1. Conservation Agriculture and
Cover Crops: A Choice for
Sustainable Cropland Management
Planned Research Cooperation with the
Technische Universität München
Mewael Kiros, ASSEFA
Nov. 2012

2. Process of acquiring the innovative approach
(August 2011)
 Me: TUM assitant researcher
working on conservation
agriculture
 Problem identified
 Over coffee discussion: use and
enhancement of crop
biodiversity in order to improve
sustainability of cropping
Dr. Jörg Peter Baresel
systems. Researcher, Agronomist
 Discussion continued: at TUM
.
• Conservation agriculture (CA)
and use of cover crops
• OSCAR

3. Optimizing Subsidiary Crop Applications in
Rotations
Making conservation
agriculter work by:
 Disturbing the soil as
little as possible
 Kepping the soil
Contract period: covered as much as
1 April 2012 to 31 March 2016 possible
Project webpage:  By mixing and rotating
http://ec.europa.eu/research/bioeconomy/
agriculture/projects/oscar_en.htm
crops
Main funder:
EU Framework Programme

4. Conventional Agriculture

5. Conservation Agriculture
DMC CT

7. Direct planted
Ploughed

8. Expected Impact
 Reduced green house gas emission
 Increased biodiversity
 Reduced use of herbicides and pesticides
 Reduced losses of nitrogen and phosphorus
 Reduced erosion
 Improved water use efficiency
 Lower production costs
 Social impact: reduction of time consumption for
tillage leaves more time for other reproductive
acitivities

9. Farming situation in Ethiopia

10. CoNEt : Ethiopian
Conservation Agriculture and
Introduction of Cover Crops in
Northern Ethiopia (CoNEt)
CoNEt
initiative
Submission date : June 15, 2012 presented
Result notification: Dec., 2012 during
OSCAR kick-
Partners: off meeting
1. Aksum University, Ethiopia
2. Technische Universität München, Germany
3. Best Practices Association (BPA) , Ethiopia Outcomes
4. Aksum Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopia CoNEt will be
5. University of Nairobi, Kenya closely
6. ESASODECOTON/IRAD Project, Cameroon related to
7. Friedrich Wenz GMBH, Germany OSCAR
8. Yirga Engineering PLC, Ethiopia

11. Impact
1. Research
2. International
cooperation

12. Impact
1. Research
i.e localization of conservation Testing
agriculture in Ethiopia
cover crops

13. Maresh Jab planter: Brazil
Testing
direct
planters

14. Testing
Zimbabwe
Rippers
and
planters

15. Brazil
Testing an
animal-drawn
knife-roller

16. 2. International and national
cooperation
CoNEt

17. THANK YOU