Agri Kultuur August / Agustus 2016 | Page 13

need to shift from high-input CA to low-input CA as alluded to earlier. Hopefully, the concept of conservation in the context of CA does not imply the notion that things are to be preserved and the ‘status quo’ to be maintained. Since there is the acknowledgement of the agricultural sector being a key driver of change in several societies, let us advance this cause by implementing it in a way that helps facilitate development of especially the rural poor, and in particular women and the youth, so that we could revive interest and aspirations in the sector. This merits the complementation with targeted and effective policy support to sustain the momentum behind CA, and to ensure maximizing benefits and reducing the risk of poor outcomes. The time has come to incentivize such progressive practices so that farmers can reap the full bounty of their efforts and continue their pursuit of best management practices to advance agriculture in its sustainability ideals. Complete article with references available for the author. E-mail [email protected]