{"id":19337,"date":"2021-09-07T12:31:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-07T10:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biovision.ch\/story\/mit-agraroekologie-gegen-den-klimawandel\/"},"modified":"2022-08-10T13:08:34","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T11:08:34","slug":"tackling-climate-change-with-agroecology","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.biovision.ch\/en\/story\/tackling-climate-change-with-agroecology\/","title":{"rendered":"Tackling Climate Change with Agroecology"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Smallholder farmer Elizabeth Karimi from Tharaka-Nithi, Kenya: \"I am more resilient towards climate change \u2013 thanks to agroecology\". (Photo: Biovision)<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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The fields are dry and dusty in the Tharaka-Nithi district at the eastern foot of Mount Kenya. Far and wide there is no green to be seen, even though it should soon be\u00a0time to harvest\u00a0maize and millet. What\u00a0only sparsely sprouted due to lack of rain\u00a0after sowing was\u00a0barely enough to feed the cattle. Weather extremes \u2013 both during the dry and the rainy seasons \u2013 are becoming more unpredictable every year in East Africa, and they are causing increasing yield losses. The farmer Elizabeth Karimi is\u00a0affected by this. She\u00a0is expecting visitors from Nairobi and Switzerland on her small farm. For a study on the potential of agroecology, the guests want to learn more about her experiences with the consequences of climate change.<\/p>

Agriculture is both villain and victim<\/h2>

Fabio Leippert of the Biovision Foundation is responsible for the study: “Globally, agriculture is both a villain and a victim of the climate crisis,” he explains. “With a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, it is a major contributor to climate change. At the same time, farmers around the world are struggling with droughts or too much rain.” What is needed now are more sustainable and climate-resistant food systems.\u00a0Leippert explains how this can be achieved: “Our study has shown that agroecological methods (which also include organic farming) contribute to climate protection on the one hand and increase the resilience of farms to climate change on the other. The success factors are improved soil health, greater biodiversity and a high degree of crop diversification, but above all better networking and knowledge exchange among farmers.”<\/p>

Linking traditional knowledge and new insights<\/h2>

Biovision has been working with the Institute for Culture and Ecology (ICE) in Kenya since 2012. In the area around Mount Kenya, ICE now accompanies around 50 farmers’ groups with over 1,500 members. In agroecological field courses, the farmers learn, for example, how to increase water retention and prevent erosion by means of terraced fields and targeted planting or\u00a0how to build up soil fertility with compost. Furthermore, suitable plants are adapted to local conditions, thereby increasing diversity. For example, arrowroot, which grows well in low-humidity soil, is not affected by drought or locusts\u00a0because of its deep roots. Diversifying crops with\u00a0millet, beans, peas, sorghum or amaranth, as well as medicinal herbs or spices, also contributes to mitigating\u00a0risks and\u00a0enriching\u00a0diets. This diversity is also appreciated by pollinating insects. Training in modern beekeeping and community funding for new bee boxes further diversify production and help create new sources of income.<\/p>

A key aspect of increasing resilience is to combine traditional knowledge with new (scientific) insights. The inclusion of all generations in\u00a0workshops plays a key role. Seasonal calendars with traditional, often more resistant plant varieties have been developed, and maps of the communities that show the changes in the local natural areas over several generations have been created. The maps allow the farmers to draw conclusions about what changes they will face as a result of climate change and help them to develop strategies to be more resilient. Elizabeth Karimi is a member of a farmers’ group and is now better protected from the consequences of the drought that destroyed her maize harvest. Thanks to a\u00a0newly built storehouse, the next sowing is secured, her bee colonies are busy and cattle and goats provide a “nest egg” for harder times.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Martin Mwenda Muriuki, project manager at Institute for Culture and Ecology (ICE) and Fabio Leippert, Biovision (Bild: Biovision)<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Study shows how agroecology contributes to climate change adaption<\/h2>

“What I learned in detailed exchanges during my visit to Elizabeth Karimi’s farm was confirmed in an evidence-based way by our study”, Fabio Leippert states. “In the analysis farmers practising agroecology show increased resilience, which helps them adapt to climate change more effectively.” In addition to the field studies, a meta-analysis was used to find out the key factors for this:<\/p>