Agroecological Innovations Agroecological Innovations Increasing Food Production with Participatory Development Edited by Norman Uphoff Earthscan Publications Ltd London • Sterling, VA First published in the UK and USA in 2002 by Earthscan Publications Ltd Copyright © Norman Uphoff, 2002 All rights reserved ISBN: 1 85383 857 8 paperback 1 85383 856 X hardback Typesetting by PCS Mapping & DTP, Newcastle upon Tyne Printed and bound by Creative Print and Design (Wales), Ebbw Vale Cover design by Danny Gillespie For a full list of publications please contact: Earthscan Publications Ltd 120 Pentonville Road London, N1 9JN, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7278 0433 Fax: +44 (0)20 7278 1142 Email: [email protected] http://www.earthscan.co.uk 22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166–2012, USA A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Agroecological innovations : increasing food production with participatory development / edited by Norman Uphoff. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ). ISBN 1-85383-857-8 (pbk.) – ISBN 1-85383-856-X (hardback) 1. Agricultural innovations. 2. Agricultural ecology. 3. Agricultural productivity. I. Uphoff, Norman Thomas. S494.5.I5 A329 2002 338.1'6--dc21 2001007058 Earthscan is an editorially independent subsidiary of Kogan Page Ltd and publishes in association with WWF-UK and the International Institute for Environment and Development This book is printed on elemental chlorine-free paper Contents List of Tables viii List of Figures ix List of Contributors x Acronyms and Abbreviations xiii Introduction xv PART 1 ISSUES FOR ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION 1 The Agricultural Development Challenges We Face 3 Norman Uphoff 2 Rethinking Agriculture for New Opportunities 21 Erick Fernandes, Alice Pell and Norman Uphoff 3 Agroecological Principles for Sustainable Agriculture 40 Miguel A Altieri 4 Social and Human Capital for Sustainable Agriculture 47 Jules Pretty 5 Economic Conditions for Sustainable Agricultural Intensification 58 Arie Kuyvenhoven and Ruerd Ruben 6 Can a More Agroecological Agriculture Feed a Growing World Population? 71 Mary Tiffen and Roland Bunch PART 2 EXPERIENCES FROM AFRICA, LATIN AMERICA AND ASIA Africa 7 The Evolution of Agroecological Methods and the Influence of Markets: Case Studies from Kenya and Nigeria 95 Mary Tiffen 8 Benefits from Agroforestry in Africa, with Examples from Kenya and Zambia 109 Pedro A Sanchez 9 Realizing the Potential of Integrated Aquaculture: Evidence from Malawi 115 Randall E Brummett vi Agroecological Innovations 10 Management of Organic Inputs to Increase Food Production in Senegal 125 Amadou Makhtar Diop 11 Combining Traditional and New Knowledge to Improve Food Security in the Sahelian Zone of Mali 138 Mamby Fofana 12 Opportunities for Raising Yields by Changing Management Practices: The System of Rice Intensification in Madagascar 145 Norman Uphoff Latin America 13 Increasing Productivity through Agroecological Approaches in Central America: Experiences from Hillside Agriculture 162 Roland Bunch 14 Raising Smallholder Crop and Livestock Production in Andean Mountain Regions 173 Edward D Ruddell 15 The Spread and Benefits of No-till Agriculture in Paraná State, Brazil 187 Ademir Calegari Asia 16 Diversifying Rice-based Farming Systems and Empowering Farmers in Bangladesh Using the Farmer Field-school Approach 203 Marco Barzman and Sylvie Desilles 17 Integrated Pest and Crop Management in Sri Lanka 212 Keith A Jones 18 Increasing the Scope for Food Crop Production on Sloping Lands in Asia: Contour Farming with Natural Vegetative Strips in the Philippines 221 Dennis Garrity PART 3 ADVANCING AGROECOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE WITH PARTICIPATORY PRACTICES 19 Exploiting Interactions Between Planned and Unplanned Diversity in Agroecosystems: What do We Need to Know? 233 Alison G Power and Peter Kenmore 20 Human Dimensions of Agroecological Development 243 Jules Pretty and Norman Uphoff Contents vii 21 Institutional Changes and Policy Reforms 251 Jules Pretty, Ruerd Ruben and Lori Ann Thrupp 22 A More Productive Synthesis for Agriculture 261 Norman Uphoff References 267 Index 295 List of Tables 3.1 Ecological Processes to be Optimized in Agroecological Systems 42 3.2 Mechanisms for Improving Agroecosystem Immunity 43 4.1 Changing Phases in the Thai–German Highland Development Project, as Reported from 113 Villages in Nam Lang, Northern Thailand 55 5.1 Available Analytical Procedures for Appraising NRM Practices 67 6.1 Changes in Agriculture Associated with Changing Population Density 74 7.1 Fertilizer and Manure Use, Selective Samples of Gombe Farmers, 1967–1968 105 10.1 Efficiency of Stone Barriers at Tatene, 1990–1992 131 10.2 Peanut Yields as Affected by Application of Manure and Rock Phosphate, Senegal, 1991 134 10.3 Peanut and Millet Grain Yields at Ndiamsil, 1991–1995 136 11.1 Yearly Cereal Production in Douentza, 1981–1998, in tons 139 12.1 Impact of Additional Weeding on Yield with SRI Practices in Ambatovaky, Madagascar, 1997–1998 season 149 13.1 Changes in Yield of Maize, (100kg/ha) 167 13.2 Changes in Yield of Beans, (100kg/ha) 167 14.1 Potato Yields from Fertilizer Trials in Luqu, Northern Potosi, 1991–1992 183 14.2 Potato Yields from Fertilizer Trials in Vitora, Northern Potosi, 1994–1995 184 14.3 Variable Costs of Using Lupines and Commercial Fertilizer for Potato Production on Peasant Farms in Northern Potosi, Bolivia 185 15.1 Soil Losses in Different Tillage Systems with Animal Traction in Alic Cambisol, Ponta Grossa, Paraná 189 15.2 Organic Matter at Different Depths Comparing No-till and Conventional Tillage Systems, Paraguay, 1998 199 15.3 Soybean Yield (kg/ha) and Organic Matter Content Comparing No-till and Conventional Tillage Systems, Paraguay, 1998 200 15.4 Organic Matter Content with Different Tillage Systems and Crop Rotation in Savanna Soils, North Central Brazil, 1986–1992 200 15.5 Economic Evaluation of Soybean Production with No-till Rotation Systems Compared with Conventional Tillage in Northern Paraná 201 17.1 Impact of Adopting IPM Practices in Yield and Net Income for Vegetable and Other Field Crops 217 21.1 Policy Instruments Available for Supporting Sustainable Agriculture Practices 258 22.1 Alternative Conceptions of Agricultural Development 263 List of Figures 5.1 Factor Intensity and Yield Effects of Major NRM Practices 64 7.1 Land use in Three Areas, Machakos District, 1948–1978 97 7.2 Output per km2 in Maize Equivalents, 1957 Values 99 7.3 Area, Output, Yield and Maize Values of Coffee, 1960–1988 101 9.1 The Food Security Puzzle for Smallholders 116 9.2 Resource-flow Diagrams Depicting Qualitative Changes in a Malawian Smallholder Farming System 118 9.3 Pond Productivity over Time: A Comparison 122 9.4 Comparative Efficiency of Two Alternative Aquaculture Systems 123 10.1 Model of Soil Degeneration 127 10.2 Model of Soil Regeneration 128 15.1 Effect of Different Winter Cover Crops in No-till Systems on Carbon Content in Soil Profile (0–5cm) 197 15.2 Effect of Different Winter Cover Crops in No-till Systems on Phosphorous Content in Soil Profile (0–5cm) 198 15.3 Effects of Tillage Practices and Nitrogen Application on Maize Grain Yields 199 17.1 Effect of IPM Practices on Rice Yields in Different Provinces of Sri Lanka 215 17.2 Variation in Rice Yields in Six Growing Seasons 216 19.1 Production Syndromes Plotted in Two Dimensions of Management Practices 241 List of Contributors Miguel Altieri. Professor of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley; general coordinator of Sustainable Agriculture Networking and Extension (SANE), UNDP, and technical advisor, Latin American Consortium on Ecology and Development (CLADES). Marco Barzman. Research associate, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education programme, University of California, Davis; former project coordi- nator of the New Options for Pest Management (NO-PEST) Project, CARE/Bangladesh, Dhaka. Randall Brummett. Regional research coordinator for Africa, for the International Center for Living Aquatic Resource Management (ICLARM), presently in Cameroon. Roland Bunch. Coordinator for COSECHA (Consultants in People-centred Eco-agriculture), a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Tegucigalpa, Honduras; former Central American regional representative for the interna- tional NGO World Neighbours. Ademir Calegari. Senior soil researcher, Agronomy Institute, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil. Sylvie Desilles. Former project coordinator for the New Options for Pest Management (NO-PEST) Project, CARE/Bangladesh, Dhaka. Amadou Makhtar Diop. Technical director of the Sustainable Agriculture Program, Rodale Institute, Kutztown, Pennsylvania; former director of Rodale programme in Senegal. Erick Fernandes. Assistant professor of Crop and Soil Sciences, co-leader of the African Food Systems and Natural Resource Management Initiative, Cornell University, and former coordinator of the Alternatives to Slash-and- Burn Network, International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya. Mamby Fofana. Project director for the Unitarian Service Committee of Canada in Bamako, Mali. Dennis Garrity. Director-general of the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF); former coordinator of ICRAF’s Southeast Asia regional List of Contributors xi programme, and previously head of the Farming Systems Programme, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Los Baños, Philippines. Keith Jones. Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich; UK, former consultant