In the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, the low-input cropping systems dominated by cereal monoculture and intensive tillage have a marked negative impact on pressure from diseases, weeds and pests resulting in decreased profit margins. The agricultural model based on mechanical soil tillage, exposed soils and continued monocropping is typically accompanied by negative effects on agriculture’s natural resource base to such an extent that future agricultural productive potential is jeopardized. This form of agriculture is considered to act as a major driver of biodiversity loss and to speed up the loss of soil by increasing the mineralization of organic matteri and erosion rates. | Conservation agriculture training guide for extension agents and farmers in eastern Europe and central Asia
