Seminar on Landscapes in a Carbon Focused World 26 October 2012 SIANI, Focali & Naturskyddsföreningen organized a one-day seminar in Gothenburg. Smallholder farming, the dominant in Ethiopia, has a multi-functional dimension. Research results show improvement of ecosystem services such as: tremendous increase of the agricultural yield (human food and animal feed) ecologically. Environmentally it is improved by SLM; agroforestry, ecological farming, intercropping, etc, which is resulted in boosting agrobiodiversity, underground water-retention, regeneration of vegetation and then transferred into micro-irrigation and diversity in the farm such as apiculture. Practically agroforestry has a significant and diverse environmental and socio-economic importance. Family income increment consequently enhanced their socio-cultural and religious participation in communities. These all activities are known for their build up of soil organic matter and humus, low GHG emission and carbon sequestration. So far the policies, rules, regulations and the present CRGE plan of the Ethiopian government are in favor of smallholder farming. However, many international programs still are pushing governments of the developing world for high external input and monoculture, which are high in GHG emission and are unsustainable. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to indicate the need to recognize the contribution of the smallholder farming in the landscape management and integrating to the academics, extension, research and agricultural development of the country. It will also analyze the existing policy situation and draw policy recommendations locally and internationally. Hailu Araya is a soil scientist with a PhD in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Hohenheim, Germany. He is a Team Leader (Ecological Agriculture) in an NGO called the Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD) and co-founder of Best Practice Association. He has an experience of 10 years teaching in Geography in High Schools and over 14 years of practical experience with smallholder farmers and extensionists. He trains and being trained by smallholder farmers from their practical work in preparing local inputs especially compost, crop diversification, IPM, agroforestry, and farm innovation.

1. Multifunctionality of smallholder
farming: A way towards
sustaining Food Security and
Adapting to Climate Change
Hailu Araya (PhD)
Institute for Sustainable Development
(hailuara@yahoo.com)
26 October 2012

2. The mountainous Ethiopia

3. Mountainous …cont

4. Opportunities and Problems
Wide area with potential for agricultural
production (1.12m Km2), pop. (>80m)
One of the oldest agrarian countries with IK
High land degradation
Smallholder farmers with open access
grazing
Forest encroachment, declined agro-
biodiversity & low agricultural production
High level of food insecurity –
unemployment

5. Challenge
High over-grazing
Deep, wide and long
gullies

6. Agriculture
Ethiopia - total emission is 150 Mt
CO2e
Agriculture- 50 percent
Methane 65 Mt CO2e
Fertilizer ~10 Mt CO2e
Forestry- 37 percent
55 Mt CO2e (deforestation for
agricultural land, fuel wood logging)
All transport, Industry, power and
buildings – 13 percent

7. By 2030 Under Business as Usual – 400 Mt
CO2e – more than double
Agriculture (4.4%) increase from 75
to 185 Mt CO2e due to increase in
cattle population, increase in cultivated
land (crops production) and synthetic
fertilizer
Forestry (2.6%) - average growth of
cropland and increase in population
leading to higher fuel wood
consumption

8. The opportunity for carbon sink in the
agriculture sector
The CRGE planned the GHG to be around
250 Mt CO2e based on four pillars:
One of them is - Improving crop and
livestock production practices for higher
food security and farmer income while
reducing emissions.
Therefore, we can work in soil, water,
agronomy, etc
Vegetation – mixed agriculture –
agroforestry
A replication of the following examples

9. Healing and
greening the
land
Gullies are treated
physically and
biologically

10. Adi Nefas before (1997) and after (2003) -
All the components being used
Physical
-Trench bunds
-Terraces
- Check dams
-Water points
Biological
-Planting MPT
-Hedge plants
- Protect existing trees

11. Wheat yield, Hintalo Wejerat (Waza), 2010 – drier area
impact of bioslurry compost compared with chemical
fertilizer from one year’s application

12. Tef yield by input and without input in Ude
kebele of Ada’a wereda – wet area (2010)

13. Sustainability – the higher compost
application results in increasing productivity
Control MF 3.2 t/ha 6.4 t/ha
120
Cumulative Productivity value
100
80
(%)
60
40
20
0
2005 2006 2007
Year of harvest

14. Tef - transplant right Agronomic practices -
and broadcast left System of Crop
Intensification
Transplanted finger
millet - 58 tillers
With
>3t/ha Tef plants -
compost transplant left and
broadcast right
With
6t/ha
compost

15. Animal and
forage Enset
development
Napier grass
Alfalfa
Healthy
Cow and
calf

16. Trainees
making their A woman
beehives making a
beehive with
‘chika’
Beekeeping is
multifunctional
 Food security
 Natural resource
conservation
 Biodiversity

17. Leucas ‘siwa karni’
flowers all year where
there is moisture
Hypoestes ‘gerbiya’ that
flowers all year
Biodiversity to
support
beekeeping
Becium ‘tibeb’ the source
of famous white honey of
Tigray

18. SHF managed seed supply chain in Tigray
Reliable cultivars at local level 85-90% seed is from
local source
Personal
saving Neighbors/ Local
If not “b”
relatives market
a b
If not “c”
c Community Government
seed supply
seed bank
d
If not “d”

19. • Rocky landscape – The soil maker
almost no soil
A
•No options for
living
A
Building series of terraces I change it
Crushing like this
rocks & mulching

20. Nutrient cycling through mixed farming
Household litter
Plant litter
Farm residue
C
o
Manure m
p
o
s
t
Compost

21. Nutrient cycling through compost at family level

22. Good compost
 14.7% (OM), 8.6% (OC)
>1% (TN)
0.04% (P)
0.29% (K)
An average HH produces
about 7t/yr of compost.
1,029kg OM/ 602kg OC
77kg TN
2.7kg P
20.3kg K

23. Just do or die

24. Improved water supply for irrigation
Integrated watershed management results in:
Re-appearance of springs and streams
Micro-irrigation through hand dug wells at
household level
Improving food security by enhancing family
income and nutrition
Agrobiodiversity - restored
Rural families are better resilient to Climate
Change

25. Some evidences on Sustain. Ag
Soil carbon stock increase (Luske and
Kamp, 2009) –
0.7-1.14t C/ha/year – FYM
application(3t/ha)
0.66t C/ha/year – long term legume
experiment
2.7-3.8 t C/ha/year – Compost application
in the first years
Smallholder rainfed dry/cold can sequester
carbon 0.26 ±0.035 ton C/ha/year through
sustainable agriculture practices (Menale

26. Zero tillage
In intensive arable results in
accumulation of 0.3-0.6 t C /ha/year,
with mixed rotations and cover
crops can accumulate 0.66-1.3 t
C/ha/year.
The growth rates at the humid
tropics (0.2-0.5 t C/ha/yr), and in
the semi-arid tropics (0.1-0.2 t
C/ha/yr). Pretty and Ball (2001)

27. Conclusion
Projects under smallholder farming practices solve
many problems through recycling of organic matter
Mixed farming practice is interconnecting each other
and diversify means of income, survival, diversity,
innovation, etc based on social problems.
Landscape approach become attractive the
government – satisfying all
The government policy is supportive for such projects
- they coincide with the government policy and
Growth and Transformation Plan, National Action Plan
for Adaptation

28. Recommendations
Enough attention and respect for smallholder
farming b/c it improves environment, livelihood,
social
Adequate promotion, including training and
follow-up in low inputs and mixed agriculture
could contribute substantially to becoming food
secure
Government and Civil Society cooperation is
very fundamental for scaling up/out

29. Clarity – required
Who should know the gain and loss
of the Climate change
How do we collaborate for a
stronger result?
Do we need to see the contribution
of smallholder farming by one eye
(carbon)? Why not beyond? – where
is the value of biodiversity & food
security?

30. Acknowledgements
It is my pleasure to extend my thanks to
Farmers, experts and local authorities
- Implementing such projects
SSNC
- Supporting the project, this study and
inviting to this meeting
ISD
- support community projects

31. Let m
e try
- my
father
was
doing
like
this.