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Population pressures within southern Africa are forcing people to increasingly crop land of a diverse and fragile nature where the risk of environmental degradation is high and current yields are low. Much of the earlier tillage research is not applicable to these conditions as efforts have concentrated on commercial farming with tractors for the higher potential regions. It is only in the last 10-20 years that attention has increasingly focused on the tillage requirements of small-scale farmers in these harsh water-scarce semi-arid regions. There is now a clearer understanding of the basic environmental constraints to crop production in terms of climate, poor soil fertility and structure and considerable advances have been made towards improved systems but there is still a lack of appropriate tillage system recommendations. All too frequently researchers have omitted the farmer input from their considerations and endeavours. Consequently limited consideration has been given to the social (e.g. land tenure), economic (e.g. credit), energy (labour and draught power) and technical constraints experienced by the small farmers they are trying to help. The need to develop more adoptable interim systems is therefore indicated but the slim margins within which small farmers must operate highlight the continuing need for sound tillage research to backstop the development of sustainable conservation systems.