Date post: | 14-Jun-2015 |
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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