Food and nutrition insecurity in southern Africa call for improvements in traditional agriculture systems. Conservation Agriculture (CA) based on minimum soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and crop diversification has been implemented as a strategy to maintain yields while safeguarding the environment. However, less focus has been placed on potential synergistic benefits on nutrition security. Maize-based systems may increase household income through selling but may not lead to proportionate reduction in malnutrition. Crop diversification in CA systems can have a direct impact on the nutritional status of farm households due to improved dietary diversity. Here we assess how the integration of grain legumes, cowpeas and soybeans, in maize-based CA systems either as intercrops or rotational crops affects maize grain yield and stability, total energy yield, protein yield and surplus calories after satisfying the daily requirement per household. The experiments were carried out from 2012 to 2020 (nine consecutive cropping seasons) in six eastern Zambian on-farm communities using 966 observations. Results show that intercropping compromises maize yields with marginal yield penalties of −5% compared to no-till monocropping. However, intercropped yields were more stable across environments. Total system caloric energy and protein yield were highest in intercropping systems due to higher productivity per unit land area owing to the additive contribution of both maize and legumes. Total system caloric energy and protein yield reached yearly averages of 60 GJ ha−1 and 517 kg ha−1, respectively, for the intercropping system as compared to 48 GJ ha−1 and 263 kg ha−1 in monocropped maize systems. Tillage-based monocrop resulted in the least stable yields. Our results suggest that intercropping maize with grain legumes in CA systems is a promising option for smallholder farming households to improve dietary diversity, dietary quality and stability of yields thus contributing to sustainable agriculture intensification while maintaining food and nutrition security.

中文翻译：

---

改善营养和恢复力将使保护性农业对赞比亚小农更具吸引力

南部非洲的粮食和营养不安全要求改进传统农业系统。基于最小土壤干扰、永久土壤覆盖和作物多样化的保护性农业 (CA) 已被实施，作为在保护环境的同时保持产量的战略。然而，对营养安全潜在协同效益的关注较少。以玉米为基础的系统可以通过销售增加家庭收入，但可能不会相应地减少营养不良。由于膳食多样性的改善，CA 系统中的作物多样化可对农户的营养状况产生直接影响。在这里，我们评估了谷物豆类、豇豆和大豆在以玉米为基础的 CA 系统中作为间作或轮作作物的整合如何影响玉米产量和稳定性，满足每户每日需求后的总能量产量、蛋白质产量和剩余热量。该实验于 2012 年至 2020 年（连续九个种植季节）在赞比亚东部六个农场社区进行，使用 966 次观测。结果表明，与免耕单作相比，间作会影响玉米产量，边际产量损失为 -5%。然而，跨环境的间作产量更加稳定。由于玉米和豆类的加性贡献，每单位土地面积的生产力更高，因此间作系统的总系统热量和蛋白质产量最高。系统总热量和蛋白质产量达到年平均 60 GJ ha 该实验于 2012 年至 2020 年（连续九个种植季节）在赞比亚东部六个农场社区进行，使用 966 次观测。结果表明，与免耕单作相比，间作会影响玉米产量，边际产量损失为 -5%。然而，跨环境的间作产量更加稳定。由于玉米和豆类的加性贡献，每单位土地面积的生产力更高，因此间作系统的总系统热量和蛋白质产量最高。系统总热量和蛋白质产量达到年平均 60 GJ ha 该实验于 2012 年至 2020 年（连续九个种植季节）在赞比亚东部六个农场社区进行，使用 966 次观测。结果表明，与免耕单作相比，间作会影响玉米产量，边际产量损失为 -5%。然而，跨环境的间作产量更加稳定。由于玉米和豆类的加性贡献，每单位土地面积的生产力更高，因此间作系统的总系统热量和蛋白质产量最高。系统总热量和蛋白质产量达到年平均 60 GJ ha 结果表明，与免耕单作相比，间作会影响玉米产量，边际产量损失为 -5%。然而，跨环境的间作产量更加稳定。由于玉米和豆类的加性贡献，每单位土地面积的生产力更高，因此间作系统的总系统热量和蛋白质产量最高。系统总热量和蛋白质产量达到年平均 60 GJ ha 结果表明，与免耕单作相比，间作会影响玉米产量，边际产量损失为 -5%。然而，跨环境的间作产量更加稳定。由于玉米和豆类的加性贡献，每单位土地面积的生产力更高，因此间作系统的总系统热量和蛋白质产量最高。系统总热量和蛋白质产量达到年平均 60 GJ ha-1和 517 公斤公顷-1，分别与 48 GJ ha 相比，间作系统-1和 263 公斤公顷-1在单作玉米系统中。以耕作为基础的单一作物产量最不稳定。我们的研究结果表明，在 CA 系统中玉米与谷物豆类间作是小农户改善膳食多样性、膳食质量和产量稳定性的一个有前途的选择，从而有助于可持续农业集约化，同时保持粮食和营养安全。