Rio+20 Portal

Peasant agriculture: the basis for the new XXI Century agriculture

There is no doubt that humanity needs an alternative agricultural development paradigm, one that encourages more ecologically, biodiverse, resilient, sustainable and socially just forms of agriculture. The basis for such new systems are the myriad of ecologically based agricultural styles developed by at least 75% of the 1,5 billion smallholders, family farmers and indigenous people on 350 million small farms which account for no less than 50 % of the global agricultural output for domestic consumption (ETC, 2009). Most of the food consumed today in the world is derived from 5,000 domesticated crop species and 1.9 million peasant-­bred plant varieties mostly grown without agrochemicals (ETC, 2009). Industrial agriculture threatens this crop diversity through the replacement of native varieties with hybrid strains and the contamination of crop and wild species from the introduction of genetically modified organisms.

As the global food supply relies on a diminishing variety of crops, it becomes vulnerable to pest outbreaks, the breeding of superbugs, and climate disruptions.

Assessing the performance of agroecological projects

There are many competing visions on how to achieve new models of a biodiverse, resilient, productive and resource efficient agriculture that humanity desperately needs in the immediate future. Conservation (no or minimum tillage) agriculture, sustainable intensification production, transgenic crops, organic agriculture and agroecological systems are some of the proposed approaches, each claiming to serve as the durable foundation for a sustainable food production strategy. Although goals of all approaches may be similar, technologies proposed (high versus low input) methodologies (farmer-­‐led versus market driven, top down versus bottom-­‐up) and scales (large scale monocultures versus biodiverse small farms) are quite different and often antagonistic.

However when one examines the basic attributes that a sustainable production system should exhibit (Box 2), agroecological approaches certainly meet most of these attributes and requirements (Altieri, 2002; Gliessman, 1998; UK Food Group, 2010; Parrott and Marsden, 2002; Uphoff, 2002). Similarly by applying the set of questions listed in Table 2 to assess the potential of agricultural interventions in addressing pressing social, economic and ecological concerns, it is clear that most existing agroecological projects confirm that proposed management practices are contributing to sustainable livelihoods by improving the natural, human, social, physical and financial capital of target rural communities (Koohafkan et al., 2011).

The spread and productive/food security potential of agroecological systems

The first global assessment of agroecologically based projects and/or initiatives throughout the developing world was conducted by Pretty et al (2003) who documented clear increases in food production over some 29 million hectares, with nearly 9 million households benefiting from increased food diversity and security. Promoted sustainable agriculture practices led to 50-­100% increases in per hectare cereal production (about 1.71 Mg per year per household – an increase of 73%) in rain-­‐fed areas typical of small farmers living in marginal environments; that is an area of about 3.58 million hectares, cultivated by about 4.42 million farmers. In 14 projects where root crops were main staples (potato, sweet potato and cassava), the 146,000 farms on 542,000 ha increased household food production by 17 t per year (increase of 150%). Such yield enhancements are a true breakthrough for achieving food security among farmers isolated from mainstream agricultural institutions. A re-‐examination of the data in 2010, the analysis demonstrates the extent to which 286 interventions in 57 “poor countries” covering 37 million ha (3 percent of the cultivated area in developing countries) have increased productivity on 12.6 million farms while improving ecosystem services. The average crop yield increase was 79 percent.

Agroecology and resiliency to climatic extremes

Of key importance for the future of agriculture are results from observations of agricultural performance after extreme climatic events which reveal that resiliency to climate disasters is closely linked to the level of on-­‐farm biodiversity, a major feature of agroecological systems. A survey conducted in Central American hillsides after Hurricane Mitch showed that farmers using diversification practices such as cover crops, intercropping and agroforestry suffered less damage than their conventional monoculture neighbors. The study revealed that diversified plots had 20 to 40% more topsoil, greater soil moisture and less erosion and experienced lower economic losses than their conventional neighbors (Holt-­‐Gimenez 2000). Similarly in Sotonusco, Chiapas, coffee systems exhibiting high levels of vegetational complexity and plant diversity suffered less damage from Hurricane Stan than more simplified coffee systems.

Diversified farming systems such as agroforestry, silvopastoral and polycultural systems provide a variety of examples on how complex agroecosystems are able to adapt and resist the effects drought. Intercrops of sorghum and peanut, millet and peanut, and sorghum and millet exhibited greater yield stability and less productivity declines during a drought than in the case of monocultures (Natarajan and Willey 1986). In 2009 the valle del Cauca in Colombia experienced the driest year in a 40 year record. Intensive silvopastoral systems for livestock production combining fodder shrubs planted at high densities under trees and palms with improved pastures, not only provided environmental goods and services for livestock producers but also greater resilience to drought.

Scaling up agroecological innovations

The cases reported above show that in Africa, Asia and Latin America there are many NGO and farmer led initiatives promoting agroecological projects that have demonstrated a positive impact on the livelihoods of small farming communities in various countries (Altieri et al 2011). Agroecological production is particularly well suited for smallholder farmers, who comprise the majority of the rural poor. Resource-­‐poor farmers using agroecological systems are less dependent on external resources and experience higher and more stable yields enhancing food security. Some of these farmers, who may devote part of their production for certified organic export production without sacrificing food security, exhibit significantly higher incomes than their conventional counterparts.

Agroecological management makes conversion to organic production fairly easy, involving little risk and requires few, if any, fixed investments.