The Conservation Agriculture awards was one of the innovations at the First Africa Congress on Conservation Agriculture (IACCA). These Awards were made to honor and recognize the contribution of individuals and organizations in Conservation Agriculture as well as raise awareness on the different experiences in

Conservation Agriculture in Africa.
During the 2014 IACCA, four distinct categories of awards were recognized.

• Conservation Agriculture Champions Award
• The Media Award
• Upcoming CA Farmer Award and
• The Conservation Agriculture Challenge Award

One of the sponsors of this Award ceremony was CCARDESA- Center for the Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development in Southern Africa.

Winners under the different categories
Conservation Agriculture Champions Award
The Conservation Agriculture Challenge Award category was won by Conservation Farming Unit - Zambia. Since 1996 the CFU has built a closely knit team dedicated to the promotion of Conservation Farming starting in Zambia and spreading over the years to cover Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya. Using a farmer led extension approach, the CFU has been the force behind the uptake and up scaling of CA in Zambia where an average of 150,000 farmers are trained fours times a year every year. Using a network of selected partners in the East and Southern African region, the CFU has reached another 200,000 farmers per year since 2010 contributing the much needed upscaling of CA in Africa.

The Media Award
The media Award was won by Victor Muyakane of Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. The Awardee been active in CA information dissemination through features on TV in Kenya. He has passion for CA since 2013 when he got exposed to Conservation Agriculture through a field visit. His work can be viewed at http://bit.ly/1it6xZC

Upcoming CA Farmer Award
This category was worn by two farmers, Ms Hellen Musibo from Kenya and Mr Yahaya KIMA from Burkina Faso under ROPPA
This category sponsored by CCARDESA was worn Ms Hellen Musibo a Conservation Agriculture Farmer adopter and Mr Yaha Kima Burkina FASO. Hellen has over time expanded her CA acreage from Zero to 3 acres (all her cropping land) and wishes to open up more land as the labour demand has gone down as a result of CA practice. She is a farmer trainer on CA technology and mobilizes other farmer groups to sensitize them on CA in the county. She has also been able to make presentations on various stakeholder forums on her CA farming experiences.

The Conservation Agriculture Challenge Award
Harouna Sawadogo from Burkina Faso under the ROPPA (Réseau des Organisations Paysannes et de Producteurs de l'Afrique de l'Ouest. ROPPA represents about 45 million small producers, cattle farmers and fishermen, to whom the national organisations deliver advice, support and diverse services for the promotion of their activities and profile. ROPPA strengthens the capacities of African Farmers Organisations to defend the interests of their members and to influence the policies linked to agriculture, rural development and food security.
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Related articles on the Award Ceremony in Lusaka- Zambia

CCARDESA rewards the best conservation farmer in Africa
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