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Agricultural biodiversity acknowledged
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Importance of Africa agricultural biodiversity
Africa’s challenges• Africa is the second largest continent after Asia• Its agriculture is diverse, with both TK and genetic
resources under-valued and poorly studied• It is the least populated, e.g. DCR is the size of Europe
but has a population the same size as Belgium• Its population is young, 75% under 30• It has lost countless people through the slave trade,
and continues to loose its brightest and best to ‘brain drain’
• Infrastructure investment has focused on extraction (minerals) and not internal communication and integration
• Very poor R&D investment, particularly for agriculture• It continues to be disturbed by conflicts• AND, the present push for an African Green Revolution
will not be sustainable
AFRICA’S AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS
THE MAIN FLORISTIC REGIONS OF AFRICA AND MADAGASCAR FROM WHITE (1983)
Africa’s Agricultural Systems
• Diversity is the norm – 10 or more crops plus livestock
• Smallholder farmers, mainly women, are the main producers
• Four farming systems—maize mixed, cereal/root crop mixed, root crop, and agro-pastoral millet/sorghum—provide the livelihoods for half of the population and occupy 42 percent of the land area in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Sorghum – Africa’s neglected crop
Maintain its agricultural diversity
Ecological Intensification
• Before a Green Revolution, Africa needs a BROWN REVOLUTION
• The soil needs to be built up and maintained through establishing effective cycling of nutrients
• Organic fertilizers:– Compost (including bioslurry)– Cover crops– Agroforestry with multipurpose trees
• THIS CAN DOUBLE YIELDS IN AROUND 4 YEARS
Impact of using compost - Results from over 900 samples from farmers fields over 7 years, 2001-2006 inclusive
Barley (n=444) Durum wheat (n=546)
Maize (n=273) Teff (n=741) Faba bean (n=141)
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Average mean grain yields in kg/ha for 4 cereals and 1 pulse crop from Tigray, northern Ethiopia, 2000-2006 inclusive
Check
Compost
Chemical fertilizer
Crop (n=number of observations/fields sampled)
kg/h
a
Figure 1: Effects of bioslurry compost, chemical fertilizer and no inputs (check) on wheat in Waza, Hintalo Wejerat, 2010
Compost Fertilizer Check0
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2739 2578
1494
3756 3617
2322
Grain Straw
Treatment
Yiel
d in
kg/
ha
Note: This is from the first year of using bioslurry compost
Increase in grain index for selected crops in Tigray, 2000-2006
These are all farmers’ varieties• Durum wheat, from 34 to 39% grain• Maize from 33 to 43% grain• Sorghum from 35 to 41% grain• Teff from 32 to 36% grain
Organic Agriculture in Africa
• African Union, Executive Council, Eighteenth Ordinary Session, 24-28 January 2011
• EX.CL/Dec.621 (XVIII), DECISION ON ORGANIC FARMING• Doc. EX.CL/631 (XVIII)1. TAKES NOTE of the Report of the Conference of Ministers of
Agriculture held in Lilongwe, Malawi on 28 and 29 October 2010 on Organic Farming, and ENDORSES the Resolution contained therein;
2. EXPRESSES concern over the current practice of exploitation of the organic farmers in Africa;
3. REQUESTS the Commission and its New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA) to:i) Initiate and provide guidance for an African Union (AU)-led coalition of international partners on the establishment of an African organic farming platform based on available best practices; and
ii) Provide guidance in support of the development of sustainable organic farming systems and improve seed quality;
4. CALLS UPON development partners to provide the necessary technical and financial support for the implementation of this Decision;
5. REQUESTS the Commission to report regularly on the implementation of this Decision.
Ecological Organic Agriculture Initiative for Africa
• This is supported by Sida through SSNC• It has 6 pillars:1. Research, Training and Extension 2. Information and Communication3. Value Chain and Market Development4. Networking and Partnerships5. Policy and Programme Development 6. Institutional Capacity Development
• Therefore, we need to invest in the ecological intensification of Africa’s agriculture
• Support farmers’ rights to develop, save and use their own seed
And• Show that the Africa CAN feed itself and provide
food for people in other parts of the worldBUT• Peace and Security must prevail
• This presentation is largely based on the chapter
• AFRICA’S POTENTIAL FOR ECOLOGICAL INTENSIFICATION OF AGRICULTURE
• And others in the book• CLIMATE CHANGE AND FOOD SYSTEMS
RESILIENCE IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Sue Edwards, with Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egzibher Dereje Gebremichael, Hailu Araya,
and Arefayne AsmelashInstitute for Sustainable Development,
THANK YOU
