All eyes on agroecology

… As Caritas Zambia advises the government to incorporate agroecological policies and strategies into the nation’s food system saying this will help to conserve the country’s biodiversity and attain food security

By Francis Maingaila

Lusaka (15-08-22 – Zambia24) – Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Association, a network of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) working with Small-scale farmers in East, Central, and Southern Africa to promote the indigenous seeds and sovereignty food is convinced beyond all doubts that the whole world has put eyes on agroecology for not only for food security but also providing solutions to the environmental and economic pressures the agriculture industry is facing today.

PELUM Country Director Wamunyima Muketoi told Zambia24 in an exclusive telephone interview that not only is agroecology the foundation of sustainable agriculture president Hakainde Hichilema recommended recently but it is also a science that embodies ecological concepts, principles, and knowledge to the design and management of sustainable farms.

Muketoi suggested, that the challenge is not in increasing agricultural productivity in the face of unstable global weather patterns which have continued to shift and dwindle natural resources but to strengthen the resilience of food production in the face of ever-increasing stress on the system.

Muketoi observed that the current industrial food system which depends on expensive health-harming pesticides and other chemical inputs that degrade soil has not only put the agriculture industry off the rails but has increasingly continued to threaten pollinator populations and pollute water.

He said shifting farming policies and practices to embrace agroecology will create a food system rooted in productivity, resilience, equity, and sustainability to sustain generations.

The recent UN and World Bank-sponsored International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) outlines the benefits of agroecology as follows compared to the industrial food system is more advantageous in so fast as it recognizes the multifunctional dimensions of agriculture, as well as local and indigenous knowledge and practices not only produce food, jobs, and economic well-being but also creates cultural, social, and environmental benefits.

According to a joint report, other benefits ascribed to agroecology not only protect ecosystem services like pollination, natural pest control, nutrient and water cycling, and erosion control but also increase ecological resilience, especially concerning volatile weather conditions, improve health and nutrition through more diverse, nutritious and fresh diets.

And the Community Technology Development Trust (CTDT) Communications officer Diana Mapulanga told Zambia24 in an exclusive interview that business as usual is not an option for world agriculture.

She stressed that agroecological practices are most likely to sustain the world’s population.

Mapulanga said food systems must be radically and democratically redesigned to produce enough food and ensure that the world is food secure.

She was of the view that how agriculture is practiced in the world determines the health of an environment and the future of food security.

Mapulanga said her organization is working with like-minded CSOs to promote agroecological practices in agriculture that seek to reduce the use of chemicals responsible for environmental poisoning.

She was of the considered view that agroecological should be the preferred form of agriculture in as far as it exists to conserve not only biodiversity, natural resources such as soil organic matter, water, crop genetic diversity, and natural enemies of pests but also to improve economic stability with more diverse sources of income, the spread of labor needs and production over time, including reduced vulnerability to commodity price swings.

According to Mapulanga agroecology also can mitigate the effects of climate change through reduced reliance on fossil fuels and fossil fuel-based agricultural inputs, increased carbon sequestration, and water capture in soil.

Similarly, Zambia Alliance for Agrobiodiversity (ZAAB) Programs officer Omali Phiri told Zambia24 in an exclusive interview that agroecology not only recognizes the value of formal scientific research and advanced technological innovation but also improves the adaptive capacity of agroecosystems and reduces vulnerability to natural disasters, climate change impacts, and new and emerging environmental and economic system stresses and shocks.

Phiri explained that indigenous knowledge systems and traditional farming practices overlooked by conventional lab-based research often yield crucial site-specific insights.

He said crop diversification, indigenous seed, germplasm diversity, and maintenance of natural enemies’ species diversity not only increased carbon sequestration but improved water capture and retention.

He added that not only does agroecology support diversification of farming systems and local economies, but technical, legal, and social support networks for small-scale farmers, rural communities, and indigenous peoples that reduce socio-economic but also political vulnerability — and strengthen adaptive knowledge processes.

Phiri said agroecological managed farms can retain more topsoil, field moisture, and vegetation, and suffered less erosion than conventionally managed, resource-extractive farms.

A good example, Phiri observed the ability of small-scale farmers to use agroecological methods that relies not only on deep knowledge of cropping systems and farm ecology but also on soil fertility, and seed varieties to withstand the adverse effects of drought.

He said agroecological farming is one of the best methods that can be used to secure food under conditions of increasing social and environmental stress.

Meanwhile, Caritas Zambia has advised the government to incorporate agroecological policies and strategies into the nation’s food system saying this will help to conserve the country’s biodiversity and attain food security.

Executive Director, Fr. Gabriel Mapulanga told Zambia24 in an exclusive telephone interview Zambia was losing its biodiversity due to excessive use of toxic farm inputs such as pesticides and synthetic fertilizer.

He said agroecology and other nature-based solutions to agriculture were what the country needed to alleviate food insecurity.

He observed that crop productivity, in recent years has significantly reduced due to acid that has affected soil fertility due to prolonged use of certain synthetic fertilizers, the situation he believes is putting Zambia’s food security at risk.

He also expressed the need for the government to invest more in smallholder producers and local agroecological food systems that would establish a food web in Zambia supporting the production of healthy food, protecting the country’s agricultural biodiversity, and enhancing resilience to climate change.

He noted that making the transition from conventional to agroecological agriculture and food system requires a portfolio of incentives, as well as the empowerment and participation of small-scale farmers in decision-making.

He said agroecology has been proven to increase the yields of small-scale farmers, enhance their soils, as well as improve their health because they can eat a variety of healthy foods from their gardens.

Besides, agroecology also reduces the cost of agricultural production because the farmers don’t have to spend money on expensive inputs such as fertilizers, and pesticides, because they will be using compost or farmyard manure from their farms, as well as practicing integrated pest management techniques.

He challenged institutions of higher learning teaching agriculture to change with time and incorporate agroecology courses as a way of knowledge transfer and also to protect the country’s endangered biodiversity.