Let’s Rethink Agriculture

Farmers carry baskets of freshly harvested cotton along a road in the village of Zorro, Burkina Faso.

Six years ago, food prices spiked dramatically worldwide. In some countries sharp price rises of some staples are believed to have galvanized public discontent causing instability and social unrest. Several commentators have linked the events of the Arab Spring to soaring wheat costs, which hit poor families hard.

Others saw the crisis as yet another reminder of how our current agricultural production systems are becoming increasingly fragile. And certainly there are few factors that may have played a role: competition for cropland from biofuels, high oil prices, speculation in grain markets, restrictions on grain exports plus extreme weather events.

But scientists argue that there is one other underlying element missing from this list: degradation of land and water quality. As a consequence productivity of our agricultural production systems is declining.

So it seems almost obvious that as populations increase and diets change, we have to pay attention to how we can rehabilitate our degraded land and water resources to meet future global food demands. Especially if we want to maintain the natural systems on which agriculture depends. We cannot simply take over more land for agriculture.

These issues are most acute in resource-poor countries in the drier regions of the world, where the demands on limited water resources from agriculture and economic development are increasing.

Good news

But here the good news: efforts are being made. For example, The International Conference: Policies for Water and Food Security in the Dry Areas, held in Cairo only a few weeks ago, examined the effectiveness of water and food policy options, and tried to identify strategies to enhance land and water productivity. Jeremy Bird, Director General of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) spoke at the conference and reflected on the diversity of solutions that had been presented in the sessions. He also stressed the many considerations that need to be factored into designing incentives – it is not just about bio-physical factors or economics, but we must also consider the social, cultural and most importantly, the political dimensions.

And there is not only talk. A study undertaken by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and IWMI found that natural resources in dry areas may be limited, but when used efficiently, agricultural productivity can be dramatically improved without damaging natural systems.

A woman drives a donkey cart loaded with firewood back to the village of Zorro, Burkina Faso.

The researchers actually found that many dryland communities were already adapting to limited resources and concluded that the potential for more widespread sustainable farming is huge.

They looked at three examples of low productivity soils in dry regions and studied interventions that were introduced to tackle low productivity. What they found were simple, cost effective treatments that could make a huge difference. For instance application of calcium-supplying phosphogypsum to soils with high-magnesium content had a marked effect on how productive the soil was. Adding clay to degraded sandy soils helped bind then together and hold more water whilst increasing yields.

For instance, by applying phosphogypsum to soils with high magnesium content more than 200 litres of water could be saved for each kilogram of cotton produced; that’s roughly twice the amount of water used in a typical domestic shower – an amount not insignificant in dry regions.

IWMI researcher Andrew Noble explains: “Clearly there is a need to rethink the way agriculture is undertaken. There are ways to make our agricultural systems much more sustainable. But society as whole needs to be a part of this process. That may mean, for instance, creating incentives for farmers to act as custodians and caretakers of natural systems, rather than encouraging production at any cost.”

Don’t leave farmers on their own

So this means that these interventions are certainly an important first step to improve food security, but to achieve long term sustainability one cannot go without better investments and policy reforms. It is a huge task and farmers cannot be left on their own. What we needed, the researchers argue, are supportive policies and functional institutions at the national level so we can make the most out of the potential for improving agricultural and water productivity.

Further reading:
Qadir, Manzoor; Noble, Andrew; Chartres, Colin. 2013. Adapting to climate change by improving water productivity of soils in dry areas. Land Degradation and Development, 24(1):12-21. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ldr.1091

This blog post is a modified version of this story appearing on the IWMI website.
Blogpost by Anna Deinhard, one of the ASSW6 social reporters and IWMI Communications Fellow.
Pictures courtesy Ollivier Girard/ CIFOR

Maximizing Africa’s potential to feed itself

Never too young to learn: assessing a range of fodder and cereal crops that can be used as “refugia”

“Will 2013 be pinpointed as the year in which Africa’s ‘Green Revolution’ finally took root?” asks Carolyn Fry in her blog post earlier this year.  Let’s hope so.  In the wake of the 10-year anniversary of the Maputo Declaration and the inception of CAADP, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) will host the 6th Africa Agriculture Science Week (AASW) in Ghana next week.  Enabling Africa to feed Africa will be the major theme of this year’s AASW—but this requires much more than just a Green Revolution. Achieving food self-sufficiency is complex and multi-faceted.  A number of opportunities and challenges have been identified on the Agriculture and Ecosystems blog, of which many will likely be discussed next week during AASW.

Untapped potential

With irrigation covering only 5% of cultivated land in sub-Saharan Africa, there is huge potential to improve yields and food security through agricultural water management.  A recent IWMI-led studyfound that enabling farmers to better irrigate their crops through investments in motorized pumps could benefit 185 million people in sub-Saharan Africa and generate net revenues up to USD 22 billion per year.

Rural Urban Migration

Demographics in Africa are quickly changing with significant migration of people to urban areas and off of rural farms and the resulting feminization of agriculture.  It seems that young people “do not want to continue in the drudgery of farming that their parents have gone through. Their aspirations are way beyond the farm gate and they should be allowed to pursue their ‘dreams’,” writes Andrew Noble, Director of the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems.  “Unless we change the status of farming within the wider community and society that promotes a vibrant, exciting and rewarding career, I am of the opinion that we will have failed in our mandate to address the plight of smallholder farmers…‘they are the food machine of the world with 2 billion of them producing more than 70 percent of all global food’,” says Dr. Noble during a speech in Canberra.

Elevating the status of farming is challenging indeed but may be essential in ensuring Africa has the agricultural labor force it needs to feed itself.

Small vs. Large Farms

If smallholder farmers are “the food machine of the world”, then what’s all this talk about large farms? “Among the issues exercising the minds of those concerned with the future welfare of the African continent and its people is the issue of farm size,” writes Stephen Carr.  But, Carr believes that the key to smallholder farmers’ success is not the size of their land holding but their access to intensifying farm inputs, namely fertilizer.  The comparatively low yields of staple food crops on small-scale farms in sub-Saharan Africa may be attributed to the fact that they have access to only 5% of the level of fertilizer per unit of land as compared to their East Asian counterparts; improving access to farm inputs such as fertilizer may decrease the yield and self-sufficiency gaps between Africa and Asia.  Nonetheless, the debate on farm size is a popular one with Carr’s blog piece generating over 150 comments.

Cash Crops

Unmet promises of big money from biofuel crops, such as jatropha, have also done little to enhance food security in Africa, claims Fred Pearce.  Smallholders have suffered significantly from low yields of what promised to be a cash generating crop.  While the promise of jatropha was still on the rise, it was the number one cause of land grabs in Africa.

Landgrabbing

How can Africa feed Africa if it’s feeding the rest of the world first?  Over 140 hectares of smallholder farms, pasturelands and forests in sub-Saharan Africa have been sold or leased to big agricultural investors.  And investors may not only be after land.  “Expectations of secure access to water have been cited as one of the underlying reasons for large-scale acquisitions of land by states,” especially among states where water resources are limited or where local water scarcity is beginning to emerge, cites Tim Williams in his study on “water grabbing”.

“Hundreds of millions of the world’s poorest and least well fed people are being told to get off their land, to get out of the way so that agri-business can get on with feeding the world,” writes Fred Pearce.   There is no doubt that Africa needs investment in rural agriculture, but landgrabbing deprives “the most vulnerable of the ability to feed themselves.”  For Africa to feed Africa, policy and investment needs to support smallholders, not marginalize them.

Equitable Land Rights

Solidifying equitable land rights is one way to mitigate the marginalization of smallholders.  Female land ownership across Africa is as low as 20%, writes John Leckie in his recent blog post.  Without formal land rights, women can suffer un-proportionally from landgrabbing and have greater difficulty accessing resources and credit.  “Women usually perform the role of food producer and household manager, making sure all household members are fed.”  Securing land tenure for women will allow them greater influence over land assets and greater control over household incomes and welfare—all which will help women ensure household food security.

Africa has the potential to feed itself now and into the future.  Engagement with partners and stakeholders is a critical component of the AASW conference and will be an important factor as researchers and development practitioners work to enhance Africa’s potential to achieve food self-sufficiency.

This post is based on seven blog posts from the Agriculture and Ecosystems Blog:
Will this year be a turning point for African Agriculture? By Carolyn Fry
Response to “Land grabbing: Feeding the world or the corporate bottom line” by Andrew Noble
African Agriculture: Does farm size really matter? By Stephen Carr
Jatropha: it boomed, it busted and now it’s back by Fred Pearce
Land grabbing: feeding the world or the corporate bottom line by Fred Pearce
From policy to action: promoting equitable land ownership in Ethiopia and Rwanda by John Leckie
When land gets grabbed, do women get sidelined? By Abby Waldorf

About the WLE blog:

The Agriculture and Ecosystems blog space is a platform for discussion and networking on ecosystems services and resource management. It aims to stimulate conversations and be a place where scientists, development professionals and academics discuss issues on a constructive level. Critical opinions and ideas can be expressed here, new propositions and ideas can be outlined. Discussions should be forward-looking and solution-oriented.  We invite you to join the discussion.

For updates during AASW from the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems, visitour AASW page.

Blogpost by Abby Waldorf, Communications and Engagement Fellow at the CGIAR Research Program on Water Land and Ecosystems, and one of the AASW social reporters
Picture courtesy CIMMYT