04/13/2023 1

The Role Of Ecological Agriculture In Food Security And Alleviating Child Malnutrition

By: Yosef Alemu

04/13/2023 2

Outline

• Introduction• Ecological Agriculture• Approach To Ecological Agriculture• Food Security Using Ecological Agriculture• Ecological Agriculture To Alleviate Child

Malnutrition

04/13/2023 3

Introduction

• human-induced climate change is resulting in less and more erratic rainfall, especially in regions where food security is very low

• The poor in rural and dry areas will suffer the most from these changes and they will require cheap and accessible strategies to adapt to erratic weather

04/13/2023 4

Ecological agriculture• Is a production system that sustains the health of

soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects.

• Crops grown without using synthetic pesticides, synthetic inorganic fertilizers, or genetically engineered seeds, Animals grown without using antibiotics or synthetic hormones

• Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved.

04/13/2023 5

Ecological agriculture vs industrialized agriculture

04/13/2023 6

• Organic agriculture has a significant role to play in addressing two of the world’s biggest and most urgent issues: climate change and food security

04/13/2023 7

Approach to ecological agriculture

• Building healthier soil• Increasing biological diversity of system• Improved Water management technique• Pest Control with Zero Pesticides• Livestock management

04/13/2023 8

Building healthier soil

• Prominent among these practices is the addition of manure or compost. – Manure is an organic matter used as organic fertilizer in

agriculture, it contribute to the soil by adding organic matter and nutrient such as nitrogen that is trapped by bacteria in the soil.

– they are readily available and are important agricultural byproduct

– they increase the water holding capacity of the soil– Stimulate activities of microorganisms that made plant

food element in the soil readily to crops

04/13/2023 9

Manure commonly used on ecological agriculture

• Farm yard manure • Green manure• Vermi-compost• Crop residue• bio fertilizer

04/13/2023 10

• Soil conservation, some methods– Terracing– Contour planting– Strip cropping with cover crop– Alley cropping, agroforestry– Windbreaks or shelterbelts– Conservation-tillage farming

• No-till• Minimum tillage

• Avoid the use of chemical fertilizer

04/13/2023 11

Increasing biological diversity of system

• biodiversity of an agro ecosystem can help maintain its long-term productivity and contribute significantly to food security since they have a better chance of copping with change in climate than monocultures

• diversity can be increased through increasing the variety of crops grown at one time on the parcel of land, and by adding trees and/or animals into the system.

• increasing crop diversity itself growing different varieties of the same crop that have different attributes

04/13/2023 12

04/13/2023 13

Ecological agriculture promote biodiversity

Meta analysis of comparative studies (Bengtsson et al., 2005):

• Species richness 30% higher in organic farms – Birds, Plants – Predatory insects, carabidae

• Species abundance 50% higher in organic farms – Weeds, Soil organisms (earthworms) – Predatory insects, carabidae– Not potential pest species!

04/13/2023 14

Better water management

• Organic agriculture systems, capture, store and use water more efficiently due to better soil structure and higher levels of humus and other organic matter compounds with sponge-like properties

• Practice such as crop residue retention, mulching and agro forestry conserve soil moisture and protect crops against microclimate extremes

• By efficiently Collecting and concentrate run of water in a pit and function with small amount of manure and compost

04/13/2023 15

Food Security Using Ecological Agriculture

• Combating poverty through reducing debt and increasing returns for labor invested

• Organic agricultural practices build soil, thereby increasing productive land availability while halting and reversing land degradation and erosion.

• Importantly, organic agriculture approaches are also accessible to small-scale and poor farmers who depend on biodiversity, soil health and locally-available resources for agricultural production.

04/13/2023 16

Example• Tigray project, having started in 1996 in four villages, was extended

to 165 districts by 2008 and has become the model for Ethiopian agricultural development policy. Outcomes include:– within a period of 2-3 years, farmers replaced artificial fertilizers

completely and relied exclusively on compost, as the positive effects were seen very quickly

– the use of compost also resulted in higher yields than those achieved with chemical fertilizer

– improved soil quality and hydrological conditions enabled farmers to grow a greater diversity of crops, improving the resilience of the food system, providing better nutrition and new income opportunities

– The improved moisture retention capacities of soil under organic management improved the chances of producing a crop even in drought conditions

04/13/2023 17

How ecological farming can mitigate climate change

• Reduce green house gases, especially nitrous oxide, as no nitrogen fertilizer are used

• Organic agriculture enhances biodiversity, protects fragile soils, improves the nutritional quality of food, ensures high standards of animal welfare

• emissions and fossil fuel energy use, cuts nutrient and pesticide pollution and stops potentially harmful pesticide residues entering our food chain.

• Organic agriculture builds resilient farming systems capable of combating climate change and securing local food supplies and is highly effective in sequestrating carbon.

04/13/2023 18

Alleviating child malnutrition• Since the organic farming system is more

diverse than the conventional farming system, children have more access to more diversified diet

• mixed cropping as compared to conventional mono cropping also shows to have significantly higher yield in protein, vitamins and essential minerals

04/13/2023 19

• References– Fred Magdoff ,Ecological agriculture : Principles , practices , and

constraints– Dr . Vandana Shiva ,Dr . Vaibhav Singh Organic Solutions to Hunger

and Malnutrition – ReyesCotter, Janet Ecological farming , – Stabinsky, Doreen Ecological agriculture for food security and climate

resilience,

04/13/2023 20

THANK YOU