The guide is intended to assist extension agents in the East African region conduct training events for farmers and other interested stakeholder in Conservation Agriculture With Trees (CAWT) specifically farmers and those wishing to practice Conservation Agriculture may also find this guide useful. CAWT involves the integration of crop-friendly trees (mainly high value agroforestry tree species and nitrogen fixing trees) into the current suite of conservation agriculture practices. Conservation Agriculture encompasses three principles namely minimum tillage, maximum soil cover and crop rotation and association, applied concurrently or singly. The emphasis is the protection of the soil top layer which is responsible for
sustaining crop life but is also the most vulnerable to erosion and degradation.