Past agricultural management practices have contributed to the loss of soil organic carbon (SOC) and emission of greenhouse gases (e.g., carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide). Fortunately, however, conservation-oriented agricultural management systems can be, and have been, developed to sequester SOC, improve soil quality, and increase crop productivity. Our objectives were to (i) review literature...

A study to determine the impacts of farmers field schools (FFS) on smallholders’ adoption of good agricultural practices in tea and to assess sustainability of smallholder tea production was conducted in the highlands of Kenya. Input-output data on tea management and on sustainability indicators (score 0-10) were collected from a sample of 120 FFS participants at the beginning of the study and ...

Global agricultural and food systems face the challenge of feeding a growing world population in the face of finite and diminishing resources. To guide the redesign of agricultural systems, farmers and policymakers are increasingly turning to agroecology. Organic agriculture has historically integrated agroecological practices within its regulatory framework; however, questions remain as to the...

BACKGROUND Harnessing beneficial microbes presents a promising strategy to optimize plant growth and agricultural sustainability. Little is known to which extent and how specifically soil and plant microbiomes can be manipulated through different cropping practices. Here, we investigated soil and wheat root microbial communities in a cropping system experiment consisting of conventional and org...

In developed countries, changes in agriculture practices have greatly accelerated the degradation of the landscape and the functioning of adjacent aquatic ecosystems. Such alteration can in turn impair the services provided by aquatic ecosystems, namely the decomposition of organic matter, a key process in most small streams. To study this alteration, we recorded three measures of heterotrophic...

Identifying role of extension system in adoption of new technologies have important role to developing favorable extension systems. For supporting sustainable agriculture in Iran needs extension systems to be carefully thought and accurately implemented. The purpose of this is analyzing role of extension activities in adoption of sustainable agriculture. Based on the results the attending agric...

This article presents analysis and synthesis of findings concerning the problem of costeffective placement of best management practices (BMPs) emerging from NIFA CEAP and the USDA NRCS jointly-funded competitive grant projects, and future research needs. The synthesis focuses on two fundamental aspects of the cost-effectiveness problem: (1) how to assess the locationand farmer-specific costs of...

Sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) that lead to an increase in productivity are central to the acceleration of economic growth; this will alleviate poverty and help to overcome the recurrent food shortages that affect millions of households in Africa. However, the adoption rates of SAPs remain below expected levels. This paper analyzes the factors that facilitate or impede the probabilit...