Sustainable Intensification through Conservation Agriculture: Farm typologies in Malawi's mixed farming systems. A case for Kasungu, Malawi

Africa’s agricultural productivity is low, compared to other parts of the world. In some cases, yields of main cereal crops such as maize have stagnated at less than 25% of potentially attainable yields. In Sub-Saharan Africa specifically, current agricultural practices are leading to soil degradation. The agricultural systems are generally characterized by small-scale, rain-fed farming practices that often involve minimal inputs. To address these challenges, the Sustainable Intensification of Mixed Farming Systems (SI-MFS) Initiative aims to create equitable and transformative pathways to improve the livelihoods of individuals involved in mixed crop-livestock systems. This initiative focuses on achieving sustainable intensification within specific agroecological and socio-economic contexts. Malawi is one of the Sub-Saharan Africa Countries in SI-MFS that faces agricultural productivity challenges. The nation’s crop yields, particularly for staple crops like maize, are relatively low. With an average farm size in Malawi of 0.71 hectares, agricultural practices are primarily geared towards cultivating crops for household consumption. Conservation agriculture (CA) is one of the option to improve crop production that is explored in Malawi. Within SI-MFS, experiments are currently being done to explore the potential for improving cropThis study contributed to the SI-MFS project and focused specifically on conservation agriculture (CA) experiments in the Kasungu region in Malawi, that were already running in SI-MFS. It evaluated the effectiveness of various CA practices in the maize-based farming systems of Malawi, assessing their potential to enhance resilience and sustainability. Additionally, the study investigated how different CA treatments can facilitate the further integration of livestock within smallholder farming systems, contributing to more sustainable mixed farming practices. Livestock can provide organic fertilizers in the form of manure. Livestock manure has provided supplementary advantages to improving soil quality and further closing nutrient cycles in agriculture. This study addresses a research gap in the sustainable integration of crop-livestock systems. It explores the potential of CA in combination with various crop combinations and production systems such as rotation and intercropping to enhance agricultural productivity and sustainability in the region. We specifically looked at how CA can support further integration of livestock within smallholder farming systems in Malawi. Currently there is little evidence on the possible effect of CA on the support of livestock integration in smallholder farming systems.The main research question was: How can the technical CA innovations proposed in Kasungu support the integration of crop-livestock in a sustainable way? 1. How can the current diversity in farming systems in Kasungu be characterized? 2. How does CA incorporating crop diversification practices influence the farm systems of small holder farmers in Kasungu with respect to food security, labour requirement and farmer’s perception.