1. Agro-ecology a tool for the
development of drylands ?
What the stakeholders says...
« No art in the world does require
as much philosophy than agriculture »
Bernard Palissy
P. Burger - Bonn - 11 avril 2013 1

2. FACTS
41% of the whole land are
drylands ; 10 to 20 % are
hihgly degraded
74 % of Africa ‘s land is
affected by degradation
38 % of the world
population including the
biggest part of the rural
poor smalholders
46 % of the organic carbon
storage
50 % of the world cattle
30 % of the cultivated
biodivesrity - 11 avril 2013
P. Burger - Bonn 2

3. Trends in drylands
Tackle the issue as a whole
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4. Agriculture dead ends and new paradigm ?
How to feed 9.1 billion by 2050 ? Green Revolution,… Double Green
Revolution… Sustainable Green Revolution…Rainbow revolution…
production has increased
by 18.6% from 1960 to 2007
the needed 3000 kcal/m/day is already
produced …but
1 billion of people suffer from hunger
75 % of the producers of the world still
hungry
50 % of the whole production is lost
15 % of the agriculture land is no more
suitable because of wrong practices
4000 species are at risk of extinction
Global food insecurity increase and food
crisis multiply creating instability of
states
30 % of the food of the world produced
by industrial agriculture while 70 %
is produced by small scale farmers
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5. Ecological agricultures for developement :
from rhetorics to new options ?
• Biological agriculture ( no synthesis chemicals)
• Biodymanic agriculture ( cosmos influence)
• Conservation agriculture ( no tillage)
• Organic agriculture ( angle saxon term)
• Permaculture ( permanent cover)
• Sustainable agriculture ( respond to our needs without XXX the needs of future generation)
• Agrology ( based on soils microbiology)
• Ecological intensiv agricuture (intensify ecological properties)
• Evergreen agriculture ( integration of numerous productive activities and forestry
• High environmental value agriculture (new french certification including several indicators for water
use, biodiversity, fertilization, energy, combating diseases..)
• Asssisted regreening agriculture ( natural regeneration of trees)…
• Precision agricultrure (use of satellites and itc compoenents)
• Climate smart agriculture ….
• Agroecology
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6. Agroecology : one definition, many
interpretations..
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7. 3 pilars : technical, socio-economical and cultural, political
1 2 3
crosssectorial
Relevant for drylands for today
and tomorow !
5 similarities of agroecological traditionnel systems
•high levels of biodiversity,
•ingenious practices of landscape and water management, Upscaling time and space
•diversified systems of production for livelihoods,
•resilient agrosystems, improved by traditionnel knowledge
• strong social organsiations rooted in cultural values
More and more mentioned in international debates, reports and decision making…
but still strong controversies….
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8. Dabouino
et Ponsero
2009
10 situations
•AVSF – Brazil
•CARI – Marocco
•Agrisud – Niger
•Sos Sahel – Senegal
•Enda – Senegal
•GRDR –Mali
•AVSF – Burkina Faso
•ARFA – Burkina faos
•Agrisud – Madagasacra
P. Burger - Bonn - 11 avril 2013 •GRET – Madagascar 8

9. What did we learn ?
• AE has a long history since 1928 • AE is very relevant for
and is rooted in science combating landdegradation,
• AE offers safe responses to local erosion and decline of
food security fertility by using different
kinds of management of the
• AE increase the productivity of organic matter and
work and the yeld on médium strengthening the structure
term of the soil and its functions
• AE practitioners are • Often AE is hindered by
characterised by two strong problems of governance
drivers : technical and economical and lack of public
on one hand, research of investement and technical
autonomy and self reliance on support or marginalisation
the other hand
• AE does increase the holistic
aproach, the innovations and the
access to the factors of
productions in the most of the
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10. What did we learn ?
• AE does rely on local
knowledge : it helps to adapt
to local conditions and
participative approaches
including self-evaluation by
doing
•AE is a credible already tested
• AE integrates natural alternative for the agricultural
ressources management : developement of drylands
water management, land- •The Thematic programme network 6 of
conservation and conservation the UNCCD ( in Africa) is dedicated to
of biodiversity sustainable agriculture
• AE is very attractive for production systems : any plan ?
• much more advanced than the Natural
smalholders by maximasing capital accounting (NCA) and the Total
direct benefits in different Economic Values (TEV) the small farmers
contexts of the world make every day holistic
based decisions for feeding them and
the world
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11. They didn’t
know that it
was impossible
to do : so thy
did it !
Mark Twain
THANK YOU !
www. cariassociation.org 11
P. Burger - Bonn - 11 avril 2013