Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
CA systems and see both what is needed at the field level for adoption and how their
corporate culture and policies are supportive or not, they can then serve both sides
by becoming catalysts for policy changes at the corporate level. Corporate executives
will appreciate advice from their own staff to compare against what they are hearing
from farmers and farm associations. Farm organizations will appreciate informed
dialogues with consultants who are at the forefront of knowledge supporting CA.
Consulting and farm input retailers can develop win-win situations with their clients
and companies.
Academic institutions (universities, colleges) and large research agencies funded
by governments or commodity commissions also need to catch up to CA through
their policies and programs. Universities focus on training in reductionist science
and place little effort on integrative science. CA is an integrative discipline and,
thus, likely unfamiliar territory to those developing curricula and lecturing in the
agriculture sciences. Similarly, large research institutions have inertia that is difficult
to alter. They may see CA as only a deviation from conventional, intensive produc-
tion systems and study only components rather than the system. Indeed, in western
Canada, innovative agronomic scientists with the federal agriculture department
pushed for agronomic treatments to be imposed on no-till rather than conventional-
till plots/fields. Only in the last decade has all agronomic research at all prairie
federal research stations been carried out on no-till land. Sadly, plant breeders in
many places (Canada and elsewhere) still conduct trials and selections on tilled plots.
One speculates as to what traits are being selected for those that favor CA cropping.
Disease or pest issues in residues have been cited as concerns as has a lack of plot-
sized equipment.
A particular bottleneck for wide adoption of CA is the availability of suitable
equipment. While small-scale CA can be undertaken without special tools by just
using a narrow hoe or planting stick, the full benefits of labor saving and work pre-
cision can be achieved only using special tools or equipment. These tools all exist
at manual, animal traction, and tractor power mechanization levels, yet their local
availability for the farmers in most parts of the world is a real challenge. Even where
this equipment, such as no-till planters, is on the market, it is often more expensive
than corresponding conventional equipment and constitutes a considerable initial
investment for the farmer. These bottlenecks can be overcome, for example, by facili-
tating input supply chains and local manufacturing of the equipment, where feasible,
and by offering contractor services or sharing equipment among farmers in a group
to reduce the cost for a single farmer. In most small-farm scenarios, even animal
traction no-till planters have a working capacity that would exceed the requirements
of a single farmer.
Knowledge, information, and technology are increasingly generated, diffused,
and applied through the private sector. Exponential growth in information and com-
munications technology (ICT), especially the Internet, has transformed the ability
to take advantage of knowledge developed in other places or for other purposes.
The knowledge structure of the agricultural sector in many countries is changing
markedly (OECD 2011), incorporating a greater awareness in education, research,
and development of the need for ecological sustainability of agricultural production
systems and landscape management.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search