Transformational Opportunities to Perennialize Global Farming Creating an EverGreen Agriculture

Dennis Garrity

UN Drylands Ambassador Distinguished Board Research Fellow, World Agroforestry Centre

Agroforestry in the Era of the Sustainable Development

Goals…and Beyond

Dennis Garrity

Sustainable Development Goals •  Food security •  Poverty eradication •  Health •  Gender equity •  Education and Youth opportunities •  Reversing land degradation •  Biodiversity conservation •  Energy for all •  Climate change resilience

Production of the most important dryland crops is typically associated with dispersed trees in the farm

fields: agroforestry parklands

!Channels for Reducing Vulnerability !!

1. Buffer crop production from drought stress!! !!! !-- Sustain higher and more stable yields by !! !more favorable microclimate !

! !!! !-- Conserve and enhance soil organic matter, ! ! !infiltration and water holding capacity!

!2. Tree crops generally less severely affected by

!drought, heat, excess water!!3. Greater diversity of income sources !!

!!

The albida halo effect!•  Microclimate buffering!

•  Soil fertility improvement!

Microclimatic variation: Temperature

A Desertifying Landscape Southern Niger in the 1980s

Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration on crop fields: Initial Stages!

A Parkland Renaissance on Niger farmlands!

The albida halo effect!•  Microclimate buffering!

•  Soil fertility improvement!

Aerial view of a parkland dominated by Faidherbia in Niger

Major agroforestry regions in West Africa and directions of expansion

What is Evergreen Agriculture? A form of more intensive farming that

integrates trees into crop and livestock production systems.

Evergreen farming systems are ‘double- story’ systems that feature both perennial and annual species (food crops and trees), maintaining a green cover on the land throughout the year.

Types of Evergreen Agriculture

1. Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) on cropland

2. Conservation agriculture with trees (CAWT) 3. Conventional agriculture interplanted with trees

!Evergreen agriculture with Faidherbia albida in Zambia.!!!

17 Countries engaged in EverGreen Agriculture in Africa

Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration

Conservation Agriculture with trees

Trees interplanted in conventional tilled cropland

Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration + Trees interplanted in conventional tilled cropland

Training for farmer groups

curricula material for universities and technical colleges improved

Improved government policies

EverGreen Agriculture Partnership

Farmers and Groups

Research organisations

NGO’s & Civil Society

Youth and Education

Governments and Policy

Development organisations

Donors

Private Sector

Improved technical

capacity of extension

and government scaling up

efforts

Improved communications and

awareness Provision of

products and

services by the Private

sector

Technical and institutional capacity built to support spread of EverGreen Agriculture

Collaboration between

organisations supporting EverGreen Agriculture

EverGreen Agriculture Partnership EverGreen Agriculture Partnership

Conclusions – Way Forward •  Create a Climate Resilient Agriculture through

EverGreen Agriculture for land regeneration and food security on small-scale farms.

•  The approach has taken root in Africa, and is spreading rapidly.

•  Millions of smallholders are adopting effective land regeneration methods

•  Many nations are creating the policy and institutional environments to favor adoption

For More Information

World Agroforestry Centre www.worldagroforestry.org!

Evergreen Agriculture web site www.evergreenagriculture.net!

! Email contacts: d.garrity@cgiar.org!