Nairobi, 24 August 2009

Prof M.S. Swaminathan, FRSUNESCO Chair in Ecotechnology

M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, India

Agroforestry for an Ever-green Revolution

2nd World Congress of Agroforestry

Green Revolution Symphony (1968)

o Technology

o Services

o Public Policies

o Farmers’ enthusiasm

Indian farmers achieved as much progress in wheat production in four years (1964–68), as during the preceding 4000 years.

Major Components

Assured and remunerative market is the prime mover of farmers’ enthusiasm

“Intensive cultivation of land without conservation of soil fertility and soil structure would lead ultimately to the springing up of deserts. Irrigation without arrangements for drainage would result in soils getting alkaline or saline. Indiscriminate use of pesticides, fungicides and herbicides could cause adverse changes in biological balance as well as lead to an increase in the incidence of cancer and other diseases, through the toxic residues present in the grains or other edible parts. Unscientific tapping of underground water would lead to the rapid exhaustion of this wonderful capital resource left to us through ages of natural farming. The rapid replacement of numerous locally adapted varieties with one or two high yielding strains in large contiguous areas would result in the spread of serious diseases capable of wiping out entire crops, as happened prior to the Irish potato famine of 1845 and the Bengal rice famine of 1942. Therefore, the initiation of exploitative agriculture without a proper understanding of the various consequences of every one of the changes introduced into traditional agriculture and without first building up a proper scientific and training base to sustain it, may only lead us into an era of agricultural disaster in the long run, rather than to an era of agricultural prosperity.”

M.S. Swaminathan Indian Science Congress, Varanasi, January 4, 1968

Sustainable Food Production : Early Warning

Need for an Ever-green Revolution

About 80% of food production comes from farmers with small holdings. For them, Agriculture is the backbone of the livelihood security system Hence, higher productivity per units of arable land and irrigation water is essential to enhance marketable surplus and thereby of cash income. This should however be achieved without harm to the ecological foundations essential for sustainable agriculture. The green revolution should become an ever-green revolution leading to an enhancement in productivity in perpetuity without ecological harm

Swaminathan, 1982

From Green to an Ever-green Revolution

Theme for the 50th

Anniversary Meeting of the

Crop Science Society of

America

Green Revolution : Commodity-centred increase in productivity

Change In plant architecture, and harvest indexChange in the physiological rhythm-insensitive tophotoperiodismLodging resistance

Evergreen Revolution : increasing productivity in perpetuity without associated ecological harm

Organic agriculture : cultivation without any use of chemical inputs like mineral fertilizers and chemical pesticides

Green Agriculture : conservation farming with the help of integrated pest management, integrated nutrient supply and integrated natural resource management

If farm ecology and economics go wrong, nothing else will go right

From Green to an Ever-green RevolutionPathways

Climate Change: L’Aquilla G 8 Summit (July 2009)Implications of Agreement to permit rise in Mean Temperature by 2 deg C

Risks rise rapidly with temperature. Once temperature increase rises about 2 deg C, upto 4 billion people could be experiencing growing water shortages. Agriculture could cease to be viable in parts of the world, particularly in the tropics, and millions more people will be at risk of hunger. Above 2 deg C, the risk of a disintegration of the West Antarctic ice sheet rises significantly, as does the greater danger of ‘tipping points’ for soil carbon release and the collapse of the amazon rainforest.

o Water scarcity and frequency of drought will increase

o Rise in temperature could increase the risk of heat or drought stress to crops and livestock

o Length of the growing period (LGP) is likely to change

o Physiological development is accelerated which hastens maturation and reduces yields

o Increased night-time respiration reduces potential yield

Impact of higher temperature on Agriculture

Some Recent Reports on unleashingAfrica’s agricultural potential

o Unlike Asia, Africa does not have a dominant farming system on which food security largely depends

o Out of the 17 distinct farming systems identified in different parts of Africa, the following four systems offer immediate promise

Agro-forestry system involving cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, yams, maize and fertilizer trees

Maize-based system involving maize, cotton, cattle, goats and poultry

Cereal-root crop mixed farming system based primarily on maize, sorghum, millet, cassava, yams, legumes and cattle.

Irrigated farming system based primarily on rice, cotton, vegetables, cattle and poultry

All these systems provide opportunities for additional non-farm employment

Africa’s Ever-green Revolution

o Soil fertility replenishment through nitrogen fixing

shrubs, trees and rock phosphate application

o Biological control of cassava mealy bug

o Banana tissue culture

o New Rices for Africa (NERICA)

o Agroforestry systems based on Faidherbia albida

Learning from Successes : S & T Bright Spots

Overcoming Soil Hunger

An approach that makes An approach that makes it possible for farmers to it possible for farmers to

produce most of the produce most of the nitrogen that crops need nitrogen that crops need is through is through fertilizer treesfertilizer trees

in the field – in the field – manufacturing nitrogen manufacturing nitrogen

and cycling P and K with and cycling P and K with no cash investment.no cash investment.

Photo-insensitive Mutant of

Sesbania rostrata

Fixes nitrogen both in stem and roots

Conservation Agriculture with Faidherbia albida – Pathway to Sustainable Maize Production in Central and Southern Africa

Faidherbia is indigenous in many African

countries

60 years of research shows on each hectare, mature trees supply the equivalent of 300kg of complete fertilizer and 250kg

of lime. This can sustain a maize yield of 4 tons/ha

Comparison of maize and other crops grown under and outside the canopy of Faidherbia in Zambia. Note the dramatic difference in maize

growth, February 2009

Mango - Wheat

Source: Malawi, WAgFor

Impact of Fertilizer Tree based Agroforestry System

Gene Banks for a Warming PlanetCommunity Gene & Seed Banks

National Gene Bank

Svalbard (North Pole) Global Seed Vault

Conservation continuum

Gene Bank Seed Bank Water BankGrain Bank

Conservation - Cultivation – Consumption - Commerce

Enhancing the Coping Capacity of Local Communities

Local level Food and Water Security

19 varieties of Yam in 4 species were in Cultivation (as of 2006) but less than 5 in rural market and none in urban market

Dioscorea alata 1. Inchikachil I & II`2. Kuzhikavithu I3. Kuzhikavithu II4. Quintalkachil I 5. Quintalkachil II 6. Anakomban7. Kaduvakkayyan8. Urulan kachil9. Kuppathottikizhangu10. Elivalankachil11. Neendi/Veetukizhangu12. Vella kachil I & II13. Chorakachil/cherakachil/chuvappukachil/ Neela kachil I, II

& III

Dioscorea esculenta 14. Nanakizhangu15. Vella Enchi kachil16. Mullan KachilDioscorea rotundata 17.Africankachil 18. Thoonankachi Dioscorea bulbifera 19. Erachikachil/Adathappu

Life Saving Crops

The goal of the Biovalley is to promote biohappiness through integrated attention to the conservation, sustainable use and equitable sharing of the bioresources of the area leading to health, work and income security. Conservation Farming will include steps for soil health enhancement, harvesting and efficient use of rain water and saving and using plants for saving lives and strengthening livelihoods.

Converting Biodiversity Hot Spots into Happy Spots :Role of Agroforestry based Biovalley

A good example : Rift Valley

Biovalley is to Biotechnology (BT), what Silicon Valley is to Information Technology (IT)

Components of Action Plan

o Mixed cropping of Mangroves, Salicornia and Atriplex

o Sustainable capture fisheries

o Low external input sustainable aquaculture (shrimp farming)

o Market driven off-farm enterprises to improve the population supporting capacity of the ecosystem.

Sea Water : 97% of Global Water PoolAgriculture : Consumes over 80% of fresh water

Agroforestry based Sea Water Farming

o Cultivation of halophytes (Mangroves, Salicornia,

Atriplex, etc)

o Meeting the wood needs of the local community

through bamboo, casuarina, etc.

o Culture of prawns, shrimps, crabs etc, in the canals

between tree species using low external input

sustainable aquaculture (LEISA) techniques

Contd…

Integrated Sea Water Farming (Agro-Aqua Farms)

o Rehabilitation of degraded mangrove and other coastal ecosystems through Coastal Rehabilitation Self-help Groups

o Establishment of artificial coral reefs where appropriate

o Fostering the growth of coastal biovillages for the generation of new livelihood opportunities based on the sustainable use of natural resources and application of appropriate technologies

Contd…

Integrated Sea Water Farming (Agro-Aqua Farms)

Mangroves : Useful Sources of Genes forSalinity Tolerance

8.3 tC/ha from atmosphere 12.7 t/ha biomass

(dry) (5.0 tC/ha)

11.0 t/ha biomass (dry) (3.3 tC/ha)

Mangrove Carbon Fixation at One Year The Seawater Forests Initiative

Field trial of a transgenic rice strain with Superoxide dismutase gene from Avicennia marina

The loss of every species and gene limits our options for the future

Prosopis juliflora has wide adaptation to water stress and drought conditions

Used as source material for drought tolerant genes Control 36 days of water

withdrawal

 Gene Deployment for Drought Tolerance

View of the Integrated Seawater farm near

ChidambaramInner bund

TIDAL OUTLET

Mangrove plantation

Outer bund

Grow out areaFor fish, crab

Sea Water Farming

Agroforestry as a Strategy to Climate Change Adaptation

Adaptation capabilities of agroforestry

o Drought :Tree components through their deep roots explore a large soil volume of water and nutrients which help to maintain production during drought seasons

o High rainfall :Pumping excess water out of the soil profile more rapidly by higher evapo-transpiration and maintain aerated soil conditions

o Temperature :Increased soil cover and multi strata cropping pattern system utilize the light resource efficiently and guard the soil from direct sunlight which lead to a reduction in soil temperature

Carbon sequestration Option for Climate Change Mitigation

Agroforestry system recognized as a carbon sequestration strategy because of its applicability in agricultural lands as well as in reforestation programs Agroforestry offers the highest potential for carbon sequestration

o Direct role: Carbon sequestration rates ranging from1.5 to 3.5 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 in agroforestry systems

o Indirect role: Agroforestry has also some indirect effects on C sequestration since it helps to reduce pressure on natural forests

Carbon sequestration potential of four land use systems (Adapted from IPCC, 2000)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Agroforestry Grazingmanagement

Forestmanagement

Croplandmanagement

Po

ten

tial C

arb

on

Seq

uestr

ati

on

by 2

040

(Mt

C y

-1)

Agroforestry has such a high potential, not because it is the land use practice with the highest carbon density, but because there is such a large area that is susceptible for the land use change

o Domestication, utilization and conservation of superior agroforestry germplasm

o Maximising on-farm productivity of trees and agroforestry systems

o Improving tree product marketing for smallholderso Reducing risks to land health and targeting agroforestry

interventions to enhance land productivity and food availability

o Improving the ability of farmers, ecosystems and governments to cope with climate change

o Developing policies and incentives for multi-functional landscapes with trees that provide environmental services

Transforming Lives and LandscapesGlobal Research Projects

World Agroforestry Centre, 2008.

“The problem before us is how to feed billions of new mouths over the next several decades and save the rest of life at the same time, without being trapped in a Faustian bargain that threatens freedom from security. The benefits must come from an evergreen revolution. The aim of this new thrust is to lift food production well above the level attained by the green revolution of the 1960s, using technology and regulatory policy more advanced and even safer than now in existence”

- Edward O. Wilson, 2002 The Future of life

Ever-green Revolution