Climate-Smart Agriculture? A review of current practice of agroforestry and conservation agriculture in Malawi and Zambia

This Food and Agriculture Organisation working paper reviews the application of agroforestry in Malawi and conservation agriculture (CA) in Zambia under the framework of 'climate-smart agriculture'. The study evaluates the impact of these techniques on crop yields, socio-economic outcomes, and carbon sequestration through a comprehensive literature review.

• Agroforestry in Malawi shows strong evidence of increasing annual food crop yields, serving as both a complement and a substitute for inorganic fertilisers. Despite these benefits to livelihoods and income, the rate of adoption in Malawi has remained slow.
• Conservation agriculture (CA) in Zambia shows weak but positive evidence for yield benefits, especially in drier regions, and inconclusive evidence regarding financial and livelihood gains. Adoption is hindered by high labour costs for weeding and digging basins, which exceed the labour saved from tillage. In 2010, about 10% of smallholder farmers in Zambia used CA, with a significant portion (estimated at 80% in 2003) doing so because of government incentives.
• The literature review indicates that agroforestry has a significantly higher potential for carbon sequestration than conservation agriculture, although there is a lack of literature specifically focused on Malawi and Zambia.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (2013). Climate-Smart Agriculture? A review of current practice of agroforestry and conservation agriculture in Malawi and Zambia. https://cdkn.org/resource/climate-smart-agriculture-a-review-of-current-practice-of-agroforestry-and-conservation-agriculture-in-malawi-and-zambia

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. Climate-Smart Agriculture? A review of current practice of agroforestry and conservation agriculture in Malawi and Zambia. 2013. https://cdkn.org/resource/climate-smart-agriculture-a-review-of-current-practice-of-agroforestry-and-conservation-agriculture-in-malawi-and-zambia.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=Climate-Smart Agriculture? A review of current practice of agroforestry and conservation agriculture in Malawi and Zambia |date=19 December 2013 |url=https://cdkn.org/resource/climate-smart-agriculture-a-review-of-current-practice-of-agroforestry-and-conservation-agriculture-in-malawi-and-zambia |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetwork2013climatesmart, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{Climate-Smart Agriculture? A review of current practice of agroforestry and conservation agriculture in Malawi and Zambia}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2013}, month = dec, url = {https://cdkn.org/resource/climate-smart-agriculture-a-review-of-current-practice-of-agroforestry-and-conservation-agriculture-in-malawi-and-zambia}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }