Comparative analysis of effects of climate-smart agriculture practices and conventional agriculture on selected soil physicochemical properties in Nyimba district, Zambia

Abstract

Background. Many smallholder farmers in the developing world live in adverse poverty and rely on agriculture as their primary source of income and household food. In Zambia, agriculture production is the main activity for people in rural areas of the country. The study evaluated the effects of climate-smart practices: Gliricidia sepium alley cropping, conservation agriculture basin, ripping, and conventional agriculture cropland on selected physicochemical properties of soil among smallholder farmers’ croplands in Nyimba district, Zambia. Materials and Methods. Cropland under conservation agriculture basin, ripping, agroforestry gliricidia alleyed cropping, and conventional agriculture cropland hosting the practices for more than five years were considered for soil sample collection. Thirty (30) composite soil samples were collected: gliricidia alley cropping (n = 6), conservation agriculture ripping (n = 6), basin (n = 6), conventional agriculture one (n = 6), and conventional agriculture two (n = 6) following a zigzag pattern on soil surface depth of 0–30 cm. The collected composite soil samples were analyzed at the University of Zambia Soil Science Laboratory. Soil laboratory results were analyzed with Minitab Statistical Software version 17 for mean squares, standard deviations, and Tukey’s LSD. Results and Discussion. The study revealed significant effects (p <0.05) of gliricidia alley cropping, conservation agriculture ripping, and basin on soil bulk density, porosity, power of hydrogen (pH), cation exchange capacity, available phosphorus, total nitrogen, exchangeable bases sodium, calcium, and potassium. Exchangeable base magnesium was recorded as insignificant across the considered practices off-course with minimal mean variations with conventional agriculture cropland. Conclusion. The study shows that implementing climate-smart agriculture practices has the potential to improve crop productivity per hectare through reclaiming and amending depleted soil physicochemical properties in a mid and long run. This also indicates the importance of climate-smart agricultural practices implementation among smallholder farmers’ cropping fields.