.:: Lao Knowledge Base on Conservation Agriculture ::.
This Congress endorses the Declaration of the First World Congress on ConservationAgriculture (CA) in Madrid (2001) and notes the remarkable advances made in the twoyears which succeeded it, both in area adopted (now totaling 72 million ha of annual cropsworldwide - an additional 7 million hectares since 2001- and at least a similar area of agroforestry/perennial crops) and the evolution of CA technology and its implementation inmany new farming systems in the 50 countries represented in the WCCA2. This congressstrongly believes that CA, comprising the universal principles of permanent soil cover,direct seeding or planting, minimum soil disturbance and pluri-annual crop rotation, is theprincipal road to sustainable agriculture and capable of helping solve the world’s hungerand environmental crises while improving the quality of life. CA can achieve food securityby reversing soil degradation, reducing agrochemical use and contamination, improvingfood quality, and conserving, preserving and enhancing the quality of natural resources andbiodiversity while increasing farmer net income and competitiveness, and sequesteringcarbon from the atmosphere. Also, CA is applicable to all sizes and types of farms and toall crops. Therefore, this Congress calls upon all governments, elected politicians, policymakers, NGOs, the private sector and consumers of agricultural products worldwide toactively support the wider adoption and development of CA.
