Agroecology Case Studies

Location: Central Plateau, Burkina Faso Since the early 1980s, farmers in the northern part of Burkina Faso’s Central Plateau have made significant investments in low-cost soil and water conservation techniques. These techniques greatly improved agricultural, social, economic and ecological conditions and reversed declining agricultural yields, migration, poverty, and environmental degradation.

Location: Southern Burkina FasoThe highly weathered soils of West Africa’s semi-arid Sudanian and Sahelian agro-ecological regions suffer from naturally low levels of organic matter that have been further degraded by agricultural intensification and shifting cropping patterns. Additional organic matter, such as compost, is vital to improving the soil’s water-holding capacity and long-term fertility.

Rodale Institute Regenerative Agriculture Research Center teamed up with farmers' groups and government researchers in Senegal to promote regenerative agriculture to increase food sufficiency, lessen farmers’ dependence on external inputs, and improve soil quality.

Location: West and Northwest Cameroon Launched in West and Northwest Cameroon in 1999, the Agricultural and Tree Products Program is now working with over 10,000 farmers and 50 entrepreneurs in 485 communities. In addition to establishing more than 40 nurseries where tree propagation techniques are studied and disseminated among farmers, the program improves farmers’ incomes, the environment, and entrepreneurial opportunities.

Location: Koutiala region, Mali 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). The results suggest that this innovative agroforestry strategy holds significant promise for enhancing soil fertility, maize yields and food security throughout Mali and sub-Saharan Africa.

Location: Minova Health Zone, DRC Banana wilt is a devastating bacterial disease caused by the Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum bacteria. The wilt dries out the male bud and causes premature ripening of the banana plant’s fruits, making it impossible to consume or commercialize the product. In 2008 Action Against Hunger (ACF-USA) implemented a food security and livelihoods program to reduce wilt disease’s impact and propagation.

Location: Gamo Highlands, Southern Ethiopia In the Gamo Highlands, traditional enset-based agriculture has been practiced for centuries, allowing farmers to cope with variable environments and making the region uniquely resistant to food insecurity. Rooted in biodiversity, Gamo Highlands’ traditional agro-system is a model of sustainability and resilience.

Location: Kitale, Kenya 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.

Location: Malawi and Zambia Governments and specialized international agencies have successfully promoted cassava production in Malawi and Zambia in order to reduce drought vulnerability and dependency on maize monocropping.

Location: Arusha Region, Northern Tanzania The Eotulelo Farmer Field School participants increased yields dramatically and improved resource management through erosion-control technologies, sustainability measures, improved cattle and goat sheds, fodder planting, and new income sources.

Location: Nkayi District, Matebeleland North Launched in 2006, a conservation farming project has transformed hundreds of farmers’ lives in Zimbabwe’s Nkayi District. Once food-aid beneficiaries, these farmers now produce enough maize to cover family needs, with some producing an excess for sale. Farmers produce their own maize seed each year, which are made available to others through the community seed banks they have formed.

Location: Luangwa Valley, Zambia 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.