Background：
Conservation Agriculture (CA) is an approach to managing agro-ecosystems for improved and sustained productivity, increased profits and food security while preserving and enhancing resource base and environment. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CA is characterized by three linked principles (www.fao.org/ag/ca): (1) Continuous minimum mechanical soil disturbance (no-till, direct seeding); (2) Maintenance of permanent soil cover (residues and cover crops); (3) Diversification of crop species grown in sequences and/or associations (a diversified cropping system).Many Asian and Pacific countries are facing the challenges of food insecurity for the fast-increasing populations; nevertheless, the intensive crop production has caused severe soil erosion and degradation. After many years of practice, CA has been proven to be one of the most appropriate and sustainable options to increase productivity, income and food security in the region. The implementation of the complementary CA principles through locally devised and tested practices significantly reduce the risk of soil erosion and compaction, loss of organic matters, inappropriate use of water, and hence ensures better soil management, climate change mitigation, conservation of biodiversity, safety application of plant protection products and avoid the build-up of pest populations. Today, the extensive application and demonstration of CA in the worldwide proves the superiority of the technique, including the Asian and Pacific countries.
In the 2013 Asian Expert Consultation Workshop on Conservation Agriculture (CA), more than 30 experts, policy makers, extension specialists and entrepreneurs from the ministries of agriculture, agricultural research institutes, academia and universities, agricultural machinery manufactures, extension services, enterprises and the private sector from 16 select member countries and international organizations participated. The meeting recommended the establishment of the regional network, Conservation Agriculture Alliance for Asia-Pacific (CAAAP) with its Secretariat hosted at the Conservation Tillage Research Centre (CTRC), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA), P. R. China.
Target audience
Public and private stakeholders including but not limited to Directors and Heads of CA Services, Farmers Organizations, Private Sector, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Academia, agricultural research and extension agencies, etc.Language: The working languages of the workshop will be in English.