Climate Smart Agriculture

Building Resilience through Organic Techniques

Dr.Thimmaiah Advisor National Organic Program Ministry of Agriculture and Forests Royal Govt. of Bhutan drathimmaiah@gmail.com

Thimmaiah 2011

Introduction Agriculture in Bhutan and Climate change Climate smart agriculture & Organic Agril. Approaches for adaptation and mitigation - C sequestration and SOM - Sustainable solutions for reducing GHG - Traditional knowledge - Capacity Building Way forward

Agriculture

Over 70% population farming & employs 56% Average land holding 0.8 Ha per HH Farming Subsistence, Rainfed PovertyPoverty- rural communities (90% of total) Difficult terrain, landslides, flash floods, landslips Food Security Vulnerable to Climate change

loss of crops to unusual outbreaks of pest & diseases erratic rainfalls, windstorms, droughts and flash floods/landslides are increasing annually 1996- rice blast epidemic 80-90% crop loss 2007- corn blight disease in maize 50% crop loss 2008 Windstorm resulted in crop loss of 320 HH

Agriculture contributes to GHGs Shifting Cultivation* Land use change*

* Policies to discourage such practices are in place

Modern farming practices

Contributes to global warming (15% GHGs)
Soil N2O (40%)

% GHG from Modern Agriculture

Enteric ferm. CH4 (27%)

Rice - CH4 (10%)

Energy CO2 (9%)

Manure mgt. (7%)

Others CH4, N2O (6%)

Crude oil dependant Simplified agricultural systems Reduce diversity Industrial agriculture (homogenous) Change of land use
soybean for cattle feed - bio-fuels - resource driven to demand driven livestock production

Sustained production = sustainable agro-ecosystem

Problem to the Solution

Solution to the Problem

Modern agriculture (Uglyculture) TO Climate friendly Agriculture

Buddhism Living with Nature: A sustainable way of utilizing the natural resources

The Four Friends

climate challenges of food security, climate adaptation and mitigation in an integrated way rather in isolation. sustainably increase - agril. productivity, agro-ecosystem resilience . reduce GHG emission & facilitate C capture from agriculture. enhance the achievement of national food security and development goals. Gross national happiness (GNH) paradigm of development.

Farming System Approach that fosters sustainable agril. environment Builds resilience in farming practices - reduced dependency on external inputs - diversification of crops Fosters Adaptive capacity of communities and empowers them Reduces vulnerability to wide range of climate change hazards Self sustaining, socially and ecologically superior over conventional farming. Cost effective management practices involving the use of on-farm inputs.

Transformations in the management of Soil Water Landscapes Pro-poor & low-cost technologies Genetic resources Enabling environment to ensure sustainable higher productivity and resilience while reducing the carbon footprint

......soil carbon sequestration represents 89% of agricultures mitigation potential & therefore international efforts should concentrate on the possibilities to make better use of this potential.... FAO

Soil can store

- 3 times more C than atmosphere - 5 times as much as forests 60% of the soil C is in the form of SOM According to some estimates, soils under eco-friendly farm practices can sequester 14% of the current annual CO2 emission.

Research shows that Organic agriculture Systems use Water more efficiently Volume of Water Retained /ha (to 30 cm) in relation to Soil organic matter (SOM) 0.5% OM 1 % OM 2 % OM 3 % OM 4 % OM 5 % OM
Morris, 2004

= = = = = =

80,000 litres 160,000 litres 320,000 litres 480,000 litres 640,000 litres 800,000 litres

World soil conditions

Soils are becoming degraded in many regions.

Global soil conditions

Global Micronutrient Deficiencies

> 3 billion people affected

(Map from USAID)

How to enhance SOM ?

1. Green Manures

Sun hemp

Daincha

Cowpea

Mulching

Saves
40% water preventing evaporation 30% water absorbing moisture in the night 20% water live mulching (inter crops) Area under irrigation can be increased by 10 times

Minimum Till without Herbicides

Photos : Andre leu, 2010

Composting

Animal manure management

Preparation of soil & plant activators

Biodigestor

Multiple cropping Crop Rotation Inter-cropping Companion Planting Alley Cropping Relay Cropping

Rice cultivation

Contributes about 10% GHG

System of Rice Intensification (SRI)SRI

SRI

SRI

Conventional

Soil & Seed Savers

SRI

System of Rice Intensification (SRI)

In Madagascar, SRI has increased yields from the usual 2-3 tons per hectare to yields of 6,8 or 10 tons per hectare.

Source: Nicolas Parrott, Cardiff University, 'The Real Green Revolution

System of Rice Intensification (SRI)

Cuba Two rice plants the same age and same variety

Norman Uphoff, Cornell University

After typhoon, farmer in Dng Tr village, Hanoi Province, Viet Nam

Norman Uphoff, Cornell University

Eco- Intensification in Rice Cultivation

Azolla

Azolla introduction in the paddy field

Azolla multiplication in the paddy field

Blue green algae (BGA)

Pesticides also contribute to Climate Change 99% of the insects are beneficial and 1% are pests Farming system promotes Predator- Prey relationship

Pesticide free Pest Management

Cultural methods

Crop rotation Trap crops Intercropping Use of resistant/tolerant varieties

Biological approaches Botanicals Bio-pesticides Bio-control by insects Bio-rationals

Indigenous Knowledge & Science

Light trap

Bird Perch

Yellow sticky trap

Egg parasitoid

Bio-plant extract

Source: Annadana

Heirloom seeds Land races Native seeds Traditional seeds Folk seeds

Tomato varieties
s varieties

Diversity of cucurbits

Diversity of Capsicum

Diversity of Tomatoes

Annadana

Pumpkin and Zucchini

Soil & Seed Savers

Insurance for the small scale farmers Adapted to small scale farming. Polygenic resistance to pest and diseases More micro nutrients which combat malnutrition and micro nutrient deficiency Home gardening

-holistic and ecological approach to increase and manage biodiversity - increase beneficial organisms
-

use of insect attracting plants, hedge rows, cover crops, and water reservoirs insects, spiders, amphibians, reptiles, bats, and birds help parasitization or predation Insect attracting plants rye and mustard beneficial insects mini livestock

Pest and their respective deterrent plants

Pests Ants Aphids Bean Leaf Beetle Cucumber Beetle Flea Beetle Cabbage Worm Leaf Hopper Mice Root Knot Nematodes Slugs Spider Mites Squash Bug, Stink bug Thrips Whitefly Pest deterrent plants Mint, pansy, pennyroyal Mint, garlic, chives, coriander, anise Potato, onion, turnip Radish, pansy Garlic, onion, mint Mint, sage, rosemary, Geranium, petunia Onion Marigolds Rosemary Onion, garlic, cloves, chives Radish, marigolds Marigolds Marigolds, nasturtium

Diversification of local dietary habits

Education and awareness

School Agriculture Program (SAP)

Capacity building

Pro- poor Marketing strategies

Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) and Marketing

CSA and organic techniques can be used for a shift from Subsistence farming TO Commercial or cash crop production Understanding the market requirements is very important otherwise can be a limitation for CSA. Examples of markets limiting CSA: - Consumers do not want to buy new varieties of vegetables with slight different appearance or taste. - Retailers/wholesalers prescribe use of chemicals, varieties to be sowed, etc. to farmers (e.g. supermarket chains in the West).
Title 63

Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) and Marketing

Examples of markets supporting CSA: - Increasing demand for organic, healthy foods among many consumers world wide - Affluent consumers want more exotic products (e.g. Bhutan exports its traditional red rice to the USA) - Retail chains and companies want to improve image, increase profits (e.g. in Cambodia SRI rice is sold as a speciality rice), realise the opportunity of cost-savings.

Example of CSA & marketing in Bhutan

National Organic Programme is training agricultural extension agents and stakeholders These extension agents are training up to 60 farmer groups under the Market Access & Growth Intensification Project in Eastern Bhutan to produce vegetables. SNV Bhutan is supporting the marketing of these (off season) vegetables to Assam, India: Bhutanese vegetables have a good image in Assam for being healthy and chemical free. The price is also slightly higher compared to the price of vegetables supplied to Assam from other areas in India.

Need of the hour

Convergence of CSA & Appropriate Marketing Strategies

Title

66

Human knowledge of Climate risks, sustainable agriculture skills Social- Farmers Organizations, Womens SHG, PC Physical- Infrastructure for irrigation, Seed/grain storage facilities Natural
Reliable water source, Productive land Micro-insurance, diversified income sources

Financial

Worlds poorest are the most vulnerable to Climate change. Reason : Limited access to the above resources.

Bhutan and Himalayan region is vulnerable. CSA through Organic technologies is a solution to the problem: contributing to both adaptation and mitigation. High Yields, Sustainability and Climate Resilience are achieved by: Adequate SOM, Eco-intensification & GAP Scientific research has shown - Organic agril. systems can ameliorate Climate Change CSA is knowledge intensive than input intensive & warrants high degree of expertise and capacity building for sustainable impact. Enhances livelihood resilience of rural poor Diversification of crops & dietary habits CSA befits GNH paradigm of development for Bhutan.

Climate Smart Agriculture

Building Resilience through Organic Techniques

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Building Resilience through Organic Techniques

Climate Smart Agriculture

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