Sustainability Language

Coffee, Cocoa & Agricultural Commodities

Conservation Agriculture

An FAO-defined farming system built on three principles: minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover, and diversification of crop species.

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Definition

Conservation Agriculture is a farming approach defined by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization around three linked principles: minimum mechanical soil disturbance (no-till or reduced tillage), permanent soil organic cover (at least 30 per cent, using crop residues or cover crops), and diversification of species through rotations or associations of at least three crops. It aims to improve soil health, water retention and resilience while sustaining yields.

References

FAO

three principles and definition

Overview

What it means

A codified alternative to conventional plough-based agriculture that treats soil structure and biology as assets to be protected.

How it is used

FAO promotes the system globally; its origins are often traced to responses to the 1930s Dust Bowl in North America. It is now applied across cereals and commodity systems and cited in climate-adaptation and soil-carbon programmes.

Why it matters

As one of the few agricultural approaches with a formal institutional definition, it anchors debates about soil health, erosion, farm resilience and low-carbon farming practices.

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