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This is fully detailed....Agriculture has returned to the centre of international policy debates. Years of declining investment, inadequate extension services and the availability of subsidized food exports from the developed world have undermined agricultural production in many developing countries, particularly in Africa. This Policy Brief examines the potential contribution of organic agriculture.
The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development – an inter-governmental process supported by over 400 experts and many United Nations Agencies – concluded that "the way the world grows its food will have to change radically to better serve the poor and hungry if the world is to cope with growing population and climate change while avoiding social breakdown and environmental collapse". Nowhere is this truer than in Africa, whose food insecurity problems will only get worse as it bears the brunt of global climate change.
It is often argued that Africa needs to follow the agro-industrial "Green Revolution" model implemented in many parts of Asia and Latin America in previous decades. Using strains of crops that required agrochemical fertilizer, pesticides and irrigation, these methods increased yields. But they also damaged the environment, caused dramatic loss of agro-biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge, favoured wealthier farmers and left some poorer ones deeper in debt.
This can not be sustainable in Africa, a continent that imports 90 per cent of its agrochemicals, which most of the small-scale farmers cannot afford. It will increase dependencies on foreign inputs (agrochemical and seeds of protected plant varieties) and foreign aid. Africa should build on its strengths – its land, local resources, indigenous plant varieties, indigenous knowledge, biologically diverse smallholder farms and limited use (to date) of agrochemicals.
It is time for the African Sustainable Green Revolution – to increase agricultural productivity by using sustainable agricultural practices that minimize harm to the environment and build soil fertility.
Organic agriculture
UNCTAD has been working closely with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/World Trade Organization (ITC) over the past five years on harnessing the potential of organic agriculture for development – one of the most promising options to meet these challenges.
It is often argued that Africa needs to follow the agro-industrial "Green Revolution" model implemented in many parts of Asia and Latin America in previous decades. Using strains of crops that required agrochemical fertilizer, pesticides and irrigation, these methods increased yields. But they also damaged the environment, caused dramatic loss of agro-biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge, favoured wealthier farmers and left some poorer ones deeper in debt.
This can not be sustainable in Africa, a continent that imports 90 per cent of its agrochemicals, which most of the small-scale farmers cannot afford. It will increase dependencies on foreign inputs (agrochemical and seeds of protected plant varieties) and foreign aid. Africa should build on its strengths – its land, local resources, indigenous plant varieties, indigenous knowledge, biologically diverse smallholder farms and limited use (to date) of agrochemicals.
It is time for the African Sustainable Green Revolution – to increase agricultural productivity by using sustainable agricultural practices that minimize harm to the environment and build soil fertility.
Organic agriculture
UNCTAD has been working closely with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/World Trade Organization (ITC) over the past five years on harnessing the potential of organic agriculture for development – one of the most promising options to meet these challenges.
What is organic agriculture?
Organic agriculture is a holistic production system based on active agroecosystem management rather than on external inputs. It builds on traditional agriculture and utilizes both traditional and scientific knowledge. It is a form of sustainable or ecological agriculture that involves production according to precise standards.
Organic agriculture offers a wide range of food security, economic, environmental and social benefits.1
Increased productivity and improved food security
Organic agriculture builds soil fertility and structure by restoring carbon and nutrients to the soil through sustainable land and water management techniques such as composting, cover crops, mulching and crop rotation. According to soil scientists, this can help African crops reach their full genetic potential of yielding two to four times more than they currently do.
UNEP–UNCTAD research2 shows that organic agriculture is a good option for food security in Africa – equal or better than most conventional systems and more likely to be sustainable in the longer term. The study’s analysis of 114 cases in Africa revealed that a conversion of farms to organic or near-organic production methods increased agricultural productivity of 116 per cent. Moreover, a shift towards organic production systems has enduring impact, as it builds up levels of natural, human, social, financial and physical capital in farming communities.
For example, under the Environmental Action Team project in Kenya, maize yields increased by 71 per cent and bean yields by 158 per cent. Moreover, increased diversity in food crops available to farmers resulted in more varied diets and thus improved nutrition.3 For 20,000 farmers in Tigray, previously one of the most degraded regions of Ethiopia, crop yields of major cereals and pulses have almost doubled through the use of ecological agricultural practices such as composting, water and soil conservation activities, agroforestry and crop diversification.
Organic agriculture is a holistic production system based on active agroecosystem management rather than on external inputs. It builds on traditional agriculture and utilizes both traditional and scientific knowledge. It is a form of sustainable or ecological agriculture that involves production according to precise standards.
Organic agriculture offers a wide range of food security, economic, environmental and social benefits.1
Increased productivity and improved food security
Organic agriculture builds soil fertility and structure by restoring carbon and nutrients to the soil through sustainable land and water management techniques such as composting, cover crops, mulching and crop rotation. According to soil scientists, this can help African crops reach their full genetic potential of yielding two to four times more than they currently do.
UNEP–UNCTAD research2 shows that organic agriculture is a good option for food security in Africa – equal or better than most conventional systems and more likely to be sustainable in the longer term. The study’s analysis of 114 cases in Africa revealed that a conversion of farms to organic or near-organic production methods increased agricultural productivity of 116 per cent. Moreover, a shift towards organic production systems has enduring impact, as it builds up levels of natural, human, social, financial and physical capital in farming communities.
For example, under the Environmental Action Team project in Kenya, maize yields increased by 71 per cent and bean yields by 158 per cent. Moreover, increased diversity in food crops available to farmers resulted in more varied diets and thus improved nutrition.3 For 20,000 farmers in Tigray, previously one of the most degraded regions of Ethiopia, crop yields of major cereals and pulses have almost doubled through the use of ecological agricultural practices such as composting, water and soil conservation activities, agroforestry and crop diversification.
source:UNCTAD
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