Conservation agriculture (CA) is a sustainable agriculture system that seeks to improve soil health, productivity, and climate change resilience. It is founded on three principles: permanent soil cover, minimum soil disturbance, and multiple crop rotations.
Minimizing disturbance to soil—through the application of reduced or no-till practices—prevents soil structure loss, builds up organic matter, and prevents erosion. Permanent soil cover with crop residues, cover crops, or mulches protects the soil from erosion, conserves water, and supports beneficial soil organisms. Crop rotation changes plant species, which prevents soil fertility loss, reduces pest pressure, and improves ecosystem services.
CA benefits are enormous. CA maintains the soil, enhances water retention, and increases long-term crop yields. By enhancing ecosystem resilience, CA allows farms to be more resilient to the impacts of climate change. CA helps to mitigate climate through minimizing the use of synthetic fertilizers and the release of greenhouse gases.
Some of these practices include mulching to suppress weeds and manage temperature, cover crops to enhance soil organic matter and pollinator attractors, and diversification of crops to enhance farm biodiversity in general. In general, conservation agriculture offers a sustainable, climate-friendly solution to maintaining productive and sustainable agricultural systems in a changing climate.