Climate Smart Agriculture, Food Security and Water in Africa's Drylands: Lessons from Experience

CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE, FOODSECURITY AND WATER IN AFRICA’S DRYLANDS:LESSONS FROM EXPERIENCE

Urgent to act as a « perfect storm » is brewing Temperatures will increase> Rainfall is more extreme and irregular☛ Soil fertility is depleting in many areas☛ Inorganic fertilizers are expensive☛ World food market prices are high Crop yields will decline ( - 20% to – 50%)Population will double every 20 years

CHALLENGE: INCREASE HOUSEHOLD FOODPRODUCTION, STABILIZE HH ACCESS TO FOOD ANDINCREASE WATER AVAILABILITY

Household access to food isdetermined by:  HH food production  HH food stocks  HH productive assets (livestock, trees, water........)  Farm and non-farm income DO NRM INVESTMENTS INCREASE AND STABILIZE ACCESS TO FOOD AND WATER?

The current ag modernisation paradigm:Inorganic fertilizers, improved seeds, irrigation,mechanisation, organisation input and outputmarkets, research and extension…..

STUDY AREAS LONG TERM TRENDSIN AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT

TREND 1FARMERS INVEST IN AGROFORESTRYTREND 2REHABILITATION OF BARREN LANDUSINGWATER HARVESTING TECHNIQUES(500,000 ha in Niger and Burkina Faso)

Vegetation in Galma in 1975 and 2003(before and after) 1975 2003

Improved soil fertility andan increase in fodder production

BAOBABS DOMINATE REGENERATIONIN PARTS MIRRIAH DEPARTMENT(NIGER)

The value of the leaves of one mature baobabvaries from 28 $ – 70 US $)This can buy 70 – 175 kg of grain on the marketSource: Yamba and Sambo (2012)

AVERAGE ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOMEFROM NEW AGROFORESTRY PARKLAND (US $)Village Kouka Doukoum Kirou Zedrawa DaréDegree Samou Doukoum HaussaofvulnerabilityLeast 200 40 140 125 135vulnerableMedium 110 37 120 70 63VulnerableVery 80 83 26 40 100vulnerableExtremely 104 50 116 80 45Vulnerable Source: Yamba and Sambo (2012)

Farmer-managed re-greening inNiger  5,000,000 ha re-greened in 20 years (only labour for protection, no investment costs, no recurrent costs to governments)  200 million new trees  additional cereal production/year: 500,000 ton  2.5 million people fed  1.25 million farm households involved

Grain surplus Kantché Department(Zinder/Niger). 350,000 inhabitants; highon-farm tree density  2007 + 21,230 ton  2008 + 36,838 ton  2009 + 28,122 ton  2010 + 64,208 ton  2011 + 13,818 ton Source: National Committee for the Prevention and Management of Food Crises and FEWS Quoted by: Yamba and sambo (2012)

Why do farmers invest in re-greening?  Soil fertility 58%  Food production 25%  Firewood 12%  Construction wood 12%  Fodder 11%  Other Source: Yamba and Sambo (2012)

WATER HARVESTING AND AGROFORESTRY Simple techniques 1990 Zaï Demi lunes Important impacts 2004Piliostigma reticulatum Combretum glutinosum

« The man who stopped the desert »

ZAI HELP CROPS GET THROUGHDRY SPELLS

IMPACT OF WH TECHNIQUES ON CEREAL YIELDS IN 2007 (NORTHERN CENTRAL PLATEAU, BURKINA FASO)Group of SWC technique Grain yield DryVillages (kg/ha) matter (kg/ha) Average region 434 2472Ziga Zaï 772 3471 Stone bunds 574 2843 Zaï+ stone bunds 956 3798 Average region 376 2375Ranawa Zaï 804 3822 Stone bunds 531 2964 Zaï+ stone bunds 922 3968 Source: Sawadogo, H. (2008)

Rainfall, WH techniques and cereal yields inNiger (1991 – 1996)Rainfall 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 AverageBadagui 726 mm 423 mm 369 mm 613 mm 415 mm 439 mm 1991 – chiri 1996Illéla 581 mm 440 mm 233 mm 581 mm 404 mm 440 mmZaïT0 ---- 125 144 296 50 11 125T1 520 297 393 969 347 553 513T2 764 494 659 1486 534 653 765Half moonsT0 ---- 86 77 206 28 164 112T1 655 293 416 912 424 511 535T2 1183 538 641 1531 615 632 857AverageIlléla 386 241 270 362 267 282 301district T0 = adjacent fields; T1 WH technique + manure T2 WH technique + manure + urea

Internal rates of return to investments in:Zaï (planting pits) (1) 82%Zai (planting pits) (2) 39%Half moons 37%Agroforestry 31%Tree planting 13%**Source: Abdoulaye and Ibro (2006)

October 1988 (water harvesting techniquesintroduced on barren land in 1985)

OCTOBER 2008 (COUNTERFACTUAL 0 kg/ha)

WATER HARVESTING TECHNIQUES CONTRIBUTETO LOCAL GROUNDWATER RECHARGE

Water levels in wells increased by 14 min 10 years (1994 – 2004) (picture Nov. 2004)

Water levels still – 4 m in January 2012 andnumber of gardens incrased from:0 in 19944 in 200410 in 2012

WATER SPREADING DAMS IN ADOUNA VALLEYRECHARGED GROUNDWATER AND ALLOWED EXPANSIONOF DRY SEASON GARDENING

Natural regeneration and water harvesting upslope…

RE-GREENING IN TIGRAY (ETHIOPIA):AT LEAST 1 MILLION HA (2.5 MILLION ACRES)

….have recharged groundwater levels downslope…(300 new shallow wells)

…and expanded irrigation

…which contributed to food security in drought years

Re-greening + water harvesting = asset building for the rural poor……but multiple impacts still insufficiently quantified

AGROFORESTRY IS A LOW-COST WAY TOINTENSIFY AGRICULTURE AND INCREASE DROUGHTRESILIENCE;NO RECURRENT COSTS TO GOVERNMENTS

APPROACH: SCALE UP EXISTINGRE-GREENING SUCCESSES

Some lessons  Since the 1980s, a growing number of farmers practise Climate Smart Agriculture  Farmers invest in trees if they have clearly defined user rights  Governments need to develop supportive policies and legislation  Much has been achieved, much more remains to be done, but we know what and how

It is possible to improve the food securityand livelihoods of millions of farmers byincreasing investments in agroforestry andwater harvesting (CSA)!!

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Climate Smart Agriculture, Food Security and Water in Africa's Drylands: Lessons from Experience

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