Papers by Theodor Friedrich
Applied Engineering in Agriculture, 2012
Smallholder farmers in many sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries are limited by farm power shortag... more Smallholder farmers in many sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries are limited by farm power shortages. One way of reducing the constraint, and also the negative impacts of conventional tillage (with hoe and plow), is to practice conservation agriculture (CA) which uses no-till techniques to establish crops. CA can be practiced on small areas with rudimentary tools (a pointed stick to plant) and manual weed control methods. But to expand the area cropped, some mechanization is needed. The necessary equipment can include draft animal powered (DAP) rippers, sprayers, and no till (NT) planters, and maybe knife rollers along with manual jab planters and herbicide applicators.
International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 2011
This paper highlights the limiting factors of agricultural production in Zimbabwe and presents co... more This paper highlights the limiting factors of agricultural production in Zimbabwe and presents conservation agriculture (CA) as a potential solution to address many of these challenges. CA, based on the three principles of minimum soil disturbance, crop residue retention and crop rotations, targets low soil fertility, moisture deficits and low management standards through the use of soil-fertility-enhancing technologies (precision fertilizer application, crop rotations, sequencing and interactions), improved moisture use efficiency and higher standards of agronomic management practices. The paper also explains the role of CA in natural resource conservation as increasing productivity will reduce the land under crop production and increase the area under natural vegetation. Trends in the development of CA in the past five years and its current status in the country are explained, with the roles of different stakeholders outlined. Evidence on the impact of CA on both food security and the environment is presented. In conclusion, the paper looks at the various factors that may affect the spread of CA to different agro-ecological zones in the country.
Globally smallholder farmers constitute the majority of farmers, producing 80 percent of the food... more Globally smallholder farmers constitute the majority of farmers, producing 80 percent of the food in developing countries. Yet, for many farming is a struggle often with only rudimentary tools and implements available. As a group they can usually only pay scant attention to the longer term management of natural resources and can rarely afford inputs such as quality seeds or fertilizer, let alone herbicides for chemical weed management. The scarcest input to smallholder farming is often energy, particularly the human energy or farm power that is required for land preparation, crop establishment, weeding, harvesting and transport. Conservation Agriculture (CA) presents an opportunity for smallholders to reduce or even eliminate the need for land preparation and heavy digging with the hand hoe. Instead precision hand jab-planters can place seeds through vegetative mulch cover into untilled soils. Jab-planters can also place fertilizer at the same time and with precision (FAO, 2005, 200...
This paper considers features underlying conservation-effective agricultural systems' impacts... more This paper considers features underlying conservation-effective agricultural systems' impacts, because they can explain present successes, suggest guidelines for future initiatives, and indicate criteria for judging their effectiveness. Once farmers have made the transition in awareness, thinking and practice of Conservation Agriculture (CA), positive benefits which attract farmers include savings in time, labour, energy and expenditure, with increased productivity and profit
This paper considers features underlying conservation-effective agricultural systems' impacts... more This paper considers features underlying conservation-effective agricultural systems' impacts, because they can explain present successes, suggest guidelines for future initiatives, and indicate criteria for judging their effectiveness. Once farmers have made the transition in awareness, thinking and practice of Conservation Agriculture (CA), positive benefits which attract farmers include savings in time, labour, energy and expenditure, with increased productivity and profit
Several types of tissue-like materials, animal tissues and human breast tissues in vitro, have be... more Several types of tissue-like materials, animal tissues and human breast tissues in vitro, have been measured by a photospectrometer at visible and near-infrared wavelengths (between approximately 500 and 1100 nm) with the aim of correlating the dominant spectral features. In the clinical part of this work female volunteers of different age with various thicknesses of breast tissue at different sites
Conservation Agriculture (CA) is defined as a concept for resource-saving agricultural crop produ... more Conservation Agriculture (CA) is defined as a concept for resource-saving agricultural crop production that strives to achieve acceptable profits, high and sustained production levels while concurrently conserving the environment. It is regarded as sustainable land management tool for agricultural lands. CA is based on enhancing natural biological processes above and below the ground. Interventions such as mechanical soil tillage are reduced to an absolute minimum, and the use of external inputs such as agrochemicals, nutrients of mineral or organic origin are applied at an optimum level and in a way and quantity that does not interfere with or disrupt the biological processes. In some cases external inputs are reduced to zero. CA is characterized by three principles which are linked to each other, namely: 1. minimum mechanical soil disturbance throughout the entire crop rotation 2. permanent organic soil cover, 3. diversified crop rotations in case of annual crops or plant associat...
International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 2011
Subsistence farmers in Lesotho have been able to boost agricultural yields and increase food prod... more Subsistence farmers in Lesotho have been able to boost agricultural yields and increase food production by adopting conservation agriculture. The practice, locally known as likoti, also contributes to combating soil erosion and to enhancing fertility. The socio-economic and environmental benefits help poor households to rehabilitate and strengthen their livelihood capital base and ultimately help rural communities to build system resilience in the face of widespread poverty and increasing vulnerability that affect the country. This paper discusses the major advantages associated with the spread of likoti. By drawing on primary data collected by FAO-Lesotho, it enquires into the determinants of adoption, thereby highlighting constraints and options for future up-scaling. The results show that attending appropriate training is a crucial prerequisite for the correct adoption of likoti. However, training is more effective when trainers pursue true participation and when social capital among farmers is stronger. Further important determinants of adoption are the level of education and the economic incentives provided to vulnerable households. Stronger policy and institutional support in all these areas would thus help address the cultural and resource constraints that limit the full potential of likoti to be harnessed and ultimately hinder its further spread throughout the country.
International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 2011
This paper highlights the limiting factors of agricultural production in Zimbabwe and presents co... more This paper highlights the limiting factors of agricultural production in Zimbabwe and presents conservation agriculture (CA) as a potential solution to address many of these challenges. CA, based on the three principles of minimum soil disturbance, crop residue retention and crop rotations, targets low soil fertility, moisture deficits and low management standards through the use of soil-fertility-enhancing technologies (precision fertilizer application, crop rotations, sequencing and interactions), improved moisture use efficiency and higher standards of agronomic management practices. The paper also explains the role of CA in natural resource conservation as increasing productivity will reduce the land under crop production and increase the area under natural vegetation. Trends in the development of CA in the past five years and its current status in the country are explained, with the roles of different stakeholders outlined. Evidence on the impact of CA on both food security and the environment is presented. In conclusion, the paper looks at the various factors that may affect the spread of CA to different agro-ecological zones in the country.
International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 2011
This project was initiated to promote conservation agriculture (CA) in Tanzania so as to improve ... more This project was initiated to promote conservation agriculture (CA) in Tanzania so as to improve the food security and rural livelihood of small- and medium-scale farmers through the scaling-up of CA as a sustainable land management (SLM) tool as well as increasing the numbers of SLM-CA farmer field schools (FFS) in communities. The project had two phases from 2004 to
International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 2009
2nd World Congress of Agroforestry, Nairobi, Kenya, 2009
… document for the …, 2008
During the last glacial-interglacial cycle, northern hemispheric (NH) ice-sheets experienced dram... more During the last glacial-interglacial cycle, northern hemispheric (NH) ice-sheets experienced dramatic changes in radiative forcing, due to orbitally-driven insolation changes and varying greenhouse gas concentrations. This direct forcing caused temperature changes and eventually ablation anomalies. Orbital-scale variations in the atmospheric circulation caused anomalies in temperature advection and precipitation/snowfall that also strongly contributed to the mass balance and hence the time-evolution
Transition Studies Review, 2010
It is expected that climate change (CC), growing population, increasing urbanization and improvin... more It is expected that climate change (CC), growing population, increasing urbanization and improving living standards are amongst the major drivers influencing future agricultural development needs. Under conventional agricultural systems, the main sources of growth in crop production are well known. Beyond suffering its consequences, agriculture has been shown to act as a driver of CC, primarily through the production and release of about 15% of the atmospheric greenhouse gases but also by altering the resilience of the agro-ecosystems. The main criterion for the production systems called conservation agriculture (CA) is the provision of an optimum environment in the root-zone to maximum possible depth. Under CA the water-holding capacity of the soil increases, and water losses are reduced. CA combined with other complementary techniques can also help reduce the emissions for methane and nitrous oxides and at the same time it can improve rural and socio-economic development.
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Papers by Theodor Friedrich