Economics of Conservation Agriculture: An Overview

Conservation agriculture / RCT offer a new paradigm for agricultural research and development different from earlier one, which mainly aimed at achieving specific food grains production targets. A shift in paradigm has become a necessity in view of widespread problems of resource degradation, which accompanied past strategies to enhance production with little concern for resource integrity. Integrating concerns of productivity, resource conservation and quality and environment is now fundamental to sustained productivity growth. Developing and promoting CA systems will be highly demanding in terms of knowledge base. This will call for greatly enhanced capacity of scientists to address problems from a systems perspective; be able to work in close partnerships with farmers and other stakeholders and strengthened knowledge and information-sharing mechanisms. CA offers an opportunity for arresting and reversing downward spiral of resource degradation, decreasing cultivation costs and making agriculture more resource-use-efficient, competitive and sustainable. ‘Conserving resources-enhancing productivity’ has to be new mission.