Annual Report for the Soil Science Group 2007-2008

Conservation Farming (CF) in Zambia (often also called Conservation Agriculture (CA)) involves several key practices: dry-season land preparation using minimum tillage systems using a small basin approach; no burning of crop residue from the prior harvest but surface residue retention in the basin; planting and input application in fixed basins; and nitrogen-fixing crop rotations. CF is hypothesized to be a better farming system than the traditional chitemene system of slash-and-burn cultivation that has contributed to accelerated rates of soil erosion and degradation within the watershed due to shorter fallow periods and longer cropping cycles caused by increased population pressures.