Conservation agriculture
Topic: Environment and Sustainable Development · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Conservation agriculture is farming built on three principles:
- minimum soil disturbance (little or no ploughing)
- permanent soil cover (crop residue or cover crops left on the field)
- crop diversification (rotating or mixing crops)
Together, these protect the soil from erosion, keep moisture in and build up organic matter.
Example
In zero tillage, wheat is sown straight into unploughed soil with the paddy residue still lying there. The Happy Seeder machine does this in Punjab and Haryana. Farmers then have no need to burn the stubble, which helps cut Delhi-NCR's winter smog.
Don't confuse with
- Regenerative agriculture: a wider approach that also adds managed grazing and focuses on restoring soil and biodiversity. Conservation agriculture is defined by its three fixed principles.
Related concepts
- Traditional knowledge
- Vermicomposting
- Biopest control
- Integrated pest management
- Organic farming
- Organic food
- Natural farming
- Zero budget natural farming
- Zero tillage
- Direct seeded rice