By Meshark Sikuku, Farm Systems and Sustainability Coordinator
The rate at which land in Africa is degrading is concerning. This rapid loss of healthy and productive land is increasing da by day, with at least 100 million hectares lost each year, according to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. It has never been more important to work towards preserving and regenerating health in the land, particularly in continents like Africa that are more at risk of accelerated soil erosion and loss of biodiversity due to deforestation, overgrazing, chemical contaminations, water pollution and depletion.
The challenge: need for land, need for food
In East and South Africa, there is a growing population that requires the use of more land – this is worsening the existing situation of degraded land, as this land is then overused again and again, increasingly stripping it of its health and productivity over time.
Farmers can’t sustain their production of crops, as the land becomes more unsuitable for growth due to lack of nutrients after each harvest. As a result, agriculture productivity for small holder farmers has greatly declined leading to food shortage and exposing communities to food insecurity and malnutrition. Recent figures from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations indicate that that about 868 million people in Africa are food-insecure, with one-third of them (342 million people) being severely food-insecure.
5 ways we are regenerating farming land
We work closely with small holder farmers in East and South African countries. We share our knowledge on how to make the best use of their land, with our sustainable agriculture techniques. These methods support farmers in having abundant harvests while bringing back health to their land and nurturing it for long-term productivity, without the use of harsh chemicals or the need for deforestation. Here are 5 ways we are regenerating farming land:
1. Agroforestry
Planting trees amongst crops helps in protecting and stabilizing soil against erosion. It improves soil fertility as the falling leaves decompose and increase the organic matter in the soil, feeding nutrients to the crops. Trees also reduce the rate of moisture evaporation from the soil and therefore enable the soil to retain moisture for a longer time, better hydrating the crops.
Our agroforestry initiatives mainly involve fruit trees that also provide additional nutrition and income benefits to farming households. In the last 5 years, Ripple Effect and communities have planted over 3,591,000 assorted fruit and fodder trees such as avocados, mangos, calliandra, oranges and more.
2. Landscape protection and regeneration
We have projects involved with protecting and regenerating the landscape (wild non-farming land). When healthy, these unfarmed landscapes support vegetation growth, increasing soil cover. This filters and stores water by allowing it to percolate into the ground. This process improves water quality, reduces risk of flooding, recharges the underground water sources, and increases resilience within a changing climate. We work alongside communities in East Africa, and have so far regenerated a total of 345,000ha.
3. Nutrient recycling
We encourage the small holder farmers we work with to practice nutrient recycling. Nutrient recycling involves returning the organic plant or crop residues back into the soil to replace nutrients and increase organic matter.
We train farmers in agroecological practices such as composting, mulching and green manuring, which improve the soil structure, increase microbial functioning and create a balance in the soil’s chemical composition, making it healthier. This soil in turn accelerates plant and vegetation growth. Over 213,000Mt of organic waste is recycled and incorporated into the soil every year.
4. Water harvesting and protection of water sources
Water is the key source to healthy land and abundant harvest. In East and South Africa, water can be scarce, with not much precipitation during some years. Even with good levels of precipitation, degraded land struggles with water availability, quality and storage. For this reason, we introduce water harvesting techniques to our project participants, with methods such as water trapping and storing running water from rain, diversion of road runoff water to the farm or landscape, use of zai pits to trap water during planting. All these increase the availability of water for use either in the farm or in the landscape.
5. Building stronger community structures for land use management
Land restoration is better achieved and sustained through change of practice by the people using it - in this case, farmers. They must recognise the consequences of their methods, and learn new ways to farm sustainably, helping both their harvests and the land.
Currently, Ripple Effect is working with 1,380,000 participants who work in either farming groups, cooperatives, cluster level associations and Peer farmer associations. These instructions are trained to have strong leadership and better land management practices that are shared with farmers and wider communities.
Land regeneration is essential, particularly as the climate crisis is worsening the conditions. There is a risk of losing more agricultural land if we do not act now, and share our knowledge and techniques in sustainable farming. These methods are needed to bring back health to millions of hectares of land, as well as support communities in achieving food security through more productive harvests. Change in practice is needed at the community, national and international levels, to scale up regeneration efforts and secure the future of farming communities.
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