Evergreen Agriculture in the SahelEvergreen Agriculture in the Sahel

Enhancing food security and climate change Enhancing food security and climate change adaptation adaptation

Antoine Kalinganire, Jules BayalaMahamane Larwanou

World Agroforestry Centre

Talk planTalk plan

� Africa drylands and climate changes �Challenges for the Sahel�Food security challenges� Promising innovations:

• FMNR• Land and soil management• Rehabilitation of degraded lands• Water management• Use of biodiversity

�Concluding remarks

CharacterisationCharacterisation of of drylanddryland AfricaAfricaAgricultural productivity is Agricultural productivity is limited by poor availability limited by poor availability of moistureof moisture

More than 30 % of the More than 30 % of the worldworld’’s s drylandsdrylands are found are found in Africain Africa

Cover 1.96 billion ha in 25 Cover 1.96 billion ha in 25 countriescountries

Represents 65% of the Represents 65% of the continental land masscontinental land mass

Home to over 400 million Home to over 400 million people, majority rural poorpeople, majority rural poor

Annual population growth Annual population growth

Challenges for the SahelChallenges for the Sahel

Rising population implies Rising population implies increasing food demandsincreasing food demands

Poor farming practicesPoor farming practices

Overgrazing and Overgrazing and excessive tillage leave excessive tillage leave exposed soilsexposed soils

Soil erosion leading to Soil erosion leading to crusted soil and increased crusted soil and increased water loss due to runoffwater loss due to runoff

Loss of biodiversityLoss of biodiversity

Challenges for the SahelChallenges for the Sahel

Fragile environment with Fragile environment with sparse vegetative coversparse vegetative cover

70% area is already naturally 70% area is already naturally degraded to different extents degraded to different extents

Limited arable land resourcesLimited arable land resources

Recurrent droughtsRecurrent droughts

DrylandDryland areas and people are areas and people are under continuous threat from under continuous threat from land degradation, land degradation, desertification, food insecurity desertification, food insecurity and povertyand poverty

Harsh environment

Mali: 14 millions people in 2009

Rising population and inorganic fertilizer prices, coupled with unsustainable production practices have resulted in decreasing trend of food production per capita

Food security challenge is expected to be further worsened by climate change and land degradation, especially soil fertility decline

Substantial amount of investment has been made in the last two decades to develop a range of agroforestry practices that Improve soil fertility using “fertilizer tree system,” now known as the EVERGREEN AGRICULTURE .

Evergreen AgricultureEvergreen Agriculture

A form of conservation farming that integrates trees with annual crops, maintaining a green cover on the land throughout the year.

Evergreen farming systems feature both perennial and annual species (food crops and trees), including fertilizer trees.

Challenging actions to climate Challenging actions to climate changeschanges

�How to reduce meet threats to the natural capital: water, soils and biodiversity ?

�How to increase crop and animal productivity for increasing population?

�How to enhance environmental services?

Positive results Positive results

Development of more resilient production ecologies (agroforestry systems)

Enterprise diversification and diversifying production (more crops) with adapted crop species

Rehabilitation of degraded lands

Five million hectares of millet production in Faidherbia

Improved fallow systems, Improved fallow systems, introduction of leguminous introduction of leguminous cover crops, nitrogen cover crops, nitrogen fixing, phosphorous cycling fixing, phosphorous cycling trees and shrubs have trees and shrubs have restored soil fertility to restored soil fertility to degraded lands. degraded lands.

Trees when intercropped Trees when intercropped with with crops add nutrients crops add nutrients and organic matter to the and organic matter to the soil and also reduce weeds soil and also reduce weeds and soil surface and soil surface evaporationevaporation

Regeneration of degraded lands and retention of soil Regeneration of degraded lands and retention of soil moisture enhances agricultural productivitymoisture enhances agricultural productivity

Planting trees and shrubs, fertilizer trees including Planting trees and shrubs, fertilizer trees including casuarinas have proven to be very efficient in casuarinas have proven to be very efficient in enhancing crop productivityenhancing crop productivity

Domestication through farmerDomestication through farmer--participatory selection participatory selection produces fertiliser trees with value added aimed at produces fertiliser trees with value added aimed at increasing soil fertility, maintaining biodiversity, increasing soil fertility, maintaining biodiversity, generating income, ensuring food and nutrition generating income, ensuring food and nutrition security.security.

Sustainable water managementSustainable water managementDikes or contours and cutDikes or contours and cut--off ditches, halfoff ditches, half--moon moon shaped earth bounds shaped earth bounds reinforced with stones serve reinforced with stones serve as microas micro--catchments basins catchments basins to reduce water runoff and to reduce water runoff and erosionerosion..

Associating trees with these Associating trees with these structures increases structures increases harvesting of scarce rainfall harvesting of scarce rainfall by channelling runoff into the by channelling runoff into the micromicro--catchments formed by catchments formed by the bounds and the bounds and concentrated in basins concentrated in basins

Water collection for water table recharge

(+5m)…Rainwater harvesting impactsRainwater harvesting impacts

Supplemental irrigation using the water harvested and stocked in small ponds during dryspellsincreased sorghum harvests by 40% in Burkina Faso

Combination with added fertilization, by 180%

Increased soil cover induces water table level rising up (+ 5m recharge) allowing small scale irrigation with wells

Small scale irrigation for smallholder livelihoods …

Sustainable use of biodiversitySustainable use of biodiversity

Loss of a biodiversity reduces ecosystem resilience Loss of a biodiversity reduces ecosystem resilience significantly with serious consequences for human significantly with serious consequences for human livelihoodslivelihoods

Domestication through farmerDomestication through farmer--participatory selection participatory selection produces value added trees or shrubs aimed at produces value added trees or shrubs aimed at maintaining biodiversity, generating income, ensuring food maintaining biodiversity, generating income, ensuring food and nutrition security, and improved health and nutrition security, and improved health

Development of woodlots plantings, assisted natural Development of woodlots plantings, assisted natural regeneration techniques, all contribute to rehabilitating regeneration techniques, all contribute to rehabilitating drylandsdrylands and improving biodiversity conservationand improving biodiversity conservation

Tool-kit of economically viable and socially acceptable innovations should be available to farmers including FMNR tree management techniques of fertiliser trees and shrubs.

Good quality and adapted tree germplasm through participatory tree breeding should be made available to rural communities; seed system should be supported.

Research activities on tree domestication, including the introduction of highly performing exotic fertiliser tree species.

Well-targeted research investigations (including socio-economic studies) to adapt and refine the technologies to an ever-wider range of agro-ecosystems.Empowerment of rural farmers, including women, with capacities for better land management and enhancing crop production through participatory domestication and collective action.Appropriate policy interventions (including institutional policiAppropriate policy interventions (including institutional policies) to manage es) to manage tropical ecosystems: evaluation of the implications of contemportropical ecosystems: evaluation of the implications of contemporary tenure ary tenure

Existing technologies contribute positively in re-greening drylands/Sahel in a sustainable manner; reducing poverty, deforestation and desertification.

ConclusionConclusionConsiderable work need to be done, how rural communities and investors would adopt such technologies

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