Agroecology is a better deal to fighting climate change and promote food security

… ZAAB says industrial agriculture has not been of great helped to reduce hunger and has done more harm to the environment than good as being portrayed by advocates on paper

By Francis Maingaila

Lusaka (4-08-2021) – The Southern African Faith Communities Environment Institute (SAFCEI), has criticized the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) for allegedly introducing harmful industrial agricultural policies.

SAFCEI Executive Director, Francesca de Gasparis told journalists at a Virtual Media Briefing monitored in Lusaka on August 3, 2021, that the introduction of agroecology will mitigate the negative impact of commercialized farming that encourages the use of chemicals.

De Gasparis said Agroecology has proved to be a more effective and sustainable form of agriculture that is supportive of environmental protection and food production in Africa.

Agroecology is an integrated agricultural system that not only promotes crops and livestock production but also provides additional socio-economic benefits to farmers by increasing the number of products for domestic subsistence and utilize nature for food production without damaging the environment, including improving the resilience of farming systems via increasing diversification through poly-cropping, integrated crop and livestock systems, and the use of local varieties but also has the capacity to reduce the risks of pests, diseases and the costs of seeds.

According to the Food, Agriculture Organization (FAO) latest report, Agroecology is not the only key to overcoming hunger and climate crises, but seeks help in the fight against multiple environmental and economic pressures facing rural communities.

The report also suggested that the agriculture growth has also been degraded by the combined effects of agrochemical pollution, soil erosion and deforestation compounded by the impacts of climate change (resulting in erratic rainfall patterns) leading to reduced sales,” the report read in parts.

Under the current arrangement where climate change is posing a teething challenge and has contributed to reduction to crop harvest, an official from the Zambia Alliance for Agroecology Biodiversity (ZAAB) Frances Davies said in an exclusive telephone interview that, agroecology is a better option to fighting the devastating effects of climate change and will ensure food security.

Where climate change is a problem, Davies observed, the Agroecology system provides adaptation benefits whereby making farming more resilient and improve the micro-climatic environment, and securing water availability.

ZAAB is of the view that an integrated agricultural system does not only improves the land and makes livestock better able to handle high temperatures, but provides new sources of income for the farmers.

She said agroecology is critical to solving issues of food insecurity among a growing population, increasing resilience to climate change which is adding new uncertainty as well as increasing uncertainty and raising the earnings of farmers,” advised Davies.

Davies also observed that industrial agriculture has not been of great helped to reduce hunger and has done more harm to the environment than good as being portrayed by advocates on paper.

She said the management of soil fertility through rotations, cover crops and manuring can increase soil water retention, offer a better response to droughts, floods, and help avoid land degradation.

With agroecology being implemented, chemical fertilizer will be replaced with natural methods such as planting trees amongst crops and rotating foods to improve the soil.

She also indicated that integrated farming can be used to combat global warming and is part of a campaign to increase the amount of carbon held in agricultural soils.

She explained that soil absorbs carbon through sequestration which in turn improves its fertility and this has proved to be successful in helping farmers overcome degraded soil and poor weather.

Additionally, the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) suggested that Agroecology provides soil quality with higher levels of organic matter, which helps mitigate climate change by sequestering carbon in the soil.

ZNFU president Jarvis Zimba said in an exclusive telephone interview that agroecological techniques can improve the resilience of farming systems by increasing diversification through poly-cropping, Agroforestry, integrated crop and livestock systems, and the use of local varieties.

He said the management of soil fertility through rotations, cover crops, and manuring can increase soil water retention, offer a better response to droughts and floods, reduce the need for irrigation, and help avoid land degradation.

Moreover, Zimba observed, soil quality is improved with higher levels of organic matter, which helps mitigate climate change by sequestering carbon in the soil. 

He said planting alternative crops can become not only an important source of income for farmers but also helping rural lands and production adapt to climate change.

He said such practices provide a possible path for farmers around to move to more resilient, low-carbon agriculture, so they can more sustainably produce enough food to feed the world while restoring the land.

And ActionAid is of the view that agricultural activities affect climate through emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.

Country director Nalucha Ziba said in an exclusive telephone interview that in high latitude areas with low temperature, increased temperature due to climate change could allow for a longer growing season.

Ziba explained that climate change and agriculture are interrelated processes, both of which take place on a global scale and their relationship is of particular importance as the imbalance between world population and world food production increases.

Ziba also said the impact and consequences of climate change for agriculture tend to be more severe in countries with higher initial temperatures, areas with marginal or already degraded lands, and lower levels of development with little adaptation capacity.

She said climate change is mainly caused by greenhouse gases (GHGs) which come directly from the use of fossil fuels, tillage practices, fertilized agricultural soils, and livestock manure in large proportion, and the accumulation in the atmosphere results in the increased greenhouse effect.

She said Agroecology agriculture could be a solution to climate change by the widespread adoption of mitigation and adaptation actions.