Why we should embrace organic farming

According to Nyanzi, agroecology is “farming where each of the organisms on the farm should be beneficial to the other. The manure that animals produce have to go to the crops. And the crop residues go back to the animals. So [it’s a] cycle,” he says.

Before he embraced agroecology, Nyanzi says he battled with pests for a long time and this affected his crops, which he had to constantly spray.

“There was a lot of spraying and we could not grow some crops like cabbages,” he says, adding: “Now I don’t use them (sprays) because our farm has diversity so there is interaction of microbes which control pests. You can look at our bananas; they are healthy but we don’t do much apart from applying bio-fertilizers.”

With agroecology farming, trees are important elements because they provide manure when their leaves decay. They also provide nutrients to the soil. Agroecology is regarded by many experts as the future to sustainable agricultural production because it enables farmers meet their social and economic objectives without compromising the environment.

Ms Bridget Mugambe, the Alliance for Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) programme coordinator, says the country has lost a number of indigenous forests and has seen the rise in eucalyptus forests, coupled with monocrops. This, she says, has contributed to changes in the climate.

“In Africa and across the globe, we have been losing indigenous forests; forests have been degraded and we have been losing wetlands as well. A number of environmental destructions have been going on,” says Mugambe. She adds that governments are adopting foreign agricultural policies and practices such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that are not working for Africa.

When it comes to funding for climate change adaptation and mitigation, Ms Mugambe says it is not going to agroecology, but to monocrops and industrial agriculture, which use synthetic pesticides and fertilisers. She urges African governments to consult citizens before making policies since 70 per cent of Africans depend on agriculture.

 Challenges

However, Mr Michael J. Ssali, a Masaka-based farmer, says though agroecology is very important and should be practised, some crops cannot be grown without synthetic pesticides. He explains that much as crops like yams and groundnuts can be grown without pesticides, others like tomatoes and Irish potatoes require the use of agro chemicals because they are prone to pests.

For many farmers, it is also not possible to get organic fertilisers in sufficient quantities. For I instance, a farmer may not easily get enough animal urine to apply on 100 acres. A truck of manufactured urea bags would be more practical and much easier to apply with less labour, according to Mr Ssali.

Ssali says inorganic fertilisers almost immediately cause positive changes in the field since their content of nutrients is quite high and is applied in amounts that the plant requires. He, however, cautions that most farmers use too much pesticides, which in the end affect the quality of the produce.

“What is important is to know how and what quantities to apply. Check the soil first so that you know what nutrients are missing. An agriculturalist has to help the farmer to test the soil, and then apply specifically following the manufacturer’s directions,” Mr Ssali explains, adding that they must be used sparingly.

Mr Clovis Kabaseke, a lecturer at Mountains of the Moon University and a PHD student of agroecology and food systems, says synthetic pesticides must be used with caution as it is harmful to the ecosystems.

“When they are used, it is better to use the biodegradable ones and it is much better when they are directed only to the spots infested by the pest or diseases,” Mr Kabaseke says.

What other farmers say

Ms Margaret Masudio, the chairperson of Ayiwala East Small Scale Farmers’ Group from Adjumani District, says she used chemicals for more than 12 years in her farm and got high yields but she says she also developed health problems that has affected her ability to work effectively on full term basis.

Ms Masudio says after she heard about agroecological farming from an expert, she abandoned agricultural chemicals and she now uses alternative methods such as co-planting. She cautions other farmers to be mindful of the effects of agricultural chemicals have on both their health and that of their consumers.

“Instead of spraying crops with pesticides, one can use ash to fight and control worms from destroying crops because chemicals are not healthy,” she says. She adds that government needs to promote agroecological farming.

Another small scale farmer who practices agroecology, Ms Vicky Lukwiya, says she has realised good crop yields.

“Many tomatoes in the market are full of chemicals just because we want good yield and preserve them for long. Instead of having high yields that will end up endangering our health, let’s have sustainable agroecological farming that in the short run will have low crop yields, but will give healthy foods,” Ms Lukwiya says.

She says many farmers find agrocological farming more complex and expensive than conventional farming but there is real economic opportunity besides its sustainability.

Mr Eric Kizito, the programme officer for Sustainable Farmer System PELUM-Uganda, warns that agrobiodiversity is at risk with the expansion of industrial agriculture all over the world.

“Locally, various food production systems are under threat, including local knowledge and the culture and skills of farmers. With this decline, agrobiodiversity is disappearing; the scale of the loss is extensive,” he says.

According to FAO, roughly 75 per cent of plant genetic diversity has been lost worldwide since the 1990s.

Ms Susan Nakacwa, the programme officer for GRAIN, an NGO that works to support farmers and social movements in community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems, says agroecology can be used as mitigating factor for climate change.

 “More and more farmers around the world are turning away from chemical-intensive single-crop farming in favour of production methods based on diversity and local inputs of, for example, compost and ecosystem services because climate change is real,” she says. She adds that chemical farming aggravates soil degradation.

“Today’s agriculture produces enough food for the global population but it has not given everyone access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food,” Nakacwa says.

About farming model

The system of farming was started in the 20th century and relies on organic fertilisers such as compost manure, green manure, and bone meal to replace nutrients taken from the soil by previous crops. It also places emphasis on techniques such as crop rotation, which help to fight pests and diseases without reliance on chemicals. Therefore, in organic farming, biological pest control and mixed cropping are encouraged. Organic farming practices are designed to sustain the health of soils, ecosystems and people. In weed management, organic farming promotes suppression, rather than weed elimination.

[email protected]