The smallholder farmers of the Bajio face serious threats to the sustainability of their agriculture such as decreasing profitability of cereal farming, dwindling availability of irrigation water and degradation of soil fertility. Conservation Agriculture (CA) constitutes a very attractive alternative as it promises to bring about instantaneous reductions in production costs, savings in irrigation water and gradual improvements of soil fertility.
Key agronomic factors affecting the success of Conservation Agriculture in the irrigated cropping systems of the Bajio (Mexico) (poster)
Partnerships, farmer participation and conservation agriculture initial experiences and lessons from the Bajio (Mexico) (poster)
Is it possible to coordinate the strategies and actions of multiple actors around the common goal of developing and diffusing Conservation Agriculture (CA) practices? How crucial is farmer participation in these efforts? How much of an emphasis should be placed on CA technologies vs. other types of innovations? The initial steps of the ASOSID project provide partial answers to these questions in the context of the Bajio, a semi-arid, subtropical region of Central Mexico dominated by post-green revolution, highly productive irrigated small-scale farming, presently facing decreasing profitability of cereal production, dwindling availability of irrigation water and soil fertility degradation.
Towards large-scale adoption of no-tillage in central Mexico: a participatory, multi-institutional approach to technology development and diffusion
Conservation tillage (CT) has been adopted in Mexico on less than 500,000 ha (only 3% of the national cropped area), in contrast with Brazil, Argentina, or Paraguay (Derpsh, 1998). Reasons include: - Uncoordinated efforts by the various institutions involved. - Use of top-down, rigid transfer approaches. - Technology not adequately tailored to farmer conditions and constraints. - Limited access to CT drills. - Insufficient training of farmers and technicians. - Virtually no technical assistance for farmers.
Differential adoption of direct-seeding in Guanajuato Mexico : a baseline diagnostic
Mexico who are facing increased competition from world markets. Conservation tillage (CT) has been promoted as a productivity enhancing and resource conserving technology that benefits grain farmers, but despite its advantages has not been widely adopted. Some information exists on CT adoption rates but the information is incoherent and divergent. This study examines CT adoption among farmers in Guanajuato, Mexico. A diagnostic survey was designed to procure baseline information for a participatory research development program to develop sustainable farming practices based on CT principles.