Smallholder farms, typically less than two hectares in size, constitute approximately 84% of the world's 570 million farms. These farms occupy about 24% of global agricultural land and produce around 29% of the world's crops.
Despite their significant numbers, smallholder farmers face persistent challenges, including climate change, declining soil fertility, and limited access to resources. Agroecology offers practical solutions to address these issues, promoting sustainable farming practices that enhance resilience and productivity.
What is Agroecology Farming?
Agroecology emphasizes sustainable farming approaches, which aim to create harmony in the natural ecosystem while providing social and economic gains to farmers.
A key aspect is moving from expensive and unsustainable synthetic fertilizer and pesticide use to utilizing traditional knowledge of biodiversity and ecological processes to increase productivity and sustainability.
Benefits of Agroecology in Smallholder Farming Systems; the Niger example
In the 1960s and 1970s, clearing forested land to make way for agriculture was common practice in Niger. This large-scale deforestation and desertification resulted in declining soil quality and reduced crop yields. Despite several failed attempts to restore the forest land, a shift in approach was needed.
The solution came in the form of Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), a practice where farmers nurture naturally occurring trees on their farmland. This approach has led to the re-greening of degraded landscapes, improving soil fertility and boosting crop yields. Additionally, FMNR has provided farmers with valuable supplementary income from products such as firewood and fruits.
What sets FMNR apart is its focus on reforestation techniques that had been long overlooked. By regrowing trees from stumps and nearby sprouts with existing roots, the process has been greatly accelerated. Farmers also sell tree clippings for firewood, further benefiting from increased crop yields.
The result is that local communities are now actively protecting their arable land. The FMNR program serves as a powerful example of successful reforestation achieved through collaboration with local farmers. To date, Niger has successfully reforested over 5 million hectares of land through this initiative.
Agroecology to Enhance Food Security
Agroecology has the potential to increase yields by anywhere from 54% to 100%. The yield increase is attributed to the use of agroecological principles of crop diversification, soil fertility management, and integrated pest management (IPM) to enhance resilience and productivity.
Agroecology can contribute to a stable and secure food system for smallholder farmers by reducing dependence on external inputs and building sustainable farming methods.
Let’s look closely at some strategies to enhance food security using agroecological principles.
Crop Diversification
Farmers planting a variety of crops have less risk of total crop failure.
Contemporary farming faces challenges due to pests, disease, and adverse weather conditions, thus requiring better risk management.
For example, a smallholder maize farmer can intercrop legumes such as beans and groundnuts to boost overall yield and dietary options.
Agroforestry Systems
The integration of trees and shrubs into smallholder farms can offer multiple benefits. Food, fodder, and firewood are provided to improve soil fertility through organic matter and nitrogen fixation.
Some excellent tree choices for smallholder farmers in agroforestry are moringa and pigeon peas.
Home Gardens
Home gardens are critical in providing a year-round food supply, especially in off-seasons. Smallholder farmers should establish home gardens to grow a variety of crops, such as vegetables, fruits, and medical plants, for households.
Seed Saving and Exchange – seed bank examples in India
Rural India is trailblazing in the use of seed banks. The local community has established community seed banks to preserve traditional seed varieties. The banks are providing farmers with access to climate-resilient seeds and promoting diversity.
Naydanya is a local seed bank organization that has set up over 150 community seed banks in over 22 states in India. In its over 30 years of existence, Naydanya has trained and created awareness among 750,000 farmers in seed sovereignty, food sovereignty, and sustainable agriculture.
This initiative has empowered communities to reduce dependency on commercial seeds and adapt to changing climatic conditions.
Indigenous seeds have profound abilities to ensure better crop performance, preserve the ecosystem, and reduce the overall production cost by limiting commercial seed dependence. As such, seed-saving practices and exchange can enhance the yield and resilience of smallholder farms.
Agroecology to Build Resilience to Climate Change
Using agroecological principles can enhance smallholder farmers’ resilience through adaptive practices.
These adaptive practices include:
1. Soil Conservation Techniques: Specific farming practices, including cover cropping, contour farming, and terracing, can help mitigate the effects of terrain degradation by improving erosion control and water-holding capacity. Therefore, in the long term, smallholder farmers can always have their land productive.
Some key cover crops, including cowpeas and clover, play a big role in preventing soil erosion during the dry seasons.
2. Water Management: This practice is crucial for farmers in arid and semi-arid regions, as it helps reduce water loss and improve water quality. Several techniques can assist in efficient water management, including rainwater harvesting, water-saving irrigation systems like zai pits, driplines, and mulching. Zai pits, an ancient practice in areas with limited rainfall, have proven to be effective in capturing and storing water, which helps crops thrive when rain is received. These methods support farmers in developing more sustainable smallholder farming systems.
Using these practices, farmers can build more resilient smallholder farms.
3. Climate-Resilient Crops: They create a strategic plan to have some sort of buffer in case things go wrong.
Crops such as sorghum, millet, and cassava, among others, are suitable for cultivation in drought and harsh heat conditions.
4. Integrated Pest Management (IPM): It encourages farmers to adopt Green Management Practices, which include, but are not limited to, using natural enemies to control pests, crop rotation, biocontrol agents, and biopesticides. An example of this under Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is the use of ladybugs to feed on aphids, as well as planting pest-repellent plants like marigolds. These practices promote environmentally friendly pest control while maintaining healthy crop ecosystems.
Agroecology to Promote Environmental Sustainability
Agroecology has minimal negative impact on the environment.
The Push-Pull Technology in East Africa
Developed by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) in collaboration with Rothamsted Research, United Kingdom, the push-pull technology has transformed maize farming for smallholder farmers in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
This method involves intercropping maize with Desmodium (a legume) and planting Napier grass around the field. Desmodium repels pests like stem borers, while Napier grass attracts them, reducing crop damage and improving yields. Additionally, Desmodium fixes nitrogen, enhancing soil fertility.
Agroecology fosters biodiversity and natural resource conservation, thus promoting sustainability in environmental conditions.
Some key agroecological practices include:
- Organic Soil Management: Composting animal dung and using biofertilizers enhance soil quality while reducing reliance on chemical fertilizers. The employment of healthy soil has the benefits of carbon storage and supporting climate change processes.
- Biodiversity Preservation: This agroecological system is essential for sustaining large populations of plants, animals, microorganisms, and more. The preservation of wetlands, hedgerows, and other buffer zones plays a crucial role in supporting pollinators and microorganisms, contributing to a healthier and more resilient ecosystem.
- Reduced Chemical Use: Integrating agroecological practices is important in eradicating and reducing synthetic agrochemicals. Some of the natural inputs that can also be helpful are neem oil extracts, which may help in pest and disease management.
- Recycling and Resource Efficiency: Recycling farm waste into compost and biogas also helps reduce waste and create valuable farm inputs. For example, smallholder farmers can use crop residues to mulch, improving fertility and soil structure.
Conclusion
Agroecology is a transformative approach to smallholder farming to address the mixed challenges of food security, climate resilience, and environmental sustainability.
Embracing agroecological principles can assist smallholder farmers in improving their livelihoods and making contributions to sustainable and equitable food systems.
Stakeholders have to come together to support agroecology with a vision of thriving smallholder farming communities for a healthier planet.
References
- Ali, I. I. (2024). The Role of Agroecology in Food Security in Developing Countries. International Journal of Advanced Natural Sciences and Engineering Researches, 8(9), 455–462. Retrieved from https://as-proceeding.com/index.php/ijanser/article/view/2172
- ICIPE. (n.d.). Push-Pull Technology.
- Navdanya. (n.d). Community Seed Bank.
- NDC Partnership. (2020). From vulnerability to resilience: Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration in Niger.
- Once Acre Fund. (n.d.). Smallholder Farming - at the Centre of our Food Systems.