Inaugurating the Perumatty Agro Service Centre in Chittur, Kerala, Dr. M.S.Swaminathan said modern agriculture practices, such as precision farming, would help convert his concept of “evergreen agriculture revolution” into a reality.
Yearly Archives: 2012
Technology vital to food security: Swaminathan
Climate-Smart Agriculture Produces More Food Sustainably
Soil conservation and the efficient use of water are very important in countries affected by climate change. Nuclear and isotopic techniques can help develop climate-smart soil and water management practices
French farmer ‘looks forward’ with conservation farming
Farms that have been in no-till for decades can be the best indicator of whether or not tilling improves soil health and farm production.
Sarah Singla is an agronomic engineer and a farmer in the south of France where she manages her grandfather’s farm. The farm has been in no-till since 1980, she said.
Evergreen Agriculture for the Great Green Wall of Africa
By
May 22, 2012
In a recent BBC interview, World Agroforestry Centre scientists agree that the Sahara Desert is expanding and they are committed to support efforts to stop it.
Some experts have in the past suggested fuelwood as the driver of the desertification. Others say changing rainfall patterns and intensive land-use practises are responsible for the expansion.
Distinguished Board Research Fellow of the World Agroforestry Centre, Dennis Garrity as well as other Centre scientists are continuing their support for an African Union initiative called the Great Green Wall of Africa in an effort to stop the expansion of the Sahara desert. In his opinion, what is needed is Evergreen Agriculture. Dennis says “Evergreen agriculture improves overall soil health which contributes to slowing the Sahara expansion.”
The Great Green Wall which will extend from the Senegalese coast to the Djibouti coast upon completion, can be achieved when practises such as Evergreen Agriculture are used. According to Dennis, Evergreen Agriculture offers one of the best defences against desertification because its affordable, sustainable and accessible farming methods benefit both rural smallholder farmers as well as the environment.
African agriculture ‘Dirt Poor’ but will inorganic fertilizer make it rich?
By Mike McGahuey for Agroforestry World
April 26, 2012
The question is not, “should farmers use inorganic or organic fertilizer?” but rather, “How can farmers increase soil organic matter in a cost-effective way in order to recycle nutrients, increase fertilizer-use efficiency and establish the foundation for building and sustaining soil productivity in Africa?”
Many agricultural developmental agencies either support the idea of farmers using more inorganic fertilizer or very little or none at all. Some scientific literature support the use of inorganic fertilizers while others refute the claim.
However, a review of the scientific literature shows a strong synergy between inorganic fertilizers and soil organic matter. It claims the two can work symbiotically to produce and sustain more productive soils,[i] particularly for resource poor smallholders.
African Agriculture: Dirt Poor by Natasha Gilbert shows how problematic the debate has become.
This is particularly the case on weathered soils– upon which most African dryland farmers depend. [ii] Research out of West Africa by International Fertilizer Development Centre IFDC, Agricultural Research for Development CIRAD, and others show that fertilizer-use efficiency (FUE) is directly and positively related to soil organic matter content (SOM). [iii] These studies show that in weathered soils with low SOM, a high percentage of nutrients applied in inorganic fertilizer are leached past crops’ root zones or are tied up, effectively increasing the unit price and risk to the farmer. Studies in Kenya by Marenya and Barrett[iv] show that farmers know this. Other studies report that farmers preferentially use fertilizers on soils with relatively higher levels of organic manure. [v]
Approaches such as Integrated Soil Fertility Management, in which inorganic fertilizers are applied in tandem with agricultural practices that increase the soil’s organic matter content, have been shown to increase Fertilizer Use Efficiency (FUE) significantly. [vi]
However, lest we think that the solution is easy, IFDC studies point out that amending soil organic matter content is not easy if it means finding tons of organic matter per hectare and then transporting it to the field, if they can even find the 4 or more tons per hectare that many soils would require annually. [vii]
This underscores the convenient fact that agroforestry annually delivers tons of organic manure to the soil. [viii] Consequently, the positive effect of the leaf-fall from Faidherbia albida and other field trees is two-fold—it conveys nutrients from the lower part of the soil profile to a crop’s root zone and it builds up soil organic matter, thereby increasing FUE and establishing the foundation for increasing and sustaining soil productivity.
In light of the evidence, the question is not, “should farmers use inorganic or organic fertilizer?” but rather, “How can farmers increase soil organic matter in a cost-effective way in order to recycle nutrients, increase fertilizer-use efficiency and establish the foundation for building and sustaining soil productivity in Africa?” Part of that answer will be for development institutions to follow the example of many African farmers and to mainstream agroforestry systems within agricultural strategies.
[i] Kelly, Valerie A. (2005). Factors Affecting Demand for Fertilizer in Sub-Saharan Africa. The World Bank, Agriculture and Rural Development Discussion Paper 23.
[ii] Breman, Henk, B. Fofana and A. Mando (2007). The Lessons of Drente’s ‘Essen’: Soil Nutrient Depletion in Sub-Saharan Africa and Management Strategies for Soil Replenishment. In: Braimoh, A.K. & P.L.G. Vlek, 2007. Land use and soil resources. Springer Media B.V., p. 145-166.
[iii] International Fertilizer Development Center (2005). Development and Dissemination of Sustainable Integrated Soil Fertility Management Practices for Smallholder Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa: Final Report, March 2005.
[iv] Marenya, Paswel P. and, Christopher B. Barrett (2009), Soil quality and fertilizer use rates among smallholder farmers in western Kenya, Agricultural Economics 40 (2009) 561–572.
[v] P Marenya, Paswel P. and, Christopher B. Barrett (2009). State-Conditional Fertilizer Yield Response on Western Kenyan Farms. Amer. J. Agr. Econ. 91(4) (November 2009): 991–1006.
[vi] Wopereis, M.C.S., A. Tame´lokpo, K. Ezui, D. Gnakpe´nou, B. Fofana, H. Breman (2005). Mineral fertilizer management of maize on farmer fields differing in organic inputs in the West African savanna. Field Crops Research 96 (2006) 355–362.
[vii] Breman, 2007.
[viii] Boffa, J.M. (1999). Agroforestry Parklands in Sub-Saharan Africa, FAO Conservation Guide.
Conservation agriculture in Malawi
Smallholder maize farmers in Malawi are adopting sustainable crop management practices that cut labor and help capture and hold rainfall, salvaging harvests when water is scarce.