What is conservation agriculture and how can it save the planet?

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What is conservation agriculture and how can it save the planet?

Conservation agriculture may be the answer to having water in the next 30 years

From the origins of agriculture on our planet almost 10,000 years ago to the present day, the practices and techniques of plowing, sowing and harvesting have undergone great innovations, including animal-drawn plowing, irrigation, the introduction of machinery and the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

This evolution of agricultural techniques has occurred as a result of the high demand for food due to the growing need to sustain an increasingly populated planet.

However, these unsustainable farming techniques have damaged, eroded, and crusted the land, reducing soil quality and nutrients.

In the 1930s, a phenomenon called the "Dust Bowl" emerged in the south-central United States.

Huge sandstorms, reaching up to 1.5 kilometers in height, covered the plains, with entire days passing without a single ray of sunshine being seen.

To date, this phenomenon is considered the greatest ecological disaster in the history of the United States, caused mainly by poor agricultural practices, overexploitation of the soil, excessive demand for cereals, high temperatures and extended periods of drought.

As a result of this serious crisis, interest arose in investigating and promoting conservation methods to prevent soil erosion and degradation, thus giving rise to the first sustainable agriculture practices.

The term conservation agriculture formally emerged around 1990, and during these slightly more than 30 years, there have been far more significant advances in soil care than in the entire history of agriculture.

And what is Conservation Agriculture?

It is a sustainable farming system based on three interrelated principles:

Minimal soil disturbance or zero tillage
Crop diversification
Permanent ground cover

This sustainable farming system brings multiple benefits to the ecosystem such as:

Increased biodiversity and natural biological processes in the soil
Greater use and conservation of water
Greater efficiency in the use of nutrients
Increased crop yield
Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
Cost reduction

Although some of these benefits can be seen in the medium term, there are others that are obtained immediately, such as reduced costs due to minimal fuel use or shorter time between crops by not tilling the land.

In recent times (2020) some sandstorms have already occurred in northern Mexico, which highlights the need to accelerate the adoption of these agricultural practices, which are the basis for sustainable intensification.

Conservation agriculture can be the difference between having water or not in the next 30 years.

Currently, Grupo Modelo and the German Cooperation for Sustainable Development (GIZ) are joining forces to promote initiatives such as the Aguas Firmes program, which, with the support of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), puts science at the service and improvement of the countryside.

We invite you to subscribe to our blog to learn more about Conservation Agriculture and the Aguas Firmes program. Join us and let's build a community.

Let's build a strong future for everyone!

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