Conservation Agriculture - Benefits

Benefits

In the field of CA there are many benefits that both the producer and conservationist can obtain in doing this practice. If there were no benefits from this practice then there would be no reason for anyone to ever do it. Conservationist and producers and/or farmers have both separate and yet the same benefits that they get out of CA.

On the side of the conservationist CA can be seen as beneficial because there is an effort to conserve what people use on earth everyday. Since agriculture is one of the most destructive forces against biodiversity, CA can change the way humans produce food and energy for our daily lives. With conservation come environmental benefits of CA. These benefits include less erosion possibilities, better water conservation, improvement in air quality due to less emission being produced, and a chance for larger biodiversity in a given area.

On the side of the producer and/or farmer CA can eventually do all that is done in conventional agriculture but it can conserve better than conventional agriculture. CA according to Theodor Friedrich, who is a specialist in CA, believes “Farmers like it because it gives them a means of conserving, improving and making more efficient use of their natural resources"( FAO 2006). Producers will find that the benefits of CA will come later rather than sooner. Since CA takes time to build up enough organic matter and have soils become their own fertilizer than the process does not start to work over night. But if producers make it through the first few years of production, then results will start to become more satisfactory.

CA is shown to have even higher yields and higher outputs than conventional agriculture once CA has been establish over long periods of time. Also a producer has the benefit of knowing that the soil in which his crops are grown can be seen as a renewable resource. According to New Standard Encyclopedia soils are a renewable resource, which means that whatever is taken out of the soil can be put back into the soil over time (New Standard 1992). Also as long as good soil upkeep is kept then the soil will continue to renew itself. This could be very beneficial to a producer who is practicing CA and is looking to keep soils at a productive level for an extended period of time.

Also for the farmer and/or producer they can use this same land in another way when crops have already been harvested. The introduction of grazing livestock to the same field that once held crops can be beneficial for not only the producer, but also the field itself. Livestock can be used as a natural fertilizer for a producer’s field which will then be beneficial for the producer the next year when crops are planted once again. The practice of grazing livestock in a CA helps both the farmer who raises crops on that field and also helps the farmer who raises the livestock that graze off that field. Livestock produce compost or manures which are a great help in producing soil fertility. (Pawley W.H. 1963) With the practices of CA and grazing livestock on a certain field for many years can allow for better yields in the following years as long a practices are continued to be followed.

The FAO believes that there are three major benefits from CA. The first of being that within fields that are controlled by CA the producer will see an increase in organic matter. The second benefit is an increase in water conservation due layer of organic matter and ground cover to help eliminate transportation and access runoff of water. The third benefit of CA is an improvement of soil structure and rooting zone. These benefits are essential when it comes to producing higher yields, which is mostly what producers are trying to do now but only through conventional methods rather than CA.