The Roles of Agroecology on Agricultural Productivity

and Sustainability
 Introduction
 The three major related problems facing the world today are
 climate change,
 rural poverty and
 global food and nutrition insecurity

 This is because the majority live in rural areas, stallholder farmers

and rely on rainfed agric.
 Smallholder farmers stand higher chances of being adversely affected by the
impacts of climate change (McCarthy and Brubaker, 2014).
 Ctd…
 Governments and NGOs have responded by promoting the
use on inorganic fertilizer
 Adoption of fertilizer use has however remained very low,
or retreated (Byerlee et al. 2007)
 Due to
 High costs
 Production and consumption risks
 Lack of sustainability
 Several studies have documented the links between
agriculture and climate change
 Agriculture plays a pivotal role in the global efforts to
climate change mitigation and adaptation
 Agric dev’t should ensure ecosystem health and resilience,
and action and impacts that can be realized at scale
 Agroecology
 an approach to increased productivity and sustainability
 Today there is increasing demand for food and fiber
 population growth
 changes in lifestyles
 Current policies in Agric is aimed at
 achieving food and nutrition sustainably
 Maintaining env’tal sustainability
 Promoting rural livelihoods

 Agroecology as a discipline emerged in the 1960’s, focusing on the study of crops

and the env’t interaction
 It led to agreater understanding of the impact of;
 Agriculture on its environment
 Ecological zones and the agroecosystem on productivity and agriculture
practices
 Definition

Altieri, 1987 “A discipline that defines, classifies and studies agricultural systems from
an ecological and socio- economic perspective.”

Altieri, 1995 “The application of ecological concepts and principles to the design and
management of sustainable agroecosystems.”

Francis et al., “The integrative study of the ecology of the entire food systems,
2003 encompassing ecological, economic and social dimensions.”

Dalgaard, “An integrative discipline that includes elements from agronomy, ecology,
Hutchings and sociology and economics”, “the study of the interactions between plants,
Porter, 2003 animals, humans and the environment within agricultural systems.”

Wojtkowski “The interactions among natural processes in artificial systems designed to

, 2004 meet human goals.”

Gliessman, “The science of applying ecological concepts and principles to the design
2007 and management of sustainable food systems.”
 Agroecology…
 Due to climate change, there is need for ‘climate
smart’ agriculture practices.
 This would require;
 An understanding of the interaction between crops and
their environment
 Detailed information on other dimensions, such as soils,
weather pattern, and water availability
 Agroecology ensures agricultural productivity and conserve
natural resources
 It is closely related to the concept sustainable Agric and is a
climate smart agriculture practice
 The concept of agroecology
 The application of ecology to the design and management
of sustainable agro-ecosystems
 A whole-systems approach to agriculture and food systems
development based on traditional knowledge, alternative
agriculture, and local food system experiences.
 Linking ecology, culture, economics and society to sustain
agricultural production, healthy environments and viable food
and farming communities.
Concept…
 Principles of agroecology
To develop a more self-sufficient and sustaining agric,
the following principles were developed
 Recycling nutrients and energy on the farm, rather than
introducing external inputs;
 Integrating crops and livestock; diversifying species and
genetic resources in agro ecosystems over time and
space; and
 Focusing on interactions and productivity across the
agricultural system, rather than focusing on individual
species.
 It is highly knowledge intensive and is dev’p based
on the farmer's knowledge and experimentation
Principles…
 The roles of agroecology in productivity and
sustainability

• Optimizes the use of locally available resources by combining

the components of the farm system
 i.e. plants,
 animals,
 soil,
 water,
 climate
 and people,
• Reduces the use of off-farm, external and non-renewable
inputs and ensures sustainability
• Rely mainly on resources within the agroecosystem by
replacing external inputs with
 nutrient cycling,
 better conservation,
 and an expanded use of local resources;
 Roles…
• Improves the match between cropping patterns and
environmental constraints of climate and landscape to
ensure long-term sustainability of current production
levels;
• Values and conserves biological diversity, both in the
wild and in domesticated landscapes, and makes
optimal use of the biological and genetic potential of
plant and animal species
• takes full advantage of local knowledge and practices,
including innovative approaches not yet fully
understood by scientists although widely adopted by
farmers.
 Agro-ecology practices
• These approaches involve the maintenance or
introduction of agricultural biodiversity
 crops,
 livestock,
 agroforestry,
 fish,
 pollinators,
 insects,
 other components around production systems
• To achieve the desired results in production and
sustainability.
 Practices…
These sustainable practices include…
 Crop rotation
 Polycultures
 Agroforestry systems
 Cover crops
 Animal integration
 Urban and peri-urban agriculture
 Water use and conservation
 Biodiversity and agro-biodiversity
 Common features of agroecology
practices
 Maintain vegetative cover as an effective soil and water
conserving measure, met through the use of no-till
practices, mulch farming, and use of cover crops and
other appropriate methods.
 Provide a regular supply of organic matter through the
addition of organic matter (manure, compost, and
promotion of soil biotic activity).
 Enhance nutrient recycling mechanisms through the
use of livestock systems based on legumes, etc.
 Promote pest regulation through enhanced activity of
biological control agents achieved by introducing
and/or conserving natural enemies and antagonists.
 Conclusion
• Agroecology provides guidelines to develop diversified
agroecosystems that take advantage of the effects of the
integration of plant and animal biodiversity
• such integration enhances complex interactions and
synergisms and optimizes ecosystem functions and
processes
• E.g. biotic regulation of harmful organisms, nutrient
recycling, and biomass production and accumulation, thus
allowing agroecosystems to sponsor their own
functioning
• The end result of agroecological design is improved
economic and ecological sustainability of the
agroecosystem hence increased productivity
Thank You