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• Comment: In accordance with the Wikimedia Foundation's Terms of Use, I disclose that I have been paid by my employer for my contributions to this article. HRShami (talk) 04:03, 12 December 2025 (UTC)

Christian Thierfelder is a cropping systems agronomist and researcher in Africa. He is a principal scientist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), a center of the Consultative Group of International Agriculture Research (CGIAR). His research areas include Conservation Agriculture Systems and their impact on crops, soils, environments, and smallholder livelihoods in southern Africa.

Thierfelder completed his Master's degree in Agriculture at the Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel in 1998.^[1] Following this, he went to Cali, Colombia, where he conducted his Ph.D. research with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture^[2] and earned his PhD from the University of Hohenheim in 2003.^[1]

Thierfelder's has conducted on research at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in southern Africa.^[2] He started as an adjunct scientist and post-doctoral fellow at CIMMYT from 2004 to 2007, followed by a senior research fellowship at CIAT from 2007 to 2009. Since 2009, he has held the roles of associate scientist, senior scientist,^[1] and principal scientist at CIMMYT.^[3] He is also a principal cropping systems agronomist at CIMMYT, focusing on Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, with some activities in Namibia.^[4]

As part of his research career, Thierfelder has also been involved in projects, including Facilitating the Widespread Adoption of Conservation Agriculture in Maize-Based Farming Systems in Eastern and Southern Africa;^[5] Zimbabwe R4 Rural Resillience Initiative;^[6] and Sustainable Intensification of Smallholder Farming Systems in Zambia.^[7]

Thierfelder's research focuses on Conservation Agriculture (CA), examining its effects on soil and plant processes and the environment, noting its adaptation to smallholder farming systems for sustainable land management. His work has focused on Southern Africa, particularly the use of Conservation Agriculture in Zambia and Zimbabwe.^[8][9] He has shown that CA, regenerative agriculture, and nature-based solutions (NBS) improve soil moisture, water infiltration, and crop performance during dry periods.^[10] He further demonstrated that compared to conventional tillage, CA practices generally enhance maize yields.^[11] In his studies on smallholder farmers and their practice of CA,^[12] he indicated that it can improve nutrition^[13] and soil quality, reduce production costs, and enhance profitability.^[14] He further demonstrated that it provides long-term benefits to soil health through practices such as minimum tillage,^[15] surface crop residue retention, and crop diversification.^[16]

Thierfelder's work in agronomy also emphasizes agroecological approaches that combine sustainable soil fertility management, biodiversity promotion, and targeted management strategies.^[17] However, he noted that the adoption of CA remains limited so far; for example, only a small percentage of farmers in Malawi have implemented CA practices.^[18][19] Furthermore, he recognized traditional soil management methods like mulching^[20] and organic^[21] and green manure^[22] as important complementary strategies for improving soil fertility and buffering crops against climate stress.^[21]

Thierfelder's research on climate and sustainability highlights the risk of declining maize yields due to increasing temperatures in sub-Saharan Africa.^[23] His meta-analyses further reveal that under favorable conditions, CA enhances soil carbon sequestration, reduces greenhouse gas emissions,^[24] improves soil fertility and organic content, and mitigates soil erosion.^[25]

In his later research on CA, his focus has shifted towards climate-smart^[26] and appropriate-scale mechanization^[27] for smallholder farmers in Africa.^[28] This involves the development and adaptation of new business models for smallholders,^[29] especially for women and youth.^[30] Within this context, the “mechanization service provider model” has been examined as one of the approaches relevant to smallholder-focused mechanization,^[31] as well as the “lease-to-own” model.^[32] Moreover, his work has also addressed the need to adapt African farming systems to combat climate change.^[33]

• Thierfelder, Christian; Wall, Patrick C. (2009). "Effects of conservation agriculture techniques on infiltration and soil water content in Zambia and Zimbabwe". Soil and Tillage Research. 105 (2): 217–227. Bibcode:2009STilR.105..217T. doi:10.1016/j.still.2009.07.007.
• Johansen, C.; Haque, M.E.; Bell, R.W.; Thierfelder, C.; Esdaile, R.J. (2012). "Conservation agriculture for small holder rainfed farming: Opportunities and constraints of new mechanized seeding systems". Field Crops Research. 132: 18–32. Bibcode:2012FCrRe.132...18J. doi:10.1016/j.fcr.2011.11.026.
• Cairns, Jill E.; Hellin, Jon; Sonder, Kai; Araus, José Luis; MacRobert, John F.; Thierfelder, Christian; Prasanna, B. M. (2013). "Adapting maize production to climate change in sub-Saharan Africa". Food Security. 5 (3): 345–360. doi:10.1007/s12571-013-0256-x.
• Thierfelder, Christian; Rusinamhodzi, Leonard; Ngwira, Amos R.; Mupangwa, Walter; Nyagumbo, Isaiah; Kassie, Girma T.; Cairns, Jill E. (2015). "Conservation agriculture in Southern Africa: Advances in knowledge". Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 30 (4): 328–348. doi:10.1017/S1742170513000550. hdl:10568/76603.
• Powlson, David S.; Stirling, Clare M.; Thierfelder, Christian; White, Rodger P.; Jat, M.L. (2016). "Does conservation agriculture deliver climate change mitigation through soil carbon sequestration in tropical agro-ecosystems?". Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 220: 164–174. Bibcode:2016AgEE..220..164P. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2016.01.005.
• Steward, Peter R.; Dougill, Andrew J.; Thierfelder, Christian; Pittelkow, Cameron M.; Stringer, Lindsay C.; Kudzala, Maxwell; Shackelford, Gorm E. (2018). "The adaptive capacity of maize-based conservation agriculture systems to climate stress in tropical and subtropical environments: A meta-regression of yields". Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 251: 194–202. Bibcode:2018AgEE..251..194S. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2017.09.019.
• Harrison, Rhett D.; Thierfelder, Christian; Baudron, Frédéric; Chinwada, Peter; Midega, Charles; Schaffner, Urs; van den Berg, Johnnie (2019). "Agro-ecological options for fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda JE Smith) management: Providing low-cost, smallholder friendly solutions to an invasive pest". Journal of Environmental Management. 243: 318–330. Bibcode:2019JEnvM.243..318H. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.05.011. PMID 31102899.
• Komarek, Adam M.; Thierfelder, Christian; Steward, Peter R. (2021). "Conservation agriculture improves adaptive capacity of cropping systems to climate stress in Malawi". Agricultural Systems. 190 103117. Bibcode:2021AgSys.19003117K. doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2021.103117.

• Christian Thierfelder publications indexed by Google Scholar