View article

Challenges around the intensification of maize–legume cropping systems in eastern and southern Africa (ESA) have been explained by high levels of soil degradation and poor soil fertility and nutrient mining (Dixo, Gulliver & Gibbon 2001; Wagstaff & Harty 2010; Vanlauwe & Zingore 2011; Jama et al. 2017; Kihara et al. 2016). Soil health has been widely recognised as an important contributor to the sustainability of agroecosystems. Persistent promotion of conservation agriculture-based sustainable intensification (CASI) has occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), although the life in the soil has not been fully understood. CASI, by definition, refers to practices that reduce soil disturbance, provide permanent soil cover and use crop rotations or associations (Kassam et al. 2009). CASI has demonstrated the potential to curb further erosion from degraded soil resources (Enfors et al. 2011; Huang et al. 2012; Kassam et al. 2009). CASI has increased soil moisture conservation and mitigates yield losses from in-season dry spells (Nyagumbo & Rurinda 2012). The crop rotation component of CASI consistently reduced pests and diseases (Govaerts et al. 2006) and improved soil fertility (Maltas et al. 2009). Rotations and intercropping have also diversified farmers’ incomes and spread the risk of complete crop failure (Wang et al. 2003), and increased N soil fertility for resource-constrained farmers (Peoples et al. 2009). While the yield, soil health and water conservation benefits of CASI are well established, other effects of CASI (eg soil faunal biodiversity) remain poorly understood. SIMLESA tested CASI technologies using improved maize and legume …