Conservation Farming

Conservation  farming is an important phrase in these times of climate change. The Vetiver System is one component of conservation farming. Another component is how to manage the soil and crops between the Vetiver hedgerows, particularly on sloping lands. Over the past decades there has been some very interesting development in Zambia that has achieved excellent results, both in crop yields and soil management, that has resulted in significant improvements in national maize production. The focus has been mainly on developing successful minimal tillage technology suitable for hoe and animal powered dependent farmers and the use of leguminous trees for soil fertility improvement. The group responsible for this is The Conservation Farming Unit (CFU). It has an excellent website:http://conservationagriculture.org/ it is worth spending a little time reading the material. 

The key people behind the program started as commercial farmers in Africa and are both successful and experienced. Even if the system does not fit your conditions or needs exactly, I am sure you will learn something from the website.