Transforming Agriculture to be Climate Smart

Dennis GarrityDistinguished Board Research Fellow

World Agroforestry Centre

UN Drylands Ambassador

The Global Conundrum

« Increase global food production

« Adapt agriculture to climate change, while

« Dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions

Climate Smart AgricultureTriple Win  

• Raise productivity growth,

• Build resilience to droughts and floods, to

hotter temperatures and to increased pest pressures, and at the same time

• Make agriculture a strong carbon sink, rather than being an major emitter

True Cost Accounting Through Triple-Win Metrics

  

Within each agricultural system, identify the options for alternative practices, and track:

• Productivity enhancement

• Changes in resilience to climate change

• Greenhouse gas emissions

• Key environmental services (biodiversity, water quality)

• Poverty alleviation

National recommendations for maize in Malawi & Zambia: Faidherbia fertilizer trees at 100 trees per ha

Faidherbia Trial Results in Zambia

Maize yield - zero fertiliser

2008 2009 2010 ----- Tons/ha -------

With Faidherbia 4.1 5.1 5.6

Without Faidherbia 1.3 2.6 2.6________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Number of trials 15 40 40

The albida halo effect

Aerial view of a parkland dominated by Faidherbia in Niger

Parkland Renaissance: trees are young and growing

Farmer-managed regreening in Niger

• 5,000,000 hectares re-greened in 20 years -- no outside investment costs

-- no recurrent costs to government

• 200 million new trees established • >500,000 tons additional cereal

production/year• 1.25 million farm households involved• Vast increase in fodder for livestock

Major agroforestry regions in West Africa and directions of expansion

December 2011: Ethiopian Prime Minister announces national programme to establish 100 million

Faidherbia trees in farmers’ fields

17 Countries are engaged in EverGreen Agriculture

Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration

Conservation Agriculture with trees

Trees interplanted in conventional tilled cropland

Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration +

Trees interplanted in conventional tilled cropland

Wheat production with walnut trees France

Wheat production with Paulownia trees > 8 m acres in China

Way Forward• Agricultural systems must be reengineered to

achieve the triple win• Quantitative metrics are essential to track

progress• EverGreen Agricultural Systems are a critical

part of the solution• They taking root in Africa, and is spreading

rapidly, especially for land regeneration and food security on small-scale farms.

• Many nations are creating the policy and institutional environments to favor adoption

Zero Net Land DegradationClassify all land into three categories:

– Degrading– Regenerating– Stable

Monitor land degradation and regeneration in terms of biomass production.

Calculate the ratio: Regenerating/DegradingThe target is a ratio exceeding 1.0

Zero Net Land Degradation

44% of the world's cultivated ecosystems are accounted for by drylands.

– Degradation is occurring on 20% of drylands

– Regeneration has occurred on 16% between 1981 and 2003.

Global Soils Partnershipfor Food Security and Climate Change

Mitigation and Adaptation

• Focus on the Soil Resource

• Building capacities and exchange of knowledge and technologies for sustainable management of soil resources.

A Land Ethic

“Health is the capacity of the land for self-renewal.

“A land ethic reflects the existence of an ecological conscience, and this in turn reflects a conviction of individual responsibility for the health of the land.”

-- Aldo Leopold

The Global Reach of Landcare

Farmer-managed regreening in Niger

• 5,000,000 hectares re-greened in 20 years -- no outside investment costs

-- no recurrent costs to government

• 200 million new trees established • >500,000 tons additional cereal

production/year• 1.25 million farm households involved• Vast increase in fodder for livestock