Transformational Opportunities to Perennialize Global Farming Creating an EverGreen Agriculture Dennis Garrity UN Drylands Ambassador Distinguished Board Research Fellow, World Agroforestry Centre
Transformational Opportunities to Perennialize Global Farming Creating an EverGreen Agriculture
Dennis Garrity
UN Drylands Ambassador Distinguished Board Research Fellow, World Agroforestry Centre
Agroforestry in the Era of the Sustainable Development
Goals…and Beyond
Dennis Garrity
Sustainable Development Goals • Food security • Poverty eradication • Health • Gender equity • Education and Youth opportunities • Reversing land degradation • Biodiversity conservation • Energy for all • Climate change resilience
Production of the most important dryland crops is typically associated with dispersed trees in the farm
fields: agroforestry parklands
!Channels for Reducing Vulnerability !!
1. Buffer crop production from drought stress!! !!! !-- Sustain higher and more stable yields by !! !more favorable microclimate !
! !!! !-- Conserve and enhance soil organic matter, ! ! !infiltration and water holding capacity!
!2. Tree crops generally less severely affected by
!drought, heat, excess water!!3. Greater diversity of income sources !!
!!
The albida halo effect!• Microclimate buffering!
• Soil fertility improvement!
Microclimatic variation: Temperature
A Desertifying Landscape Southern Niger in the 1980s
Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration on crop fields: Initial Stages!
A Parkland Renaissance on Niger farmlands!
The albida halo effect!• Microclimate buffering!
• Soil fertility improvement!
Aerial view of a parkland dominated by Faidherbia in Niger
Major agroforestry regions in West Africa and directions of expansion
What is Evergreen Agriculture? A form of more intensive farming that
integrates trees into crop and livestock production systems.
Evergreen farming systems are ‘double- story’ systems that feature both perennial and annual species (food crops and trees), maintaining a green cover on the land throughout the year.
Types of Evergreen Agriculture
1. Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) on cropland
2. Conservation agriculture with trees (CAWT) 3. Conventional agriculture interplanted with trees
!Evergreen agriculture with Faidherbia albida in Zambia.!!!
17 Countries engaged in EverGreen Agriculture in Africa
Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration
Conservation Agriculture with trees
Trees interplanted in conventional tilled cropland
Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration + Trees interplanted in conventional tilled cropland
Training for farmer groups
curricula material for universities and technical colleges improved
Improved government policies
EverGreen Agriculture Partnership
Farmers and Groups
Research organisations
NGO’s & Civil Society
Youth and Education
Governments and Policy
Development organisations
Donors
Private Sector
Improved technical
capacity of extension
and government scaling up
efforts
Improved communications and
awareness Provision of
products and
services by the Private
sector
Technical and institutional capacity built to support spread of EverGreen Agriculture
Collaboration between
organisations supporting EverGreen Agriculture
EverGreen Agriculture Partnership EverGreen Agriculture Partnership
Conclusions – Way Forward • Create a Climate Resilient Agriculture through
EverGreen Agriculture for land regeneration and food security on small-scale farms.
• The approach has taken root in Africa, and is spreading rapidly.
• Millions of smallholders are adopting effective land regeneration methods
• Many nations are creating the policy and institutional environments to favor adoption
For More Information
World Agroforestry Centre www.worldagroforestry.org!
Evergreen Agriculture web site www.evergreenagriculture.net!
! Email contacts: [email protected]!