The status of mechanization in Conservation Agriculture systems

Publication date: 20/01/2020
Extent: 70 pages

Contributions by: Augusto Guilherme de Araújo, Agricultural Research Institute of Paraná State (IAPAR), Brazil; Brian Sims, Independent Consultant, UK; Jack Desbiolles, University of South Australia, Australia; Denizart Bolonhezi, Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC), Brazil; Enamul Haque, Murdoch University, Australia; He Jin, China Agricultural University, China; Jamil Abdalla Fayad, Independent Consultant, Brazil; Josef Kienzle, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Italy; Leandro do Prado Wildner, Agricultural Research and Rural Extension Corporation of Santa Catarina State (EPAGRI), Brazil; Li Hongwen, China Agricultural University, China; Marcelo Zanella, Agricultural Research and Rural Extension Corporation of Santa Catarina State (EPAGRI), Brazil; Oussama El Gharras, National Agricultural Research Institute (INRA), Morocco; Richard Bell, Murdoch University, Australia; Roberto Peiretti, Global Farmer Network (GFN), Argentina; Saidi Mkomwa, African Conservation Tillage Network (ACT), Kenya; Sjoerd Willem Duiker, Pennsylvania State University, USA; and Theodor Friedrich, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Italy

Chapter synopsis: Mechanization is a fundamental input in sustainable agriculture. The global scaling-up of Conservation Agriculture (CA) has been followed by the development of new machinery designs, for different field and crop conditions, with participation of farmers, industries, researchers and other stakeholders. This chapter offers an account of the technological developments in CA machinery from the experiences of important actors operating on different continents. The chapter examines the needs of CA in terms of mechanization inputs, describes the machinery used under smallholder and large-scale agricultural systems across four continents, and a presents a vision of how the mechanization of CA could evolve in the near future.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2019.0048.11