By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA

International Conference on Conservation agriculture began Wednesday in Konya, a province in Central Anatolia, said United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Wednesday.

"The potential of Turkey’s Konya Closed Basin to adopt an environmentally more sustainable approach to crop production - known as conservation agriculture - will be discussed," the FAO said in a statement.

The three-day event, hosting scientists, experts and farmers from 18 countries in the Central and West Asia and the North Africa, aims to formulate and implement an innovative strategy for spreading conservation agriculture while considering local biophysical, economic, social, policy and institutional factors.

"Participants will analyze a preliminary study on the potential of conservation agriculture here, as well as opportunities and hindrances to adopting conservation agriculture in their own countries," the organization said.

The conference, organized by FAO and the Turkish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock in the framework of the project co-funded by the EU and the Turkey, will end on Friday.

Conservation agriculture, promoted by FAO, aims to produce high crop yields while reducing production costs, maintaining the soil fertility and conserving water, according to FAO.

It comprises three principles -- minimum soil disturbance, diversification of cropping systems and covering of soil as much as possible.