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Governments in West and Central Africa face major challenges not only to produce enough food to feed their growing populations, but also to do so in a way that avoids damaging the environment.

While other regions of the world are experiencing an increase in food production while preserving the ecosystem, experts in West Africa are starting to think about agricultural models that tackle the negative effects of climate change on small-scale farming and the degradation of natural resources. This model of agriculture is known as conservation agriculture. Not only does it maintain permanent soil cover, it also ensures minimal soil deterioration.

From Wednesday March 20 to Thursday March 21, leading researchers from national agricultural systems in 15 countries, together with experts from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and CORAF, will meet in Dakar (Senegal) to validate a research proposal that will be submitted to donors for funding. The main aim of the project will be to achieve the dual objective of boosting food production while preserving the environment.
"Conservation agriculture enhances biodiversity and natural biological processes above and below the soil surface, contributing to more efficient use of water and nutrients, and to improved and sustainable agricultural production", according to the FAO.

Some countries in southern and eastern Africa are already practicing conservation agriculture. But according to CORAF and the FAO, "it is little known in West and Central Africa, and has not been sufficiently tested in French-speaking countries in both regions of the continent".

The project under preparation and to be validated at the Dakar workshop aims to increase the use of conservation agriculture in West and Central Africa by 20%.

Click here to find out more about conservation agriculture.