Keywords :

Sustainable production and innovation for smallholders in developing countries

The improvement and stabilization of smallholders’ agricultural production are key challenges for international agronomic research. Soils in tropical environments are varied but fragile and the climatic conditions are harsh, with a high probability of catastrophic events occurring. Socioeconomic conditions for smallholders in such regions are also often difficult and volatile, with limited access to markets and credit. In such conditions, innovative systems proposed should preserve and make efficient use of available natural resources in the short- and long-term, maintain or even increase productivity, while limiting the environmental impacts of agricultural activities. CIRAD, along with its partners in industrialized and developing countries, is thus involved in a process to develop/assess direct seeding mulch-based cropping systems (DMC) adapted to tropical conditions.

These systems are based on no tillage, permanent plant cover, diversified rotations and the use of multifunctional cover crops. They have proved effective in stabilizing grain production (better water and nutrient use) and in enhancing certain ecosystem services (erosion control, carbon storage, soil biology, etc.). Modelling on plot and farm scales helps to accurately characterize the complex functioning of these systems and to assess their potential integration in production systems. A participatory process for the co-development of these innovative cropping systems is currently being implemented in different countries to promote their dissemination. It involves many exchanges between researchers in different disciplines, technicians and the different types of producers concerned, thereby contributing greatly to the reciprocal learning process necessary for everyone and gradually familiarizing farmers with DMC.