Tillage agriculture has led to widespread soil and ecosystem degradation globally, and more particularly in the developing regions. This is especially so in Africa where traditional agricultural practices have become unsustainable due to severe exploitation of natural resources with negative impacts on the environment and food system. In addition, agricultural land use in Africa today faces major challenges including increased costs, climate change and a need to transform to more sustainab...

Summarises current research on the adoption of Conservation Agriculture (CA) principles in different regions around the worldHighlights the emergence of CA as a key alternative to tillage-based agricultureReviews the challenges of effective implementation of CA in different contexts (e.g. drier conditions, poor soil quality)

Summarises current research on optimising CA system practices and their ecological, economic and social benefits.Elaborates on how CA systems make efficient use of production inputs such as water, nutrients, energy and addresses challenges in such areas as weed, insect pest and disease management.Reviews the central issues of improvement in yield, profitability and ecosystem services as well as climate change adaptability and mitigation in CA systems.

Reviews the development of CA systems globally and elaborates on science underlying the key CA system components.Assesses the latest evidence on improving soil and crop health and CA system resilience through the application of the core CA system principles.Includes case studies reviewing current science on optimising CA cropping systems involving cereal, legume, horticultural and tree crops as well as integrating livestock in CA systems.

Organic waste composting is another excellent example to demonstrate the power and the benefits of nexus thinking. Even though organic waste composting itself is not a new topic, those who want to start a new project or align an ongoing project with nexus thinking, find it difficult to gather the necessary information. With nine case studies from four continents, this book aims to fill above gap in literature. While current literature on composting is often found to be limited to either so...

Since the 1960s, the world's population has more than doubled and agricultural production per person has increased by a third. Yet this growth in production has masked enormous hidden costs arising from widespread pesticide use - massive ecological damage and high incidences of farmer poisoning and chronic health effects.Whereas once the risks involved with pesticide use were judged to be outweighed by the potential benefits, increasingly the external costs of pesticides, to enviro...

A growing body of evidence shows that agricultural landscapes can be managed not only to produce crops but also to support biodiversity and promote ecosystem health. Innovative farmers and scientists, as well as indigenous land managers, are developing diverse types of “ecoagriculture” landscapes to generate cobenefits for production, biodiversity, and local people.Farming with Nature offers a synthesis of the state of knowledge of key topics in ecoagriculture. The book is...

Strong focus on infrastructural requirements for successful urban agriculture, such as public policy and planning frameworks, business models and social networksCovers developments in key technologies such as rooftop and vertical farming, as well as waste managementIncludes case studies of particular commodities, including horticultural produce, livestock and forestry

In a world increasingly challenged by the need to integrate and understand highly specialized knowledge in a multidisciplinary way, this book is innovative and perhaps unique in addressing this challenge. 　It focuses on ideas, strategies, techniques and practices spanning many disciplines　at the interface of agriculture with: forestry, horticulture, plant physiology, genetics, ecology, soil science, food science, economics, and the social and environmental sciences as delivered by intensif...

If people are to survive in these ever harsher conditions, their crops need to withstand drought, high temperatures and poor soils.Cactus crops are gaining increasing interest across the globe, in particular cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica), because of its unique characteristics which provide resilience to the above mentioned harsh conditions. Cactus pear is able to grow on land where no other crops are able to grow; it can be used to restore degraded land and in many countries, ...

This book incorporates new insights and concepts in the hope of helping guide agricultural students, researchers, and practitioners to a deeper understanding of the ecology of agricultural systems that will open the doors to new management options with the objectives of sustainable agriculture.

Reviews advances in cultivation practice such as seed establishment and more efficient irrigation techniques;Summarises developments in ‘climate smart’ agriculture such as conservation tillage and organic wheat cultivation;Discusses ways of supporting smallholders improve wheat cultivation in North Africa and other regions in the developing world