. Key elements would be a strengthening of the competence of
extension agents on CA in Ethiopia and ensuring that the extension agents have sufficient resources to reach out to farmers. CA should become part of a wider extension programme focusing on crop and livestock intensification. Another critical
policy measure is to improve farmers’ access to key inputs such as seeds, fertiliser
and equipment necessary for practising CA and to ensure functioning markets for
crop and livestock products. Credit or subsidy programmes can make these production factors much more easily accessible to the farmers. An option for improving the
uptake of resource conservation technologies such as CA could be to make access
to credit contingent upon practising CA (Kassie et al. 2015).
In order to succeed with CA, the following factors must be in place:
• Increased crop yield to improve availability of crop residues
• Development of alternative fodder resources such as improved pastures and fodder trees
• Development of bylaws to prevent free grazing of crop land
• Improved management of communal land
• Introduction of partial stall feeding of animals
• Increased emphasis on milk- and meat-producing animals
• Reduced need for oxen ploughing by promoting reduced tillage or zero tillage
• Easy access to seeds, fertiliser, herbicides and farm equipment
• Policy intervention such as credit and extension
For CA to be adopted on a large scale in Ethiopia, it is important to target areas
with conducive conditions for rapid CA uptake. From the discussion above, it
appears that such conditions exist in areas with good market access for crop and
livestock products. CA may be less suited to low-rainfall areas where it may be
challenging to produce sufficient mulch and to diversify the production system.
9 Conclusions
The field experiments on CA show that reduced tillage gives equal yield to conventional tillage whilst zero tillage does not function well under some conditions.
However, despite these neutral or negative yield effects, CA may still be interesting
J. B. Aune