“Soils constitute the foundation for agricultural development, essential ecosystem functions and food security and hence are key to sustaining life on Earth.” With these words, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared 2015 the International Year of Soils (IYS). This turns our attention to a crucial resource that sustains farming, and life, but which has been very much neglected in dominant agricultural thinking and doing. But reviving soils and building our collective knowledge on soil health can only be effective if carried out in close collaboration with the 500 million farming families who are important custodians of the world’s soil. The IYS therefore builds rather seamlessly on the 2014 International Year of Family Farming.

Healthy soils contribute greatly to more resilient farming systems and the livelihoods of farming communities. And soil organic matter is key, and thus the cornerstone for sustainable food production everywhere. Most family farmers have always known this. They have developed successful agroecological strategies to increase organic matter in their soils using fallows, extended fallows, cover crops, green manures, mulch, and the incorporation of these, and crop residues and compost, into their living soils. Traditional and innovative examples of these are presented in this issue of Farming Matters.

Healthy soils

Soil health, understood as the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living system, is essential in maintaining plant, animal, and human health. Key to soil health and soil fertility is organic matter. Although this is known, degraded soils worldwide highlight the seriousness of the gap between theory and practice. Sole addition of chemical fertilizers to soils, without also adding organic matter is part of the problem, as also explained by Roland Bunch. Re-balancing this situation requires renewed emphasis on organic matter, which means current constraints must be overcome – from local shortages of biomass to lost knowledge and oversimplified systems.

Why did we forget about this?

Before the 1940s, organic matter was a key theme at international soil conferences. There is an almost forgotten wealth of knowledge based on very practical research on the value and management of organic matter. This was agroecology before the term was coined. But things changed after the Second World War. Organic matter became neglected, and not by accident. The process of artificially producing nitrogen was originally developed for the explosives industry, but then the resulting chemical was also applied in agriculture when it was made into ‘fertilizer’. The impact on maize yields was so dramatic that researchers and policy makers became convinced that chemical fertilizer could solve global hunger.

With this new emphasis on chemical fertilizers, world renowned researchers working on soil organic matter were systematically neglected. Scientific journals were no longer interested in publishing their research, and they were no longer invited to international conferences. Subsequently, the importance of soil organic matter also dropped off agricultural curricula and from policy, extension and investment agendas.

Under the influence of the economic and political power of the chemical industry, new crop varieties and production methods that required large quantities of fertilizer were promoted. Slowly then, this belief, pushed by industry, narrowed the view of researchers, education, policy makers and extension staff and became the norm. Chemical fertilizers were so much easier to apply a few bags of fertilizers than the bulky organic matter that also demanded mixed farming. And, the trend towards simplification, away from mixed farming and specialising in either livestock or crops, gave further currency to this narrow approach to soil fertility management. Agroecological methods for building and maintaining a healthy, living and resilient soil were largely forgotten.

The consequences

Soil organic matter is ‘black gold’

Soil organic matter is made up of a wide variety of living and dead plant and animal material. In agriculture, this can range from leaf mulch to manure and compost. This ‘black gold’ is a basic building block of soil life that supports plants to grow and thrive. It is important in several ways, mainly by enhancing soil life and increasing the water and nutrient holding capacity. How does that work?

The key component in organic matter is carbon. The process of ‘decay’ of organic matter is in fact a result of it being ‘consumed’ as a food by the multitude of organisms in the soils, who then transfer this carbon into their own tissues or excrete it in other forms. These organisms range from millions of different species of fungi and bacteria, and insects and other arthropods, from the microscopic to larger creatures like earthworms that we know well. This process also causes the breaking down and recombination of a range of compounds into forms that can be more readily absorbed by plant roots. This forms a part of the process that in soil science is called mineralisation. It is key in nutrient cycling processes that help soils to produce healthy crops. Soil life also forms symbiotic relationships with plant roots, nitrogen is fixed and provided to plants in exchange for sugars, and nutrients such as phosphorus are solubilised for uptake by crops.

Building up soil organic matter also plays a second role: in climate change mitigation. The more carbon that is incorporated in soils, as part of organic matter, the more CO2 that is fixed. In short, soil organic matter improves soil structure, drainage and aeration; increases water and nutrient storage capacity; increases the activity and number of soil microorganisms and encourages macrofauna, such as earthworms and termites, which loosen soil and improve soil structure even further.

With the use of chemical fertilizers and new varieties, crop yields increased, especially so in some parts of the world. But now, many farmers are experiencing diminishing returns per unit of fertilizer, needing to apply more and more each season (see ‘Keeping composting simple’). This is largely due to the lack of soil organic matter and thus the soil’s lost capacity to sustain soil life and retain water and nutrients. Pollution from excess nutrients and eroded soil particles entering waterways are additional long-term consequences of this historical mismanagement.

And, was hunger eliminated, or even reduced, in the process? The total food production per capita increased but there are more hungry and malnourished people today than ever in the history of humanity. This shows that hunger is a distribution problem rather than a production problem. There is food enough for all but it does not reach the poorest, while it’s estimated that about one third of all food produced worldwide is lost or wasted.

With the globalisation of our food systems, we are also confronting a growing global imbalance. Nutrients are mined from the soil in one part of the world, and exported in the form of crops to other parts, leading to problems on both sides, as explained by Irene Cardoso.

So, it is high time that we look in another direction to reverse this situation of soil degradation. We need to look towards practices that will remain affordable and productive for generations to come and that do not demand ever increasing amounts of non-renewable resources.

Soils and agroecology

Faced with ever degrading soils many family farmers have devised new or reinvented traditional practices to restore and improve their soils – and with success. Agroecological practices help counter soil degradation and increase farmers’ resilience and autonomy. This issue of Farming Matters presents the experiences of farmers who are working successfully, together with others, to improve the health of their soil and their lives.

Farmers have been developing agroecological practices for time immemorial. But, worldwide, and Rita Uwaka points out, many farmers and particularly youth may need to re-learn the lost language of the soil. Alejandro Bonifacio describes traditional fallow systems that farmers in the southern altiplano of Bolivia are working to preserve.

Jonathon Smith describes a growing network of carbon farmers in the UK who are developing and sharing knowledge on healthy soils and, influencing policy makers in the process. Sara Delaney shows how experiments with agroecological practices are long-term investments in healthy soils but also in healthy communities.

The agroecological practices presented on these pages are all built from the ground up and based on farmers’ knowledge. This cannot be underestimated, and should be valued more by society at large and especially by scientists. Georges Félixex plains how recommendations to mulch with crop residues often lead to trade-offs between feeding livestock and covering the soil, but that farmers come up with innovative solutions to deal with such dilemmas. Pablo Tittonell, Farming Matters’ new columnist for 2015, explains why scientists need to listen to farmers and highlights that healthy soils are teeming with life that we need to better understand.

The experiences presented here provide a taste of encouraging initiatives that are unfolding across the world. This issue ofFarming Matters shows that careful soil management practices developed over many years offer revealing insights into improving soil health. And the benefits are both local – food security and resilience for farming communities – and global – with contributions to climate change adaptation and mitigation. With agroecology we can build soils for life!

The post Editorial – Soils: where the roots of agroecology and family farming lie appeared first on Ileia.

Idrissa Ouédraogo lives in Yilou, a village in the Central Plateau of Burkina Faso, with his wife Fatimata Sawadogo, and their children Nafisatou and Felicité. They grow mainly sorghum and cowpea, and also raise chickens, sheep and goats on a plot Idrissa was given some years ago as a gift from an elder. The soil had a hard surface crust and was completely degraded (known locally as zippélé). Nothing would grow on it, not even grasses. But Idrissa had a vision. He knew he had to bring back the native vegetation if he wanted to grow food. And he knew which shrub he needed, baagandé, or camel’s foot (Piliostigma reticulatum).

Idrissa first built stone bunds along contours of his plot to decrease rainwater runoff. This was supported by PATECORE, a development project that financed the installation of soil conservation measures by farmers throughout the region. Then, branches of camel’s foot, including leaves and pods, were cut from the surrounding scrub and added as mulch to thezippélé areas. After a few weeks, he noticed that some of the pods sprouted and camel’s foot was growing on the field. Months later, Idrissa allowed cattle to feed on the plot during the dry season. The animals would consume the fruits of this shrub while leaving precious manure on the field. When the rains started, the seeds, partly digested by the animals, sprouted from the manure on the field, beginning a process of regreening the degraded land. Clever! His job during the first years of this experiment was to observe what would happen and how the land would react.

Idrissa’s use of camel’s foot, one of the most abundant shrubs in the landscape, has added value, indeed. The shrub not only helps restore the soil, but also has many uses, being a valuable multipurpose plant. Bark is used to make ropes, leaves to wrap food, pods are a rich fodder for animals, and branches as fuel wood for cooking. Local farming families know all this, but the additional function of using branches as a mulch to restore degraded lands may encourage farming families to plant more native shrubs on and around their fields

Catching and holding the rain

Food production in Yilou, semi-arid Burkina Faso and in much of dryland Africa, is supported by only three to four months of rainfall each year. The main crops around Yilou are sorghum, cowpea, sesame, okra and other vegetables, hibiscus, and maize around the homesteads. But producing enough food to sustain family nutrition year round is an enormous challenge. Typically, farmers quickly prepare their land at the start of the rains in early June, plant by mid-June, and hope that the rains are abundant and evenly spread throughout the season.

Next to treasured rainfall, soil organic matter is the next most critical ingredient for productive rainfed farming. Basically, rainfall must be able to penetrate the soil and be held there for the crops to use in the weeks after the rain fell. A soil profile that is rich in soil organic matter is better able to perform these two functions.

As rainfall is short and intense, with only an average of 500-600 mm each year, minimising runoff and increasing infiltration are crucial. Also, the more soil is covered, more rain infiltrates and less will evaporate. And reducing runoff with physical barriers such as stone bunds and mulch has the added benefit of reducing soil erosion and sediment loss, an important step in rehabilitating degraded lands.

Agronomists’ offerings complement farmers’ knowledge

Minimum tillage and crop diversification are agronomic techniques, besides stone bunds and mulches, long known and used by West African farmers. NGOs in the region have also promoted Conservation Agriculture, which encourages a third principle: permanent soil cover. Agronomists recommend using crop residues as mulch to cover the soil. However, farmers prefer to use crop residues as animal feed. This limits the quantity of residues available as mulch. What to do when farming families have to choose between feeding their soils and feeding their cows?

This is where farmers’ own expertise comes in, such as in Idrissa’s case. Farming families have come up with their own innovations. Modifications to complement these and make better use of their resources are the result of combining agronomists’ technical knowledge and farmers’ experiential knowledge.

Farmers in Yilou are well aware that they need crop residues for the soil and their livestock, too. They have, however, found a way to get around this tradeoff. Instead of using only crop residues for mulch (in this case sorghum stalks), farmers like Idrissa also cut and add branches of native shrubs such as camel’s foot that grows in the surrounding landscape. And this has proven to be a successful strategy that allows for sufficient soil cover.

The patches of Yilou’s soil that are covered with mulch attract termites. Just a few weeks before the sowing season, the termites consume straw, leaves and branches, burrow them into the soil, and open up underground tunnels. These tunnels channel the rainfall, helping water to infiltrate into the soil rather than running off. The result: crusted soils become useable again, with enough organic matter and storing enough water to grow crops. Farmers in Yilou have observed that crops on such newly restored patches outperform the rest of the field. This new approach, called ‘slash and mulch’, and using only local resources, is kick starting the process of rebuilding soil organic matter.

This is enhanced by farmers’ careful observations. Their soil quality varies, with patches of very good soil intertwined with patches of compacted and crusted soil. So, farmers are precise in their practices and mulch the patches that they see need restoration. They have developed precision agriculture in this semi-arid context. Instead of using global positioning systems, local in-depth knowledge of the soil and the environment is guiding management for this ecological intensification of agriculture.

Ideas worth spreading

Farming families have come up with their own innovations.

‘Slash and mulch’ was developed by elders in Yilou and has been spreading within the region for more than 50 years. To better understand how the system works, participatory action research began in 2013, involving local farmers and agronomists. Experiments on farmers’ fields and research stations are underway to evaluate how different amounts of mulch impact crop yields. Farmer field schools and learning sessions where farmers play with different management scenarios, so called ‘companion modelling platforms’, have also been initiated.

Preliminary results on pilot tests in Yilou have shown that mulching with two tonnes of camel’s foot per hectare doubled sorghum yields. But even the highest crop yields of around one tonne per hectare are still relatively poor in comparison with other regions, and farmers are busy discussing the successes but also the limitations of their innovation. Some of them acknowledge that there used to be much more vegetation in the landscape, and consider that having more trees and shrubs is what they want and need to restore their soil.

A youth came one day to Idrissa’s farm from another village 35 km south of Yilou to harvest camel’s foot bark. He wanted to make rope out of the plant and travelled so far because in his own village, Tem Gorki, there is virtually no camel’s foot left since farmers generally slash and burn them. Idrissa shared his wisdom with the youth: “Instead of harvesting the bark, take some seeds and plant them.” He explained that the technique is simple: “If you don’t have shrubs on your field, just pick some mature fruits and leave the seeds in water for one night, make a little planting hole in your field and place the seeds with a bit of soil; after three weeks you will see them grow.” The young boy followed the advice and came back a year later with a chicken to thank Idrissa.

Learning from experience

The result: crusted soils become useable again, with enough organic matter and storing enough water to grow crops.

Farmers in Yilou know well that crop production is only possible with careful management of soil organic matter, especially where rainfall is limited and increasingly unreliable. Mulching soils with branches from native shrubs, and regenerating native vegetation are two practical ways to rebuild lost soil organic matter and to be able to continue farming.

Of course, camel’s foot has a number of benefits on the field but it cannot occupy the largest share of cropping lands and, its presence should not compete with crops nor interfere with tillage operations. But, when using ‘slash and mulch’, doubling sorghum yields easily compensates for growing camel’s foot on part of the cropping land. One of the next challenges is to find the most suitable density of camel’s foot shrubs to produce the most food with the least work.

Collaboration between farmers and agronomists can lead to practical, innovative and technically sound solutions. Putting into practice the Conservation Agriculture principle of maintaining permanent soil cover and overcoming the trade-off between feeding animals or mulching the soil, is only possible when farmers and researchers share their knowledge and start experimenting together. There are farmer innovators throughout the whole of semi-arid West Africa. Their innovations need to be understood, explored, and extended, to ensure that life is brought back to their degraded lands and they can produce sufficient food to feed themselves.

Georges Félix

Georges Félix is a member of the Latin American Scientific Society for Agroecology (SOCLA). He is from Puerto Rico and a PhD candidate at Farming Systems Ecology, Wageningen University, The Netherlands, working on a programme on woody amendments for Sudano-Sahelian agroecosystems (www.wassa-eu.org).
Email: georges.felix@wur.nl

The post From slash and burn to ‘slash and mulch’ appeared first on Ileia.

The United Nations is bringing a welcome impetus to the call for sustainable soil management in the International Year of Soils (IYS). I see how the IYS presents opportunities, responsibilities and challenges. The world must use this chance to revisit concepts and methods used to guide agricultural science and soil management, and build on farmers’ empirical knowledge about soils.

Historically, soil scientists learnt from farmers’ knowledge to unravel the complex interplay between nature and farming (see for example the works of Jethro Tull on the effects of horse-hoeing on soil quality from 1733!). But soil management practices and technologies in modern industrial agriculture have upset this dialogue with assumptions that are often based on an oversimplified understanding of nature.

Let’s take the example of soil biology. In the past, it was common to hear experts say that nutrient release processes in the soil are the same in forests, pastures and agricultural fields where chemical fertilizers are applied. But everevolving science now shows us that this is not true. Today, we are able to map the DNA of soil microorganisms, and can identify the species present, how they relate to each other, and how they contribute to soil functions. In other words, we have found new ways to unravel and better understand the ecological networks in our soils, how they are affected by farm management, and how they impact the resilience of agroecosystems.

Understanding the complex interactions and synergies in the soil is essential in the science and practice of agroecology. Cutting-edge research shows that in organically managed soils, the interactions between species are more complex than in soils managed with chemical fertilizers or nutrientrich slurry. It shows that such complex interactions contribute to better retention and timely release of nutrients – and this builds healthier soils and reduces environmental impacts. Farmers are more than often very aware of the links between the life in their soils, crop yields, and the ability to sustain them – or, in scientific language: between soil biodiversity and resource efficiency. They adapt their practices following detailed observation over many years.

These links, long known to farmers, can now be understood in more detail through DNA mapping and other laboratory techniques. And as is commonly the case in recent history, advances in agricultural science are really just about research catching up with farmers’ knowledge. It is my hope that the International Year of Soils will foster a true dialogue of wisdoms, bringing farmer knowledge and scientific knowledge closer together again, to build better opportunities for sustainable soil management.

Pablo Tittonell

Pablo Tittonell is Professor of the Farming Systems Ecology group at Wageningen University and Research Centre, the Netherlands. He is a board member of the African Conservation Tillage network and the European focal point of the Latin American Scientific Society on Agroecology (SOCLA). Farming Matters is honoured to welcome Pablo Tittonell as its new regular columnist for 2015.
Email: pablo.tittonell@wur.nl

The post Opinion: Catching up with farmers’ knowledge in the IYS appeared first on Ileia.

Their soils are now ‘alive’ again, with more worms, improved structure and water holding capacity.

Since the 1960s, the general trend towards monoculture, plantations and industrial agriculture has shaped large parts of Nicaragua’s landscape.

Expanding sugar, cotton, coffee and cattle farming have caused increasing deforestation, which in combination with the increased use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, has led to soil erosion and a decline in the fertility and quality of the soil that remains. It did not take long for many of Nicaragua’s family farmers to see and recognise that soil degradation was threatening their livelihoods and ability to produce enough nutritious food. But what could they do?

In the 1980s, when the impacts of soil degradation became evident, the government did not seem concerned about protecting soil and water resources. There were many NGOs working on environmental issues and rural development, but relatively few projects and programmes had the aim of reversing soil degradation. CEPAD, a partner of Episcopal Relief & Development, was one of these organisations. From 1974 to 2004, CEPAD worked with farming families to help them take full advantage of their available land and improve the quality of the soil. Long periods were spent with rural communities to identify key challenges and develop strategies to address them. Soil and water conservation and reduction of agrochemical use came out as priorities that guided farmer-led experiments.

A knowledge network

The experiments generated much new knowledge, and it became evident that an effective process for knowledge sharing within communities was needed, in order to allow the scaling up of the best agroecological practices for healthy soils.

As a response to this, each community participating in CEPAD programmes now nominates ‘Community Agricultural Promoters’ (Promotores Agrícolas Comunidad, PACs). They represent their group at three training sessions each year, and are then responsible for teaching and accompanying five farmers in their own communities, as they introduce and adapt the new practices on their land. In addition, a series of exchange workshops are organised every year, in which the promoters act as facilitators and teachers, and farmers can all share their experiences.

Now, CEPAD works in a community for five to six years, allowing them to complete a three-year training cycle with two separate groups of promoters and the five accompanying farmers. This process enables them to share a core set of principles with other people in the wider community, while at the same time building an organised community network to share knowledge and offer long-term support as the farmers adopt and adapt some of the new practices.

In the past six years, CEPAD has worked with more than 1200 farmers in 43 communities across the country. The use of these soil enhancing practices has resulted in dramatic changes. Erosion is greatly reduced, and farmers report that their soils are now ‘alive’ again, noting more worms, improved structure and water holding capacity.

Focus on the soil

The combination of soil quality and land management can make the difference between producing enough food to live and eat well, or not. The families that CEPAD works with farm between 0.5 and 4 hectares, on which many grow mainly maize, beans and coffee, amongst other crops. With a few chickens and pigs, farming provides food for the average family of seven people, along with some cash income. The head of a household will also usually work a few days a week on a larger farm or in another industry, to bring in extra money.

However, farming communities across Nicaragua face varying challenges, so a key principle for CEPAD is supporting communities in choosing the solutions that best fit their own specific circumstances. For Antonio Hernández Ramírez and his family, who lives in San Francisco Libre, a relatively dry part of the country, it is a challenge to store enough moisture in the soils to ensure a reasonable harvest during the dry season. Antonio focused on a combination of enriching his soils with organic matter by using mulch and compost, and reducing risks of soil erosion by building contour bunds. He explains: “Now, I don’t burn the leaves that fall from forest trees, but leave them on the soil to maintain soil moisture.” He remembers when his plot only supported weeds but now he harvests plenty of food from the increasingly healthy soil: “I harvested 400 cushaw squash (pipián), 60 peppers (chiltoma) and 9 butternut squash (avote) this past season. This is enough to consume some with my family, share some with friends and sell some on the market.”

In another region, Moises de Jesus Garcia Chavez explains how he has stopped using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Instead, he chose to begin producing compost, and has reduced pests and diseases by diversifying the range of crops he grows. “I am saving about US$100 each year by not buying agrochemicals. And I have seen my land transformed for the good of my family and my community, with more food, improved soils and improved habitats for wildlife in the area.”

Patience pays

They found that ‘less is more’, and will continue developing techniques together with farmers.

Change does not happen overnight, but in speaking with farmers that have employed these strategies, it is clear that most begin to see visible changes within the first year.

Octavio Saldaña Delgadillo, a PAC, explained, “After we add compost, the plants absorb nutrients, and the soil texture starts to change a little. So far I only have a small layer of better soil, and it will take time to improve more.” He explained in more detail the steps he was taking, including the use of natural pesticides and erosion control, and concluded: “This is a process. The change has been little by little.” Octavio is working hard and waiting for the day when he can stop working as a builder to earn extra income, and concentrate full time on the land he loves.

Another PAC , Juana Francisca López Saldaña, explained how she is working patiently to renew the land she obtained for herself after her husband’s death. Talking about the recent drought, she explained that while it had been a challenge, the actions she took had helped. “One of the advantages of using compost and improving our soil is being able to retain water in the soil for a longer time.”

Learning and adopting

A survey of 471 farmers who were supported by CEPAD between 2009 and 2012, showed that about 90% adopted ‘living erosion control’, such as planting grasses or other plants along contour lines to slow runoff and increase the percolation of water into the soil. Uptake of soil fertility measures such as use of biofertilizers, green manures and compost was equally impressive, with 70%, 80% and 100% of farmers using each practice, respectively.

One of the factors for this success was that the new practices were developed over long periods, and farmers were involved every step of the way, from identifying their key challenges to experimenting with new strategies. But, based on more than 30 years of experience in Nicaragua, CEPAD also knows of many cases where farmers stop using their new practices at the end of the training cycle.

An important lesson from this has been that it is important to focus on fewer and simpler techniques. They have found that ‘less is more’, and plan to continue developing the most suitable techniques together with farmers. Continuous evaluation, feedback and learning is paying off, and is helping to better meet farmers needs in the future.

Talking about trust

While reflecting on the widespread uptake in these new soil-building practices, it is clear that the long-term, farmer-led experiments helped to develop the most suitable soil conservation practices. Yet, farmers repeatedly raise trust and confidence as the two main reasons for success.

Farmers talk about how, when they first started using some new techniques, their neighbours would laugh at them or tell them they were crazy. But they persevered because they trusted what they had learnt and the advice they were given. And, farmers who are trying out new practices have other farmers in their own community, especially the PAC, who shows them what they can do and provides a place to turn for help. This is another relationship of trust that helps each farmer to keep going, especially when the work is difficult or the change is slow.

As Program Director Evenor Jerez said, “When producers, families, men and women are more organised and integrated, success is much easier to achieve.” This type of strategic community engagement is allowing farmers like Juana and Octavio not only to improve their soil, but it also helps them to become advocates and teachers for their neighbours – a result which is worth trying to learn from and emulate. Healthy community organisations help build healthy soils.

Sara Delaney, Denis Garcia and Audrey White

Sara Delaney is International Program Officer at Episcopal Relief & Development in New York, USA.
Email: sdelaney@episcopalrelief.org

Denis Garcia is the Manager of the Food Security and Environmental Protection Program at CEPAD in Nicaragua.
Email: gerentesaa@cepad.org.ni

Audrey White is a Communications Officer for CEPAD in Nicaragua.
Email: audrey@cepadusa.org

The post Organised communities build healthier soils appeared first on Ileia.

Iran: Better soil, and better tasting food

In northern Iran, rice farming follows the green revolution, using various pesticides, fertilizers, and high yielding crop varieties. Drastic changes to this well-set system have not been possible, so, on our family farm we started a step-wise approach, introducing novel practices one by one, and firstly on a small part of our land, increasing the area and attracting more interest as the years went by.

With roots in agricultural management and environmental activism, we were motivated to try and influence more people to question the increasingly industrial food system and how this is related to the way we farm. Firstly we introduced Trichogramma wasps as natural enemies of the stem borer pest, to good effect. Following a reduction in pesticide use, next we cut the use of chemical fertilizers.

Using organic fertilizers also increased pest resistance and improved crop quality, and small reductions in crop yields proved only temporary. We tried wood-based and tea-based composts too, and ploughed in rice straw and husks, leading to improved soil structure, and crop yields – on average a tonne per hectare higher than before. Our customers are also very satisfied, saying that our rice and all our other crops taste better, and we are seeing a growing demand for our special rice. The successes we have seen, and shown to others, are now promoting the scaling up of these approaches over larger areas.

For more information, contact Soroush Marzban, a family farmer and student of farm machinery engineering and agricultural management.
Email: soroush.marzban@gmail.com

India: Carbon capturing with the ‘Saguna Rice Technique’

Saguna Baug is an inspiring story of transformation of 20 hectares of highly degraded ancestral land in Maharastra, India into a productive farm with cereal crops, multipurpose trees, livestock and aquatic fauna. It is also a story on how perseverance can fuel innovation to reverse the growth decline in agriculture by innovating appropriate practices to enrich soil with organic carbon.

Early attempts by the farmer Chandrashekhar Bhadsavle failed, until he invested in three hectares of ponds. These yield 8 tonnes of fish and 10 truckloads of bamboo every year and attract much beneficial wildlife, besides being an essential reserve of irrigation water. But most importantly, has been the Saguna Rice Technique, sowing 3-4 seeds every 25 cm on permanent raised beds with no ploughing, puddling or transplanting, reducing erosion, improving soil quality, and 30-40% less labour is needed.

Zero tillage is followed religiously, with the roots of the previous crop preventing the soil from cracking, adds organic carbon to the soil, and improves moisture holding capacity, reducing ‘water footprints’ of the next crop by as much as 40-50%. Rice matures earlier too, and two crops can be taken in a year, and the Regional Agriculture Research Station in Karjat is now conducting field trials using the technique.

Fore more information, contact Sudhirendar Sharma. Sudhirendar works at The Ecological Foundation in New Delhi, India and researches and writes on agriculture and related development issues.
Email: sudhirendarsharma@gmail.com

Egypt: Sand + waste = Fertile soil

The ancient agricultural system of the Nile valley is now plagued by excessive use of chemical fertilizers, outdated and harmful pesticides, and inadequate tenure regulations. Family farming is rapidly disappearing, with high costs of leasing land and buying inputs, and a fluctuating water supply, and ever more people migrate to Cairo. Then, enter Mrs Rawya Mansour. With no farming experience, she decided to try and help farming communities by trying ways to use agricultural waste and produce organic soil amendments and biogas. Her farm has attracted local youth who learn how to make compost from rice straw, chicken manure, and other readily available ingredients, and with addition of biochar, this biofertilizer turned the sandy desert soil into highly fertile farmland with little need for chemical fertilizer.

Mrs Mansour’s soil also holds more water, helped by mulching, with rice straw also suppressing weed growth and absorbing salts from the soil. Farmers saw the yield increases and the better tasting vegetables, and they started making compost in their own farms, and mixing with biochar. Mrs Mansour’s innovations and energy is converted into the spread of agroecological practices, and helping to liberate farmers from a dependency on chemical inputs.

For more information, contact Tarek Soliman. Tarek has a Masters in agroecology, is a freelance consultant on sustainable food production and works with civil society organisations on the right to food.
Email: sudhirendarsharma@gmail.com

Nigeria: ‘Super vegetable gardens’ from biochar

Using charcoal to improve soil fertility is an age-old practice, but scientists are now re-discovering its value. A single application of 5-20 tonnes per hectare can double crop yields and provide long-lasting benefits by activating soil microorganisms and increasing water retention capacity. In north central Nigeria, land degradation is extreme, with nutrients removed by constant cultivation not replenished.

In 2011, Pro-Natura and the A. P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute together started work with communities in Lamingo on the Jos plateau, and has demonstrated the effectiveness of biochar on increasing yields and food security, with greatest benefits when incorporated into sustainable agroecological systems alongside a host of other techniques enhancing biodiversity and enriching soil organic matter.

A hundred farming families now reap the rewards from their highly productive biocharenriched ‘super vegetable gardens’, built from kits, along with a suite of complementary innovations. Imported kits are good as pilots, but components may be readily substituted with local materials.

Farmers have shown great interest, and besides learning about biochar, they are also trained in tree propagation, landscape ecology, and planting shelterbelts and living fences. In the words of Al Gore, former US Vice President, the use of biochar is “One of the most exciting new strategies for restoring carbon to depleted soils, and sequestering significant amounts of carbon dioxide for a thousand years and more.”

For more information, contact Wilfrid Pineau (wilfrid.pineau@wanadoo.fr), an agronomist at Pro-Natura International; Rahila Meriba (rahila.meriba@yahoo.com), a project coordinator at the A. P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute, University of Jos, Nigeria and; Petra Bakewell-Stone (petra@acamedia.org).

The post Locally rooted: Ideas and initiatives from the field appeared first on Ileia.

D. Bartz (ed.), 2015. Heinrich Böhl Foundation, Berlin and Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam, Germany, 66 pages. More information

Soils are the basis of our food production and much more, and this book explains much and in an easily readable way. Short pieces of text and infographics make the messages clear. For example, in explaining the global picture of the rate at which we are losing soil to erosion, contamination and declining soil fertility. But this book also covers the role of soils in land policy, tenure, mining, urbanisation, ‘green’ cities and traditional systems.

Although there is an emphasis on where we are going wrong, the Soil Atlas does also showcase positive experiences. From innovative grazing techniques keeping pastoralists on their land, cooperation between farmers to stop soil erosion, and to urban design that includes food production – the message is clear. Whether a farmer or not, soils concern us all, and soil conservation deserves global attention.

Permaculture research: Soil test handbook

C. Warburton-Brown and T. Kemeny, 2015. The Permaculture Association, Leeds, UK, 13 pages.More information

Permaculture seeks to create systems where natural soil fertility is fostered and describes a healthy soil as having three main characteristics; rich and diverse biological life, good structure and available nutrients.

This handbook outlines how to conduct ‘farmer-friendly’ soil tests requiring no special training or equipment, and focuses on the first two characteristics of a healthy soil. The tests cover a range of soil properties including, drainage, earthworm population, pH, soil texture, topsoil depth and soil compaction. Instructions for carrying out the tests are clear and easy to follow. It is available online, accompanied by the ‘soil advice handbook’ which helps to interpret test results. This is a practical resource for farmers who want to learn more about soil testing, and the Permaculture Association welcomes feedback from farmers around the world so that they can keep improving them.

No ordinary matter: Conserving, restoring and enhancing Africa’s soils

K. Glatzel, G. Conway, E. Alpert and S. Brittain, 2014. The Montpellier Panel, Montpellier, France, 40 pages. More information

Soil is a resource that has for too long been neglected in the policy realm. This report is a strong plea to donors and governments, to adopt a long-term vision and backed by adequate financial support, to help farmers nurture, conserve and restore their soils.

This book looks at the extent of soil degradation in Africa and the role of traditional and ecological approaches to building up soil organic matter and biota. Climate change, and the need for both mitigation and adaptation, is highlighted as an urgent reason why agricultural management must aim to build soil carbon and resilient systems.

Recommendations range from the grassroots, building on existing local and traditional knowledge, to higher level policy decisions such as attributing values to land degradation, and securing land rights that create incentives to invest in the soil.

Soils ‘classics’

Attempts to uncover the mysteries of soils date back to ancient times. Four thousand years ago, Zoroaster described the wheel of life, death, decay and life in which the soil plays a pivotal role, and which laid the basis for Vrksyurveda, the ancient Indian science of plants and farming techniques. This knowledge came to Europe in later classics, such as ‘Farmers for Forty Centuries, Permanent Agriculture in China, Korea and Japan’ published in 1911 by Franklin Hiram King, who was impressed by the high productivity and long term sustainability of agricultural practices in ‘the Orient’, and how farmers recycled everything possible. The book is currently reviving in reprints and is an excellent read.

Another classic is ‘An Agricultural Testament’ by Sir Albert Howard from 1940, describing how the industrial revolution is destroying the earth’s capital – the soil. He related soil fertility to human health but proposed solutions too, including the famous Indore composting method.

Essential reading must also include Lady Eve Balfour’s ’The Living Soil’ from 1943, and which inspired the founding of the Soil Association three years later. The book provides evidence of health benefits of the organic food and how compost-based fertilizers raise healthier plants than chemical fertilizers, the reasons resting in soil life, and was considered a distinct threat to the new fertilizer industry.

Another critic of industrial agriculture is Fukuoka from Japan. In his ‘The One Straw Revolution’ from 1975, he describes the ‘do-nothing’ technique in which enriching the soil plays a central role, and sustainable practices that eliminate the need of pesticides, fertilizers, tillage and avoid heavy and tedious work. Fukuoka probably builds on one of the fundamental principles in Taoism, wu wei, meaning “do nothing …. against the laws of nature.”

Three key films about soils

Soil Farmers (2015, 45m, Dutch with English subtitles;www.bodemboeren.nl, ILEIA). Five Dutch farmers share why and how they continuously experiment with ways to manage their soils more sustainably. Together, these farmers are part of a ‘new soil story’ based on old, (sometimes forgotten) and new (sometimes surprising) knowledge. They build their natural capital: healthy soil life with plenty of air, water, carbon and minerals.

Symphony of the Soil (2012, 104m, English with subtitle options in Spanish, French, Chinese, German, Italian, Portuguese; www.symphonyofthesoil.com)Drawing from ancient knowledge and cutting edge science, Symphony of the Soil is an artistic exploration. By understanding the relationships between soil, water, the atmosphere, plants, animals and human beings, it uncovers the complex nature of soil, as well as the use and misuse of soil in agriculture, deforestation and development. Filmed on four continents, featuring both scientists and farmers, the film highlights possibilities for healthy soil management.

DIRT! The movie (2009, 126m, English with German subtitle option; www.dirtthemovie.org) Narrated by Jaime Lee Curtis, this film brings to life the environmental, economic, social and political impact that the soil has. It shares the stories of experts from all over the world who are working to harness the beauty and power of a respectful and mutually beneficial relationship with soil.

The post Mind! Books and films on soils appeared first on Ileia.

Soils are fundamental to life on Earth. They constitute the foundation of agricultural development and ecological sustainability and constitute the basis for food, feed, fuel and fibre production. Soils also provide many critical ecological services such as clean water, nutrient cycle regulation and hydrological cycle moderation. They are the greatest pool of terrestrial organic carbon, contain one quarter of global biodiversity and provide a habitat for seed dispersion and dissemination of the gene pool. Soils also provide construction materials and are the foundation for construction.

Soil is a non-renewable natural resource; its loss is not recoverable in the context of a human lifespan. The maintenance or enhancement of global soil resources is essential for humanity’s overarching need for food security and nutrition, climate change adaptation and mitigation and overall sustainable development.

Soil needs to be managed in a sustainable way. This will be achieved when the supporting, provisioning, regulating, and cultural services provided by soil are maintained or enhanced without significantly impairing either the soil functions that enable those services or biodiversity.

Human pressures on soil resources are reaching critical limits, inherently reducing or eliminating soil functions critical to human well-being. Soil degradation is a pervasive process that in its various forms affects all regions. One third of all global soils are already degraded, affecting mainly smallholders and family farmers, who are responsible for 80% of the food production in value terms.

There is an urgent need for concerted efforts to ensure the sustainable management of soils to ensure sustainability and food security and nutrition for all. As the facilitating UN agency of the International Year of Soils 2015, FAO is striving to bring the issue of sustainable soil management to the forefront of public attention and to generate new momentum. The urgency of acting on soils is particularly important in the face of population growth, climate change and the competing demands on fertile soils.

The International Year of Soils constitutes a key platform to raise awareness on the importance of soils for human well being through the provision of various essential ecosystem services. This platform will be vital for advocating for the sustainable management of soil resources as part of the post 2015 development agenda. Healthy soils are essential for healthy lives. The IYS will ensure that this simple message is translated into strong action.

Marcela Villarreal

Marcela Villarreal is the Director of the Office for Partnerships, Advocacy and Capacity Development of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Email: OPC-Director@fao.org

The post Opinion: Healthy soils are essential for healthy lives appeared first on Ileia.

Striga is a damaging parasitic weed that lives on the roots of sorghum, millet, maize and rice. It sucks its food from the crop and does not rely on the soil. While the red-flowered striga is found in eastern and southern Africa, the purple-flowered one grows across the whole continent. It prefers poor soils where the cereal crops are generally weak, and when attacked, striga can decimate an entire crop. Striga management requires a combination of weed control and soil fertility management. This has proved to be a challenge, in part because of striga’s unusual ecology, and suggests that new creative thinking and techniques that help to build soil organic matter and support soil life would help.

In response to this, researchers from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) set up farmer field schools in Mali, Ghana, Niger and Tanzania in 2007, to learn and experiment with different striga control options. Farmers saw clearly that striga is more common in poor soils than in healthy, fertile ones. This helped to understand that soil fertility is a key to controlling striga, especially by using compost. It is more effective than manure or chemical fertilizer because it is full of healthy micro-organisms that attack striga seeds in the soil.

Seeing is believing

Photo: Jeffery Bentley

Using video is an effective way for farmers to share ideas with each other, and to stimulate creative ways of working to improve soil. Four years after starting the farmer field schools, a series of ten videos were produced on ‘Fighting striga and improving soil fertility’.

The videos featured graduate farmers explaining the effective techniques they had learnt, and how they had adapted them to their own conditions. The videos also included impressive animations that clearly explained the biology and ecology of striga, i.e. how it develops underground and why it reduces crop yields.

One of the videos shows farmers in dry, northeastern Mali, who learnt how to make compost in pits by mixing cereal straw and stalks with ash, manure and water so the tough plant matter would quickly decompose. They learnt from their own experience that incorporating compost into the soil helps to reduce striga infestations, and increases crop yields. Previously, they had only composted manure, and they were delighted to realise that by adding plant material they could produce much more organic fertilizer. And by making the compost in pits, it would hold more moisture and compost quicker.

The ten videos were translated into more than 20 languages and are freely available from the NGO Access Agriculture (http://www.accessagriculture.org/). Besides English, French, Portuguese and the videos are also in Kiswahili, Hausa, Bambara, Bariba, Bomu, Buli, Chichewa, Dagaari, Dagbani, Dendi, Frafra, Conja, Kikuyu, Kusaal, Luo, Mooré, Nago, Peulh/ Fulfulde, Sisaala, Wolof and Zarma. More than 50 000 DVDs have been distributed by ICRISAT, and with the help of farmer and community organisations, farmers across Africa have been inspired to learn from these farmer field schools.

Spreading messages

In 2013, we visited the village of Souara in Mali, and met the farmers who had been in an FFS and later appeared on the compost video. Two years after filming, every household had a full compost pit covered with a layer of earth to keep it moist. We also saw new compost pits in other villages where people had only watched the videos, showing that the videos have had an impact.

Creative ideas

The videos proved successful because they did not promote a single technology – they show what can be done and why it works. After watching the videos, farmers grasp the principles that underlie practices such as composting, and are more motivated and confident to start experimenting.

Léwa Kamaté, a young man from the village of Togo, in Mali, watched the videos, and took us to see his compost pit. But he used the compost for growing vegetables and not in his sorghum fields to help control striga. This was Léwa’s first creative departure from the video. Léwa saw that compost pits should be covered with straw or earth, but he covered his with a living layer of sweet potato plants. He then uses the sweet potato leaves to feed rabbits and adds the rabbit dung to the compost. Another creative adaptation!

A group of farmers in the village of N’Tonasso watched the striga videos in 2012 and are still talking about them today. One farmer, Alou Goïta, said that he made a compost pit after watching the videos, a metre wide, five metres long and 1.5 metres deep. He had emptied the compost pit once and refilled it with household refuse, ash and maize husks for next year’s compost. The looks of surprise on his neighbour’s faces, and the pride in Alou’s, showed that most of them had no idea about his innovation. No doubt some of them are now thinking about following his example.

The spread and development of composting, and building healthy, fertile soils is an important part of the fight against striga. And, when creative solutions are most needed, videos can be an excellent medium for sharing information, and stimulating innovation amongst communities.

Jeffery Bentley and Paul Van Mele

Jeffery Bentley is an agricultural anthropologist working on farmers’ creative responses to new challenges.
Email: jeff@agroinsight.com

Paul Van Mele is an agricultural scientist and co-founder of Access Agriculture.
Email: paul@agroinsight.com

The post Videos inspire farmers to experiment appeared first on Ileia.

Ruzimatov Mahmudjon lives with his family in a mountainous area of Isfara District in northern Tajikistan. Farming is not easy. The area is very dry, with long, hot summers. And the little rain, about 300 mm a year, generally falls during the winter months that are too cold for crops to grow. Like many family farmers, Mr Mahmudjon owns a small irrigated plot, 600 square metres, that he uses for fruit and vegetable production and as a tree nursery. He occasionally rents additional land to grow wheat and other staple crops and he also works as a wage labourer for larger farmers.

Located at the foot of an eroded mountain range, Mr Mahmudjon´s community has over the past 10 years repeatedly been affected by floods and debris flows, which even put the village school under threat. Members of the community decided to establish water diversion structures and dams above the village. However, the established structures had to be periodically repaired and reinforced. This was hardly a sustainable solution.

Degraded and underutilised land

This situation is not unique to Mr Mahmudjon’s community. Most of Tajikistan’s territory consists of mountainous rain fed land which in many areas, due to decades of overgrazing and deforestation, has become highly degraded. Soil erosion and declining soil organic matter have reduced soil fertility to the point that large tracts of the country are nowadays described as marginal or as wasteland. Land is producing less, rainfall has become erratic and communities are at risk of disasters in the form of floods, mud and debris flows.

New techniques for land restoration

In 2011, with support from the European Union, communities which had reported increasing problems with land degradation and flash floods learnt how to use locally available resources to integrate food production with land restoration.

Efficient water use, returning as much organic material back into the soils and the planting of selected shrub and tree species, that are able to grow even under harsh conditions, were at the core of the initiative. This was the starting point for the communities’ own experiments with land restoration, which eventually led to the development of further innovations by farmers such as Mr Mahmudjon.

Mr Mahmudjon did not attend any of the training sessions but later heard some neighbours speaking about them and they shared some of the training materials with him. Curious to see whether the simple techniques could really work, he decided at the start of 2012 to establish his own experimental plot of half a hectare on a compacted and stony area above the village. His efforts consisted of planting drought tolerant shrubs and trees, adding organic waste to planting holes and covering his soil with organic matter.

The opportunity to restore wastelands with waste materials seemed like a win-win situation said Mr Mahmudjon, “first, I was motivated by the idea to protect the school and the parts of the village that were at risk from floods, and then I realised that we can also get economic benefits from those wastelands.”

Choosing wisely

One element of Mr Mahmudjon’s strategy was to select the right trees. At the beginning he mainly planted highly drought tolerant shrub and tree species, such as almond, mulberry, pomegranate, a local highly drought tolerant elm species (Ulmus pumila), hawthorn, Russian olive (Eleagenus angustifolia), Chinese date (Ziziphus jujuba), pistachio and juniper. These trees are able to establish, even under harsh environmental conditions, and they develop strong and deep root systems, which allows them to survive even long periods of hot and dry weather with little to no irrigation.

Mr Mahmudjon’s first seedlings from 2011 helped to gradually improve the local microclimate. And in 2014, this gave Mahmudjon the confidence to introduce walnut and different varieties of apricots, which require more water and better soil. In addition, he started to experiment with lucerne and other nitrogen fixing legume plants for enhanced ground cover and soil improvement.

As much organic matter as possible

In addition to that, Mr Mahmudjon applied large amounts of organic matter in each planting hole. According to the original training materials, one or two buckets of well rotted animal manure should be added to the planting hole of each seedling, to increase the soil’s capacity to retain water.

It is understood that one tonne of dry, well decomposed organic material can store between 1000 and 1500 litres of water. However, Mr Mahmudjon considered the long, dry and hot summer season and the lack of water at his reforestation site, and he decided more was needed. He applied up to 15 kg of humid animal manure per tree, and in addition incorporated large amounts of organic waste from a local cotton carding machine. These machines are used by the local population to periodically clean and soften pillows and mattresses filled with cotton fibre.

The waste material, old cotton fibre, was considered useless by local people and was available for free. Mr Mahmudjon recognised this to be a valuable resource to support his reforestation efforts.

From wasteland to productive slopes

The application of manure and cotton fibre on the soil and in tree holes proved highly suitable to improve the physical and chemical properties of the soil, and promote plant growth. The manure provides readily available nutrients for plant growth and increases the general water holding capacity of the soils. The additionally applied cotton fibre seems to further improve the soils physical structure, thereby raising its water holding capacity. Combined with the careful selection of drought-tolerant tree and shrub species, this meant that the demand for irrigation water during the first years after planting was drastically reduced.

Mr Mahmudjon waters his seedlings during the heat of the dry summer only once every 40 days, instead of every second week. With his planting technique, Mr Mahmudjon has brought down irrigation water requirements to about 30% of the commonly applied rate. This has more than compensated him for the extra effort when he planted the seedlings.

With the idea to further save time and labour, he recently constructed a simple rainwater harvesting structure, which will directly supply his reforestation site with irrigation water. His next ideas are to experiment with small drip irrigation equipment.

In Tajikistan all land formally belongs to the state and can only be leased. For his reforestation plot, Mr Mahmudjon currently holds an informal lease agreement with the local authorities. However, he is trying to get a forest farm certificate, which according to the current version of Tajikistan’s Land Code, provides rights for 20 years, with the possibility for extension. There are more and more voices in Tajikistan urging the government to increase the duration of the first lease period in order to stimulate community based efforts for reforestation, such as Mr Mahmudjon’s.

Innovation brings optimism

Through his efforts, Mr Mahmudjon has seen an amazing 95% survival rate of his seedlings up to now, and after three years, some of his plantings such as pomegranate already started to produce their first fruits. He plans to use part of the increased fruit production for family consumption, and to sell part of the harvest for a new and welcome cash income.

Mr Mahmudjon more than doubled the size of his reforestation plot, which today covers 1.25 hectares. Stimulated by this experience, six of his neighbours have set up additional reforestation plots on another four hectares of former wasteland. In addition, farmers from neighbouring villages have also started to establish reforestation sites, covering another 5 ha. And, they have identified more local possibilities to exploit organic waste material to restore degraded soils. Large amounts of cotton fibre from cotton processing factories, bark and sawdust from sawmills, and wastes from nearby markets are other freely available organic resources.

To spread these practices even further, there is a need to overcome doubts that degraded land can become productive once again. But Mr Mahmudjon is extremely optimistic that his results will convince people: “My reforestation plot shows that even wastelands with lots of stones and no connection to major irrigation facilities can be converted into something very useful.”

All in all Mr Mahmudjon´s experience is a good example of how organic waste, instead of contributing to contamination, can support land and soil restoration. More integrated and efficient use of locally available resources offers huge potential for more productive use of degraded lands.

Frank Löwen

Frank Löwen is as a freelance consultant specialising on land restoration. He is cofounder of Down to Earth Consult, a small enterprise in Germany, dedicated to strengthening self reliance of rural communities through more efficient use of locally available resources.
Email: floewen@gmx.de

The post Organic waste for land restoration appeared first on Ileia.

In the tropical world, fallowing kept farmers’ soils fertile for thousands of years by providing 70 to 95% of their soil organic matter. But today, since most smallholder farmers possess less than 2 hectares of land, in a large part because of population growth, fallowing is in its death throes. As a result, the developing world is experiencing a severe soil organic matter crisis.

Soil fertility has become the primary limiting factor for the world’s smallholder farmers.

The soil organic matter crisis is critical because soils are being so rapidly damaged and depleted, because soil fertility has become the primary limiting factor for the world’s smallholder farmers, and because restoring the soil is a ‘foundational technology’. If a farmer adopts a new cassava variety, it may improve his or her cassava production, but it will do almost nothing for the farmer’s maize, bean, vegetable or animal production. But if the farmer successfully improves her or his soil, it will have a major impact on everything else, too. Foundational technologies, such as soil restoration, can therefore provide the basis for the sustainable, long-term development of an entire farm.

Three myths

Looking at soil history will debunk three commonly held myths about soil restoration. The first myth is that productive soils will inevitably deteriorate over time. For instance, in all long-term experiments carried out in Africa, even those including chemical fertilizer, decreasing fertility was found. This loss of fertility correlated with decreasing soil organic matter levels and the resulting availability of nutrients. But humid tropical forests the world over, by maintaining the soil organic matter content, have maintained impressively high levels of biomass productivity for millions of years, with no fertilizers and often on very infertile soils.

The second common belief to go out the window is that soils need to be ploughed to stay friable and productive. Tropical forest soils were never ploughed, yet after millions of years they are far more friable and naturally productive than most agricultural soils. In fact, family farmers who convert forest land rarely plough it during the first year. Doing so would be ‘like ploughing the sea’, as Simón Bolívar once remarked. Rarely do we need to plough land unless we have previously degraded it.

The third myth is that good modern farmers must use monocrops. But tropical forests maintain biodiversity and thereby increase soil quality and productivity. And the oft-repeated claim that phosphorus will limit productivity because of the phosphorus lost in grain harvests is based on seriously faulty nutrient assessment studies. Furthermore, crops grown with a biodiverse mulch will feed directly from the mulch, just as tropical forests do. In this situation, most phosphorus in annual crops spends 1-8 months in the mulch before being taken up by the crop, and after less than a year, will once again return to the mulch. In contrast, only 10% of chemical phosphorus applied to soils is used the first year, about 5% the second year, and less each year thereafter. Therefore, with a biodiverse mulch, each atom of phosphorus can produce about 15 times more biomass than it can from fertilizer.

A movement that transformed agriculture

Interestingly, and not at all by chance, three of these lessons from history coincide with the three principles of the Conservation Agriculture movement that began in Brazil in the early 1980s. These are (1) plough the soil as little as possible, (2) keep the soil covered, and (3) maintain biodiversity.

In 35 years, this movement has transformed the agriculture of 3 million farmers on 30 million hectares in Brazil and Paraguay, and has spread to some 30 other nations. Farmers’ yields have doubled or tripled, reaching up to eight tonnes per hectare of maize. Between 1992 and 2012, the same one litre of diesel came to produce seven times more grain. Over a 22-year period, Conservation Agriculture has resulted in soils with higher levels of organic matter and available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium, and with lower acidity. In the meantime, the per-hectare use of nitrogenous chemical fertilizer has fallen. In long term experiments, Conservation Agriculture produced a 64% increase in organic carbon in the top 10 cm of the soil. Needless to say, the world desperately needs more such successes.

Conservation Agriculture’s increasing yields also show that we do not need to resort to subsidised chemical fertilizer – subsidies that are tremendously expensive. The current President of Zambia told me that with what the government spent on fertilizer subsidies in the last few years, they could have built a school in every village across the country. Furthermore, cheap fertilizer reduces the incentives of farmers to produce the biomass that will improve their soil in the longterm. That is, all this wasted money not only cannot solve the basic, underlying problem of soil depletion, instead, it makes it worse.

The three principles of Conservation Agriculture
 
Plough the soil as little as possible. This is also known as no-till, zero tillage or minimum tillage. This practice maintains soil structure, reduces damage to soil organisms, reduces soil losses to erosion, reduces loss of organic matter and nitrogen and saves labor and expenses. On the other hand, weed control will suffer without ploughing, and farmers using animal traction may need to start using new equipment.
 
Keep the soil covered. Mulching prevents erosion, provides a constant, well-balanced source of nutrients, protects the soil from the hot sun, greatly reduces soil moisture losses, and helps control weeds. The main problem in maintaining year-round soil cover is that crop residues are seldom sufficient.
 
Maintain biodiversity and use green manure/ cover crops. In Conservation Agriculture, farmers use rotations and intercropping to maintain biodiversity. These practices reduce the risk of pests and diseases, support soil micro-organisms and use water and nutrients in the whole soil profile more effectively. An essential component of such a system are green manure/cover crops. These are defined as any plant, whether a tree, bush, vine or crawler, that fertilizes the soil or controls weeds. They include multi-purpose grain legumes and can often provide high-protein food for sale or consumption. Unlike traditional green manures, they are rarely cut down in the flowering stage and are rarely ploughed into the soil. They can thereby control the increased weed problem caused by lack of tillage and produce plenty of in situ biomass to keep the soil covered.

Legumes as green manure/ cover crops

Green manure/cover crops are crucial. It is often said that nature can only produce a few centimetres of topsoil in 100 years, but experience in country after country has shown that farmers using green manure/cover crops can produce a centimetre of topsoil every three to four years. In fact, when using edible legume species, the value of the grain often exceeds the costs of production, so the net cost of restoring soil fertility over decades is actually negative. Chemical fertilizer will never compete with that price! But fertilizer can supplement green manure/cover crops. When smallholder soils reach a productivity of about 3 tonnes per hectare, fertilizers can be profitably used. At this level of soil productivity, the fertilizer will produce a greater yield response with lower risks.

Experience around the world shows that it takes about 20 to 25 tonnes per hectare per year (green weight) of leguminous biomass to maintain soil fertility over time. Never in 40 years have I heard of a smallholder farmer using 20 tonnes of fresh compost or animal manure each year. Most smallholder farmers don’t have enough animals to produce this amount of manure, and composting requires too much labour to be cost effective for most subsistence crops. But dozens of legumes can produce double or triple this amount of biomass. Runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus) and mucuna (Mucuna spp.) can easily produce 70 tonnes per hectare per year, lablab beans (Dolichos lablab) and jackbeans (Canavalia ensiformis) 50 to 60 tonnes per hectare per year, and pigeon peas (Cajanus cajan), densely planted, can produce about 30 tonnes.

Dispersed shade

Some farmers are adding trees as ‘dispersed shade’ to their Conservation Agriculture. The trees’ light shade reduces the excessive midday heat that decreases crop productivity in the lowland tropics. Trees are also extremely drought resistant because of their deep root systems; the fertilizing leaves are out of reach of free-grazing animals; trees preserve moisture in the soil through lowered soil surface temperatures and reduced wind velocity; and they can provide firewood and fodder. Furthermore, as climate change occurs, farmers can merely cut fewer branches off their trees, so the crops underneath will continue to enjoy optimum ambient temperatures. Two important species from tropical America and dryland Africa, respectively, are Gliricidia sepium and Faidherbia albida.

Interestingly, Conservation Agriculture with trees is ecologically about as close as one can get to producing food in a forest. In 35 years of intensive learning, we’ve travelled right back to where mankind started thousands of years ago.

Roland Bunch

Roland Bunch is an independent consultant and the author of Restoring the Soil, A Guide for Using Green Manure/Cover Crops to Improve the Food Security of Smallholder Farmers (Winnipeg: Canadian Foodgrains Bank, 2012).
Email: rbunchw@gmail.com

The post Perspectives: Restoring our soils by learning from history appeared first on Ileia.