Manor House Agricultural Center provides training in low input farming as an alternative to conventional methods, which are heavily reliant on external inputs. Farmers practicing biointensive farming techniques experience significant yield increases and improved soil fertility and grow more nutritious crops. Since 1984, over 100,000 farmers have received this training, and an estimated 200,000 households now use methods of biointensive agriculture.

A research project on improved fallows examined how short-term rotations of selected perennial tree and shrub species impact cereal yields and soil quality in subsistence maize cropping systems. The effects of improved fallows on maize yields were significant when combining a tree species (Gliricidia) and a nitrogen-fixing legume (Stylosanthes). Read more

Le Malawi est confronté à une myriade de problèmes environnementaux, sociaux et sanitaires, y compris l’insécurité alimentaire, la dégradation des terres et la déforestation. Un programme d’agroforesterie promeut la plantation d’arbres pour augmenter les rendements des cultures dans les sols épuisés, lutter contre la déforestation et autonomiser les femmes.

Malawi faces myriad of environmental, social, and human health challenges, including food insecurity, land degradation and deforestation. An agroforestry program promotes tree planting to increase crop yields in previously depleted soils, reverse deforestation, and empower women.
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To many analysts, global water governance is about getting the institutions right: more accountable water users and more public participation in decisions. But are we barking up the right tree? In this analysis, we argue that when analysing global water governance, one needs to look at the global players that really matter – an exclusive group of global food traders. These traders must be held accountable for their water footprint.

New York City’s water is kept safe and clean by an innovative cooperative agreement with farmers that benefits both the city and rural communities. The programme demonstrates that water utilities can go beyond applying traditional engineering solutions and pioneer innovative governance, management and financial arrangements with upstream farming communities.

Bouwas Mawara and his wife Nyengeterai, small scale farmers in the semi-arid Zvishavane district of Zimbabwe, are renowned for their innovation in water harvesting for crop and animal production, and for setting up local structures and systems to spread innovations amongst fellow farmers. Today at least 160 farming families in their community are more resilient in the face of droughts, dry spells and the long dry season.

Since the late 1960s, Zephaniah Phiri Maseko has pioneered a unique, innovative vision for community and agricultural development through judicious water management; his system has been widely adopted across the country, increasing agricultural productivity and resilience in this semi-arid region.

Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) has helped people address the challenges of food insecurity and environmental degradation while conserving wildlife and other natural resources. COMACO is one of the few programs that operate at the scale of an entire ecosystem—contributing to increased wildlife numbers, better protected habitats, improved food security, and better incomes.

This case study was produced by the Oakland Institute. It is copublished by the Oakland Institute and the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa AFSA). A full set of case studies can be found at www.oaklandinstitute.org and www.afsafrica.org

At the Centre for Environment Concerns, an NGO based in Hyderabad, India, the challenge was clear: develop an inclusive irrigation technology suitable for low rainfall areas. Alongside farmers and female farm labourers, they developed a system that provides assured moisture directly to the plant root zone. Initial trials show two unique benefits: it requires about one fifth of the water needed for drip irrigation and it supports a healthy soil ecosystem. Key to the effectiveness of this technology appears to be the gradual wetting of the soil rather than abrupt provision of water in ‘concentrated’ loads.