Participatory Approach for Conservation Agriculture Technology to Increase Maize Production on Dryland and Semiarid for Adaptation on Climate Change in NTB

ABSTRACT

The reduction of the risk of agricultural failure due to climate change was implemented in the NTB province through conservation agriculture (CA) with three main pillars: minimum tillage or no tillage, continuously land cover crop and plant rotation or intercropping. Conservation agriculture in the long term may improve yields and simultaneously increase adaptation to climate change, especially in erratic rainfall conditions. The objective of this research was to apply conservation agriculture technology on dryland and semiarid climate type for maize cultivation through participatory approach. There were 46 farmer groups with a total of 953 members have involved to apply conservation agriculture through a field school approach. Each farmer group developed a CA plot as a joint learning tool compared to farmer practices. Farmer groups planted maize at all types of CA. This activity was conducted at 3 districts, 5 sub-districts and 9 villages in NTB province from 2014 to 2016. The average yield of maize crops with conservation agriculture during the four planting seasons from 2014 to 2016 was 3.9 ton/ha with an increase of 77% compared to the harvest of maize by the farmer practices (2.2 ton/ha). The average yield of maize in the rainy season of 2014 with CA techniques was 4.3 ton/ha; this yield was increase by 68% compared to farmer practice (2.6 ton/ha). In wet season of 2015, the average yield of maize with CA was 3.4 tons / ha and this was increased by 87% compared to farmers practices (1.8 tons / ha). Similar trend was also found in wet season of 2016 where yield of maize increased by 63% compared to farmers practices. Thus, Conservation agriculture consistently increased maize productivity and increased the income of farmers on uncertain climatic conditions.