Prevent Global Starvation: Climate-Smart Agriculture
Africans don’t want to rely on westerners, they want to grow food on their own land. Climate smart agriculture does this, by supporting seeds and training for drought-tolerant crops and rainwater harvesting, to restore desert to lush land to grow healthy food at little cost.
This also provides resilience when droughts and floods hit. Recently in Tanzania, floods have killed nearly 150 people, the main city relying on ‘rain-fed agriculture’ for income. Floods have left people (and donkeys) starving, due to.
Rainforest Alliance has a good article on the benefits of climate-smart-agriculture:
- Rainwater harvesting does what it says on the tin – ensuring that on rare occasions when it rains, that water is kept to water plants and soil, rather than evaporating into the ground.
- Contour planting is used especially for tea plantations. Planting on hills or natural terraces helps to reduce soil erosion.
- Planting shade trees helps crops to flourish in hot weather. It also helps farmers grow multiple crops. You’ve likely heard of shade-grown coffee, where farmers can also grow say bananas at the same time. So get more bang for their buck, at local markets.
How does climate smart agriculture work?
Farmers use data and soil sensors to apply the exact amount of water needed, to cut waste and reduce costs. Planting trees alongside crops protects plants from extreme sun, and improves soil health. And also provides farmers with alternative sources of income like fruit.
CSA also adapts food systems to survive extreme weather like droughts, floods and shifting seasons. Techiniques like drip irrigation deliver water direct to plant roots, and rainwater harvesting stores water in small ponds, so crops can survive dry spellls.
Using ‘no-till farming’ also leaves soil undisturbed. This preserves the soil, traps moisture and stops heavy rain from washing away fertile topsoil.
Planting cover crops during off-seasons also prevents soil erosion and naturally pumps nitrogen back into the earth, without need for chemical fertilisers. This has to be done carefully, as some cover crops are not safe near animals including livestock.
Examples of successful CSA farming
Millions of farmers in Africa are now adopting climate smart agriculture to create resilient yield food systems, instead of relying on big charity from abroad, which also is not always effective:
Nyandon Climate-Smart Villages (Kenya) grew drought-tolerant seeds that provided immediate food security for families.
