Experts Call for
Worldwide Adoption of Sustainable Farming
Practices by 2030 ahead of Major International
Agroforestry Congress
Nairobi, Kenya, 24 July
2009 - The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)
and the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) are calling for the widespread uptake
of 'green' agricultural practices that will
deliver multiple benefits to the world's
rapidly growing populations - from combating
climate change and eradicating poverty to
boosting food production and providing sustainable
sources of timber.
The call was made at
the launch of the 2nd World Congress of
Agroforestry, which will be held in Nairobi
from 23-28 August 2009.
Agriculture, deforestation
and other forms of land use account for
nearly one-third of global greenhouse gas
emissions. With just a few months to go
until the crucial UN Climate Change Conference
in Copenhagen, agricultural and environmental
experts agree that all forms of land use
should be included in a post-Kyoto climate
regime.
According to a UNEP report,
the agricultural sector could be largely
carbon neutral by 2030 and produce enough
food for a population estimated to grow
to nine billion by 2050, if proven methods
aimed at reducing emissions from agriculture
were widely adopted today. Key among these
methods are agroforestry, reduced cultivation
of the soil, and the use of natural nutrients
such as fertilizer trees.
A study by World Agroforestry
Centre scientists, for example, on fertilizer
trees that capture nitrogen from the air
and transfer it to the soil indicates that
their use can reduce the need for commercial
nitrogen fertilizers by up to 75 per cent
while doubling or tripling crop yields.
"These results should make agroforestry
appealing to farmers" noted Dennis
Garrity, Director General of the World Agroforestry
Centre and Co-Chair of the Congress Global
Organizing Committee.
UN Under-Secretary-General
and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner
said: "Addressing the range of current
and future challenges - from the food, fuel
and economic crises to the climate change
and natural resource scarcity ones - requires
an accelerated transition to a low carbon,
resource efficient Green Economy for the
21st century. Farming will be either part
of the problem or a big part of the solution.
The choice is straight forward: continuing
to mine and degrade productive land and
the planet's multi-trillion dollar ecosystems
or widely adopting creative and climate-friendly
management systems of which agroforestry
is fast emerging as a key shining example."
"If implemented
over the next fifty years, agroforestry
could result in 50 billion tons of carbon
dioxide being removed from the atmosphere,
about a third of the world's total carbon
reduction challenge," Dr Garrity said.
Researchers suggest
that integrating agroforestry in farming
systems on a massive scale would create
a vital carbon bank. The Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates
no less than a billion hectares of developing
country farmland is suitable for conversion
to carbon agroforestry projects.
"Nations must seal
the deal on a comprehensive and scientifically-credible
new climate agreement in Copenhagen - there
is a lot at stake, not least the future
of agriculture and farmers' livelihoods.
One key step will be for nations to agree
to a scheme for Reduced Emissions from Deforestation
and forest Degradation (REDD) which will
pave the way for preserving forests and
other key ecosystems, as well as closing
the gap in global demand for sustainable
timber by shifting production from forest
to farm," Mr. Steiner stated.
According to a UNEP
report released in June, the farm sector
has the largest readily achievable gains
in carbon storage, if best management practices
were widely adopted. Up to 6 gigatonnes
(Gt) of CO2 equivalent, or up to 2 Gt of
carbon, could be sequestered each year by
2030, which is comparable to the current
emissions from agriculture. Many of the
agricultural practices that store more carbon
can be implemented at little or no cost.
The majority of this potential - 70 per
cent - can be realized in developing countries.
While farmers in developing
countries are one of the world's largest,
most efficient producers of sequestered
carbon, to date it has not been possible
to calculate or verify how much they are
removing from the atmosphere. The World
Agroforestry Centre and UNEP are partners
in a project that promises to provide the
basis for widespread adoption of agroforestry
and other sustainable forms of agriculture.
The Carbon Benefits
Project, launched in May 2009, is developing
a standard and reliable method for accurately
measuring, monitoring, reporting, and projecting
how much carbon each kind of land use is
storing. This global project makes use of
the latest remote sensing technology and
analysis, soil carbon modeling, ground-based
measurements, and statistical analysis.
Garrity noted that if
nations agree to a scheme for REDD in Copenhagen,
the work of the Carbon Benefits Project
will provide a more credible basis for smallholders
to receive payments for conserving forests,
practicing conservation agriculture and
increasing tree cover on their farms that
sequesters carbon.
"Saving carbon
is not a priority for smallholder farmers.
But, supporting them to expand their agroforestry
systems provides income generation and service
benefits to farmers that also have the co-benefit
of sequestering carbon" Garrity said.
"For example, by using fertilizer trees
and other conservation agriculture techniques,
farmers have increased their maize yields
from an average of 1 tonne per hectare to
3 or even 4 tonnes per hectare while greatly
improving exhausted soils. Food security
is enhanced while farmers' production systems
become better adapted to climate change."
Garrity also cited an
agroforestry project underway in Malawi,
where smallholder farmers are being supported
with knowledge about how to plant trees
for fertilizer, fruit and fuelwood benefits.
The addition of fuelwood and fruit trees
on these farms releases women from having
to take timber from the forest, and their
children are receiving more vitamins and
minerals in their diet.
The theme of the Congress
is Agroforestry - the future of global land
use. It will assess opportunities to leverage
scientific agroforestry in promoting sustainable
land use worldwide. Over 1,000 researchers,
practitioners, farmers, and policy makers
from all corners of the globe are expected
to attend, including Wangari Maathai, Nobel
Peace Prize Laureate and renowned environmental
activist, and M. S. Swaminathan, World Food
Prize laureate and "Father of the Green
Revolution in India".
Tree geneticists will
explain successful processes for domesticating
tree species such as rubber, coffee and
indigenous fruits. Economists will present
findings of studies on value-adding and
improving access to markets. And soil scientists
will debate the best tree-based systems
for reversing land degradation.
Notes to Editors:
For information on speakers,
sessions and registration details, visit
the 2nd World Congress of Agroforestry website
www.worldagroforestry.org/wca2009
The World Agroforestry
Centre, based in Nairobi, Kenya, is the
world's leading research institution on
the diverse role trees play in agricultural
landscapes and rural livelihoods. As part
of its work to bring tree-based solutions
to bear on poverty and environmental problems,
centre researchers - working in close collaboration
with national partners - have developed
new technologies, tools and policy recommendations
for increased food security and ecosystem
health. www.worldagroforestry.org
The United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), established in 1972, is
the voice for the environment within the
United Nations system. UNEP acts as a catalyst,
advocate, educator and facilitator to promote
the wise use and sustainable development
of the global environment. To accomplish
this, UNEP works with a wide range of partners,
including United Nations entities, international
organizations, national governments, non-governmental
organizations, the private sector and civil
society. www.unep.org
For more information please contact:
Jeff Haskins
Nick Nuttall
