Some say it began with the Mayans who used a stick to plant maize in unprepared soil while others trace it to ancient Egypt. But it is clear that conservation agriculture (CA) in the modern sense started in the mid-20th century and was practised successfully in the Americas, particularly Brazil.

CA is an application of modern agricultural techniques to improve production while concurrently protecting and enhancing the land resources. This translates into agriculture that features: little or no soil disturbance, direct seeding into previously untilled soil, maintaining permanent soil cover by retention of crop residues, and crop rotation. It can, therefore, reduce the loss of soil while cutting production costs because of lower labour requirements and fuel consumption.

While the tale of CA in Brazil is well-known and has been replicated in Europe, India, too, is taking its first step towards adopting the practice.

A case in point is Tigra village, situated five km from Ateli on the Rewari-Narnaul road in Haryana, where farm productivity was taking a beating due to climatic fluctuations, land degradation and an unfavourable market system besides several other adverse factors, as is the case in many parts of India. The picture was bleak — until the village was introduced to CA some three years ago.

Dr I P Abrol, head, Centre for Advancement in Sustainable Agriculture (CASA), the organisation that is promoting the principles of CA across the country, says, “CA was introduced on an experimental basis in Tigra village on wheat fields. It is showing good results and has won the confidence of farmers.”

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