Syd for Sahara har landmænd kæmpet med tørke og jordforringelse i årevis. Men nye innovative metoder inden for land- og vandforvaltning kan hjælpe med at forbedre fødevaresikkerheden.
The nature of agriculture is changing, writes World Resources Institute.
Farmers across the world struggle to produce more food while facing changing rainfall patterns, a warmer world, and increased competition over land and water.
Ecosystem degradation, declining soil fertility, and water stress add to these land use pressures.
Nowhere are these challenges more severe than in sub-Saharan Africa’s drylands. Farmers in dryland regions like the Sahel must grapple with drought, unpredictable rainfall, and depletion of soil nutrients.
At the same time, sub-Saharan Africa is one of world’s poorest regions. Roughly 200 million people—a full 27 percent of the population—are undernourished. Forty percent of children under the age of five are stunted due to malnutrition.
But while the challenge is great, so is the opportunity. Innovative farmers have demonstrated how agroforestry and other relatively simple practices can significantly boost food production in Africa’s drylands.
In fact, according to a new WRI working paper, improving land and water management on just 25 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s 300 million hectares of prime cropland would result in an additional 22 million tons of food.
This strategy could go a long way towards sustainably feeding Africa—and the world.
Farming in Africa’s Drylands
Sub-Saharan African farmers have been fighting drought and land degradation for years.
In response, a growing number are starting to adopt improved land and water management practices to reduce erosion, capture more rainfall, increase soil organic matter, and replenish nutrients.
Their encouraging results provide lessons in the types of strategies needed to restore the productivity of cropland and produce enough food for a growing population.
Improved land and water management practices such as agroforestry, conservation agriculture, rainwater harvesting, and integrated soil fertility management are sustainably increasing crop yields while also reducing agriculture’s impact on the environment.
For example:
Læs videre her: http://www.wri.org/blog/farmer-innovation-improving-africa’s-food-security-through-land-and-water-management
