Research and development programs to develop and promote DMC (Direct Sowing, Mulch-based and Conservation agriculture) technologies exist in more than 40 countries, and some of these programs are several decades old. Yet despite all of the efforts that have been made to promote the technology, extensive adoption by small-scale farmers is still limited because of a large number of interacting technical, economic and institutional constraints can block the development and diffusion process. Improved understanding of the factors that determine successful adoption of DMC systems by small-scale farmers could have a major impact on poverty, as has been shown in the regions where is has been adopted