What opportunities does conservation agriculture in Africa offers and how can it be funded?

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is an agricultural methodology aimed at preserving soil, reducing land disturbance, and enhancing biodiversity.

This approach employs crop rotations, cover crops, and reduced tillage to maintain a thriving soil ecosystem, reduce erosion, and boost crop yields. In essence, Conservation Agriculture involves collaborating with nature to produce food sustainably, while safeguarding the environment for future generations.

According to a report by the United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the global cropland area employing conservation agriculture has grown at an annual rate of over 10 million hectares since 2008/2009. CA has the potential to enhance productivity, develop climate resilience, and improve food and nutrition security for farmers, the authors noted.

Conservation agriculture can improve and food security. Photos: B.K Dlamini.

Adopting CA comes with benefits such as increased yields, lower expenses, labor savings, and carbon sequestration. In Africa, the area under CA has increased more than five-fold since 2008/09, with three times more countries actively promoting it. Notable successes have been recorded in South Africa, Zambia, and Ghana.

Initiatives such as the Adaptability of Agriculture in Africa and the African Union-FAO Sustainable Agriculture Mechanization for Africa (SAMA) are further promoting CA adoption in Africa. FAO and the African Conservation Tillage Network (ACT) are operationalizing SAMA, partnering with national governments and institutions.

CA can increase yields, lower expenses, labor savings, and carbon sequestration

The rapid expansion of conservation agriculture creates fresh prospects for Israeli companies specializing in natural resource management, agro-forestry, and minimum tillage.

Israeli entrepreneurs and institutions can leverage their scientific and professional expertise to access funding from organizations such as:

• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
• Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad)
• Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
• Centre de cooperation internationale en recherche agronomique pourle developpement (CIRAD)
• Aga Khan Foundation (AKF)
• International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
• FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
• African Development Bank (AfDB)
• European Union
• The Buffett Foundation.

Israel4Africa invites Israeli and African organizations interested in obtaining funding for planning, implementing, and delivering conservation agriculture projects to contact us for additional information.