The Network: The African Conservation Tillage work (ACT) promotes and facilitates sharing of information and experiences across sectors, disciplines and geographical boundaries among players and stakeholders involved in promoting adaptation and adoption of conservation farming principles and practices in Africa. This is expected to directly impact on enhancing the capacities and abilities of the concerned players and stakeholders and hence wider and faster rate of adaptation and adoption of sustainable soil-water management practices resulting in higher and stable yields, food security and improvement of rural livelihood.

ACT is an international association of players and stakeholders - private, public and NGO sectors, including farmers, input and machinery manufacturers and suppliers, researchers and extensionists - who believe that the adoption of conservation tillage principles and practices in Africa can not only reduce but reverse the environmental degradation that is devastating the continent.

The network was initiated in 1998 at an international workshop held in Harare, Zimbabwe under the theme "Conservation Tillage for Sustainable Agriculture". The workshop was jointly organised by a number of stakeholders including GTZ, FAO, the Southern & Eastern Africa based FARMESA, the Zimbabwe Farmers Union and the South African Agricultural Research Council (ARC).