T I M E F O R action

The design of diverse agroecological systems rooted

in local ecological knowledge and based on system K ey facts
diversity and ecological synergies can significantly
improve soil quality and reverse soil degradation while 12 million hectares of agricultural soils are lost
increasing the production of nutritious food. globally through soil degradation every year.

Soils with soil organic matter content lower

than 0.8 percent are unproductive and often
abandoned.

Agroforestry systems can reduce soil erosion by as

much as 100 times in steep slopes.

Growing Faidherbia albida in association with millet

(Pennisetum glaucum) increased grain yields by
50 percent in Burkina Faso and Senegal.
© Georgina Smith/CIAT ©FAO/Hoang
© Georgina Smith/CIAT
Dinh Nam
In Honduras the adoption of soil conservation DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - Women farmers working on a spinach crop of a Farmer Field School. The Farmer Field School, supported by FAO, teaches farmers improved
practices tripled or quadrupled maize yields for techniques including the use of natural fertilizers and organic alternatives to pesticides. ©FAO/Olivier Asselin

1 200 families.

AGROECOLOGY TO REVERSE SOIL

EL SALVADOR - Jocoaitique, Ladera area. Crop diversification: farmer working in
maize plantation where henequen is also grown. ©FAO/Giuseppe Bizzarri DEGRADATION AND ACHIEVE FOOD SECURITY
Agroecology has already proven to be an effective Agroecology, which restores ecosystem functioning by maintaining soil health, is an
strategy to address the global challenge that agriculture effective strategy to achieve food security in the areas of the world where it is most needed.
is facing as it accommodates the socio-political
characteristics of food security with the need for
restoring ecosystem functions.

Agroecology is part of the Strategic Framework of

FAO, in particular the Strategic Objectives of making
agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and
sustainable, increasing the resilience of livelihoods and
reducing rural poverty. To facilitate a dialogue about
Agroecology, its benefits, challenges and opportunities
focusing at regional and national level, FAO is involved T he challenge
in regional conferences (held in 2015 in Latin America

T
and the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia
he dramatic increase in crop production of
and the Pacific). Furthermore, FAO supports farmers’
the last 50 years has reduced the number of
research networks to integrate scientific innovations RWANDA – Kiseny region. Slow-forming terraces and crop diversification including chronically undernourished people. However,
with traditional farmers’ knowledge. maize, banana, coffee and vegetable cropping. ©FAO/A. Odoul
these massive production gains have come at
high environmental costs, which have affected soil
and ecosystem health.

Currently agricultural policy is increasingly expected

to face the combined challenge of producing
Food and Agriculture Organization
sufficient food for a growing population while
of the United Nations
guaranteeing environmental restoration. Therefore,
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla policy-makers are more frequently asked how
I4803E/1/07.15

00153 Rome, Italy to address the urgent need for soil and
© FAO 2015

Tel:(+39) 06 57051 environmental restoration when millions of

Fax:(+39) 06 570 53152 #IYS2015 people are still hungry. NIGER - Keita. ©FAO/F. Paladini
e-mail: [email protected]
web: www.fao.org
F ood security and soil 800
Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT) is a
degradation specific agroforestry strategy in which annual and
Y = -207 + 0.34 X
... perennial crops are grown between contoured rows of
r2 = 0.74 leguminous species. SALT has been extensively tested
“The world produces more than enough food to feed 600

Grain yield, g/m2

and implemented in farmers’ fields and experimental
every member of the human family, yet 1 in 9 people
plots in Southeast Asia and has proven effective for
do not have enough to eat”. This was the opening
400 reversing soil degradation while improving crop yields
sentence by the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon,
and farm’s profitability.
for the launch of EXPO 2015 in Milan, Italy.

Despite hosting almost all food production, rural areas 200

also hold the majority of the world’s food insecure
people. Soils that are well managed by family farmers
help ensure the four dimensions of food security: 0
availability, delivering nutrients for crop growth; 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
access, by improving family farm income through EL SALVADOR - A farmer holding two types of soil. ©FAO/Giuseppe Bizzarri 0.025 M KMnO4 - oxidizable C, mg/kg
more reliable harvests; stability, by conserving water to
support nearly year-round cropping; and utilization, by The agroecological approach starts by restoring soil life Figure 1 Relationship between corn grain yield and active
fraction of soil organic matter. Source: Magdoff and Weil, 2004
harvesting healthy nutritious food from healthy soils. in order to re-establish and/or enhance the multiple
soil-based biological processes. This requires:
Soil degradation consists of biological, chemical and Increasing and monitoring soil organic
physical degradation. Currently, about 33 percent of matter: Soil organic matter is considered the most
world soils are moderately to highly degraded. Forty common deficiency in degraded soils and the
percent of these soils are located in Africa and most main indicator for soil quality. Practical, accessible
of the remaining amount are in areas that are afflicted GHANA - Wendu. Hedgerow intercropping. Hedgerow of Laucaena leucocephala
indicators can support local decisions and larger (Leguminosae) and maize as a companion crop in a field at Wenchi. Leucaena fixes
by poverty and food insecurity. The strong relationship landscape monitoring and analyses for district level nitrogen. ©FAO/Pietro Cenini
between soil health and food security calls for strategic implementation.
and immediate actions especially at the local level to Facilitating and monitoring of soil biodiversity: Cover crops: Cover crops are usually leguminous
reverse soil degradation, in order to increase food Soil biological communities are directly responsible crops grown to improve soil health by guaranteeing
production and alleviate food insecurity in the areas permanent soil cover, adding organic matter to soil and
for multiple ecosystem functions.
where it is most needed and in the context of climate fixing atmospheric nitrogen. These help reverse soil
Build on local farmers’ knowledge:
change. degradation even in densely populated areas where
Participatory scientific approaches to soil ecosystem
long term fallows are simply no longer possible.
management, such as Farmer Field Schools, are of LAOS - Nakhong Village. Integrated pest management training at a farmers’ field
great importance to inform farmers’ knowledge school: collecting pest specimens in the field. ©FAO/K. Pratt
The use of Mucuna spp. as a cover crop in different
with researchers’ scientific principles in order better African locations has increased soil organic matter,
locally adapt agroecological systems. improved nitrogen availability in soils and positively
A G R O E C O L O G Y as a strategy to
affected yields.
restore soils and ecosystem
F armers : T he E cosystem sta b ility Crop-livestock integration: Integrating livestock with

A
crop production can tighten up nutrient cycles and
managers for soil groecology applies specific strategies diversify production, especially for smallholder family
restoration based on temporal and spatial diversity, farms. In mixed farming systems, crop by-products are
which guarantee local, stable and diverse fed to livestock while manure is applied to cropland to
Degraded soils have lost their capacity to sustain
year-round production and income. sustain benefits from soil organic matter and nutrients
food production as many ecological processes These strategies include: availability.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - Dangala. Farmer in a peanut field.
©FAO/Riccardo Gangale
provided by soil biological communities such
as maintenance of soil structure, soil-born pest Polycultures and agroforestry systems: The design In Ethiopia and Tanzania the design of mixed farming
agroecology as a strategy to regulation, nutrient and water cycling, have been of appropriate crop mixtures is more stable than systems, which include multipurpose legume species
reverse soil degradation overlooked or replaced by the use of external monocultures as polycultures build on diverse crop such as Cajanus cajan (pigeon pea)–a drought
inputs. Many farmers across the globe have deep,

B
resistance to soil pests and diseases and complementary tolerant multi-purpose legume–or Faidherbia albida
y understanding and working with interactions experiential knowledge of their local soils. They have uptake of soil nutrients and water in order to facilitate –an indigenous leguminous nitrogen–fixing species
among soil, plants, animals, humans and the tested, adapted and discovered agricultural practices recycling of biomass and nutrients. The complementary with pods palatable for livestock, and leaves used as
environment within agricultural systems, agro- that restore soil life and the associated ecosystem traits of trees and crops enhance the efficiency of the fertilizers-are well known to be effective in reversing
ecology encompasses multiple dimensions services. These farmers are the main ecosystem whole systems, while litter mulch and the position of soil degradation by controlling erosion, providing
of the food system, including ecological restoration, managers and are at the centre of agroecology. the trees along contour lines reduce erosion and soil nitrogen-rich residues and increasing soil organic
political and social stability and economic sustainability. degradation potential. matter.
F ood security and soil 800
Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT) is a
degradation specific agroforestry strategy in which annual and
Y = -207 + 0.34 X
... perennial crops are grown between contoured rows of
r2 = 0.74 leguminous species. SALT has been extensively tested
“The world produces more than enough food to feed 600

Grain yield, g/m2

and implemented in farmers’ fields and experimental
every member of the human family, yet 1 in 9 people
plots in Southeast Asia and has proven effective for
do not have enough to eat”. This was the opening
400 reversing soil degradation while improving crop yields
sentence by the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon,
and farm’s profitability.
for the launch of EXPO 2015 in Milan, Italy.

Despite hosting almost all food production, rural areas 200

also hold the majority of the world’s food insecure
people. Soils that are well managed by family farmers
help ensure the four dimensions of food security: 0
availability, delivering nutrients for crop growth; 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
access, by improving family farm income through EL SALVADOR - A farmer holding two types of soil. ©FAO/Giuseppe Bizzarri 0.025 M KMnO4 - oxidizable C, mg/kg
more reliable harvests; stability, by conserving water to
support nearly year-round cropping; and utilization, by The agroecological approach starts by restoring soil life Figure 1 Relationship between corn grain yield and active
fraction of soil organic matter. Source: Magdoff and Weil, 2004
harvesting healthy nutritious food from healthy soils. in order to re-establish and/or enhance the multiple
soil-based biological processes. This requires:
Soil degradation consists of biological, chemical and Increasing and monitoring soil organic
physical degradation. Currently, about 33 percent of matter: Soil organic matter is considered the most
world soils are moderately to highly degraded. Forty common deficiency in degraded soils and the
percent of these soils are located in Africa and most main indicator for soil quality. Practical, accessible
of the remaining amount are in areas that are afflicted GHANA - Wendu. Hedgerow intercropping. Hedgerow of Laucaena leucocephala
indicators can support local decisions and larger (Leguminosae) and maize as a companion crop in a field at Wenchi. Leucaena fixes
by poverty and food insecurity. The strong relationship landscape monitoring and analyses for district level nitrogen. ©FAO/Pietro Cenini
between soil health and food security calls for strategic implementation.
and immediate actions especially at the local level to Facilitating and monitoring of soil biodiversity: Cover crops: Cover crops are usually leguminous
reverse soil degradation, in order to increase food Soil biological communities are directly responsible crops grown to improve soil health by guaranteeing
production and alleviate food insecurity in the areas permanent soil cover, adding organic matter to soil and
for multiple ecosystem functions.
where it is most needed and in the context of climate fixing atmospheric nitrogen. These help reverse soil
Build on local farmers’ knowledge:
change. degradation even in densely populated areas where
Participatory scientific approaches to soil ecosystem
long term fallows are simply no longer possible.
management, such as Farmer Field Schools, are of LAOS - Nakhong Village. Integrated pest management training at a farmers’ field
great importance to inform farmers’ knowledge school: collecting pest specimens in the field. ©FAO/K. Pratt
The use of Mucuna spp. as a cover crop in different
with researchers’ scientific principles in order better African locations has increased soil organic matter,
locally adapt agroecological systems. improved nitrogen availability in soils and positively
A G R O E C O L O G Y as a strategy to
affected yields.
restore soils and ecosystem
F armers : T he E cosystem sta b ility Crop-livestock integration: Integrating livestock with

A
crop production can tighten up nutrient cycles and
managers for soil groecology applies specific strategies diversify production, especially for smallholder family
restoration based on temporal and spatial diversity, farms. In mixed farming systems, crop by-products are
which guarantee local, stable and diverse fed to livestock while manure is applied to cropland to
Degraded soils have lost their capacity to sustain
year-round production and income. sustain benefits from soil organic matter and nutrients
food production as many ecological processes These strategies include: availability.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - Dangala. Farmer in a peanut field.
©FAO/Riccardo Gangale
provided by soil biological communities such
as maintenance of soil structure, soil-born pest Polycultures and agroforestry systems: The design In Ethiopia and Tanzania the design of mixed farming
agroecology as a strategy to regulation, nutrient and water cycling, have been of appropriate crop mixtures is more stable than systems, which include multipurpose legume species
reverse soil degradation overlooked or replaced by the use of external monocultures as polycultures build on diverse crop such as Cajanus cajan (pigeon pea)–a drought
inputs. Many farmers across the globe have deep,

B
resistance to soil pests and diseases and complementary tolerant multi-purpose legume–or Faidherbia albida
y understanding and working with interactions experiential knowledge of their local soils. They have uptake of soil nutrients and water in order to facilitate –an indigenous leguminous nitrogen–fixing species
among soil, plants, animals, humans and the tested, adapted and discovered agricultural practices recycling of biomass and nutrients. The complementary with pods palatable for livestock, and leaves used as
environment within agricultural systems, agro- that restore soil life and the associated ecosystem traits of trees and crops enhance the efficiency of the fertilizers-are well known to be effective in reversing
ecology encompasses multiple dimensions services. These farmers are the main ecosystem whole systems, while litter mulch and the position of soil degradation by controlling erosion, providing
of the food system, including ecological restoration, managers and are at the centre of agroecology. the trees along contour lines reduce erosion and soil nitrogen-rich residues and increasing soil organic
political and social stability and economic sustainability. degradation potential. matter.
T I M E F O R action
The design of diverse agroecological systems rooted
in local ecological knowledge and based on system K ey facts
diversity and ecological synergies can significantly
improve soil quality and reverse soil degradation while 12 million hectares of agricultural soils are lost
increasing the production of nutritious food. globally through soil degradation every year.

Soils with soil organic matter content lower

than 0.8 percent are unproductive and often
abandoned.

Agroforestry systems can reduce soil erosion by as

much as 100 times in steep slopes.

Growing Faidherbia albida in association with millet

(Pennisetum glaucum) increased grain yields by
50 percent in Burkina Faso and Senegal.
© Georgina Smith/CIAT ©FAO/Hoang
© Georgina Smith/CIAT
Dinh Nam
In Honduras the adoption of soil conservation DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - Women farmers working on a spinach crop of a Farmer Field School. The Farmer Field School, supported by FAO, teaches farmers improved
practices tripled or quadrupled maize yields for techniques including the use of natural fertilizers and organic alternatives to pesticides. ©FAO/Olivier Asselin

1 200 families.

AGROECOLOGY TO REVERSE SOIL

EL SALVADOR - Jocoaitique, Ladera area. Crop diversification: farmer working in
maize plantation where henequen is also grown. ©FAO/Giuseppe Bizzarri DEGRADATION AND ACHIEVE FOOD SECURITY
Agroecology has already proven to be an effective Agroecology, which restores ecosystem functioning by maintaining soil health, is an
strategy to address the global challenge that agriculture effective strategy to achieve food security in the areas of the world where it is most needed.
is facing as it accommodates the socio-political
characteristics of food security with the need for
restoring ecosystem functions.

Agroecology is part of the Strategic Framework of

FAO, in particular the Strategic Objectives of making
agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and
sustainable, increasing the resilience of livelihoods and
reducing rural poverty. To facilitate a dialogue about
Agroecology, its benefits, challenges and opportunities
focusing at regional and national level, FAO is involved T he challenge
in regional conferences (held in 2015 in Latin America

T
and the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia
he dramatic increase in crop production of
and the Pacific). Furthermore, FAO supports farmers’
the last 50 years has reduced the number of
research networks to integrate scientific innovations RWANDA – Kiseny region. Slow-forming terraces and crop diversification including chronically undernourished people. However,
with traditional farmers’ knowledge. maize, banana, coffee and vegetable cropping. ©FAO/A. Odoul
these massive production gains have come at
high environmental costs, which have affected soil
and ecosystem health.

Currently agricultural policy is increasingly expected

to face the combined challenge of producing
Food and Agriculture Organization
sufficient food for a growing population while
of the United Nations
guaranteeing environmental restoration. Therefore,
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla policy-makers are more frequently asked how
I4803E/1/07.15

00153 Rome, Italy to address the urgent need for soil and
© FAO 2015

Tel:(+39) 06 57051 environmental restoration when millions of

Fax:(+39) 06 570 53152 #IYS2015 people are still hungry. NIGER - Keita. ©FAO/F. Paladini
e-mail: [email protected]
web: www.fao.org