TY - JOUR

T1 - Critical reflection on knowledge and narratives of conservation agriculture

AU - Whitfield, Stephen

AU - Dougill, Andrew J.

AU - Dyer, J.

AU - Kalaba, Felix K.

AU - Leventon, Julia

AU - Stringer, Lindsay C.

PY - 2015/3/1

Y1 - 2015/3/1

N2 - In the context of contemporary concerns about climate change and food security, Conservation Agriculture (CA) has emerged as a well-supported and central component of the agricultural sector development strategy across sub-Saharan Africa, including in Zambia, which is the focus of this paper. A variety of narratives about the benefits of CA over conventional agricultural systems underpin endeavours towards ‘scaling up’ CA and increasing rates of adoption amongst smallholder farmers nationwide. However, there is a knowledge politics underlying the translation of a weak evidence base around CA into persuasive narratives and financial and political support. In this paper, we trace the evolution of five narratives around CA in Zambia in relation to changing political agendas and the involvement of new public and private sector actors, and review the development of evidence bases and knowledge that support and challenge each of these narratives. We discuss the potential to open up space within this knowledge politics to alternative narratives and the contestation of the pervasive CA scaling up agenda. Critical reflection is essential to ensure that national and local evidence is more effectively used to guide national climate and agricultural policy developments and international donor initiatives.

AB - In the context of contemporary concerns about climate change and food security, Conservation Agriculture (CA) has emerged as a well-supported and central component of the agricultural sector development strategy across sub-Saharan Africa, including in Zambia, which is the focus of this paper. A variety of narratives about the benefits of CA over conventional agricultural systems underpin endeavours towards ‘scaling up’ CA and increasing rates of adoption amongst smallholder farmers nationwide. However, there is a knowledge politics underlying the translation of a weak evidence base around CA into persuasive narratives and financial and political support. In this paper, we trace the evolution of five narratives around CA in Zambia in relation to changing political agendas and the involvement of new public and private sector actors, and review the development of evidence bases and knowledge that support and challenge each of these narratives. We discuss the potential to open up space within this knowledge politics to alternative narratives and the contestation of the pervasive CA scaling up agenda. Critical reflection is essential to ensure that national and local evidence is more effectively used to guide national climate and agricultural policy developments and international donor initiatives.

KW - Sustainability Science

KW - Climate-smart agriculture

KW - scaling up

KW - farming systems

KW - politics

KW - Zambia

KW - Sub-Saharan Africa

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84923030810&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.01.016

DO - 10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.01.016

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 60

SP - 133

EP - 142

JO - Geoforum

JF - Geoforum

IS - 3

ER -