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Although many promoters of agroecology take a strict stance against the use of modern agricultural tools and technologies, advocates in Ghana have indicated they are open to a more inclusive approach.
“There are some misconceptions about agroecology that I would like to correct,” said Dr Charles Nyaaba, advocacy and program manager at the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, one of the organizations promoting agroecology in the country. .
“Usually, when we talk about agroecology, what comes to the minds of a lot of people is that it does not involve the use of machines, it does not imply the use of external inputs, it is necessarily a question of mixed cultures. [rather than monoculture] and it cannot be scaled. This is not the case. Agroecology, like conventional agriculture, can be scaled up.
If there was a definition – before we started promoting ours – that includes not stepping up our farming activities or confusing agroecology with organic farming, then that’s not what we’re trying to promote.
Nyaaba, who commented on a live Alliance for Science (AfS) webinar, said modern technological inventions, including synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, can be applied even in agroecological production. , as long as the fundamental principle of environmental protection is not violated. .
“There is a clear distinction between agroecological farming and organic farming,” explained Nyaaba, who is also a lecturer in agro-industry at the University of Energy and Natural Resources of Ghana.
“When you start to do [an] an agroecological farm and there is dead land, in this case you want to bring that dead land back to life. What we do is we maintain this soil with a minimum of inorganic fertilizer. We do not encourage the use of heavy machinery like tractors to overturn the soil and destroy the soil structure, but we do use rippers and other machinery for planting. “
Different definitions
His position marks a departure from the approach promoted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) and international aid organizations like ActionAid and Oxfam, who promoted a narrower definition of agroecology as the future. of agricultural production in Ethiopia, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal and other African countries.
FAO defines agroecology as the application of ecological principles in order to protect the environment. It ensures the sustainable renewal of the natural resources necessary for production such as water, soil and biodiversity. And it uses non-renewable resources sparingly.
By phasing out the use of chemicals, it strives to implement organic farming, thereby helping to improve the health of farmers and consumers.
On its website, AFSA’s list of agroecology principles includes the promotion of small African family farming / production systems based on agroecological and indigenous approaches, resistance to the industrialization of African agriculture, forward African solutions to African problems and the rejection of genetic engineering and the privatization of living organisms.
Some Western academics and NGOs, including the Pesticide Action Network, the Community Alliance for Global Justice and Regeneration International, are also pushing Africa to adopt a narrow definition of agroecology, to the exclusion of other forms of production.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6r1GZsxCoE
Bernard Guri, executive director of the Center for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development in Ghana, noted during the AfS Live webinar that agroecology is not anti-science, as some opponents describe it. “The agroecology movement doesn’t say science isn’t important… Agroecology is about indigenous knowledge.
But also looking at the good scientific practices that we can bring to it, he said. “So, for example, we say we don’t accept pesticides, but if we’re in a pandemic situation, you should be able to use some specific pesticides to bring down [the pests]. But don’t take it as a practice and then supply and use volumes of pesticides every day.
Agroecology is evolving
Nyaaba added, “Just as conventional agriculture evolves, we also continue to benefit from new technologies in agroecology. Personally, my position on agroecology is not ideological. It’s flexible. But what I recognize is that we need to protect our biodiversity and our agroecosystems. So all the practices that do not compromise agrobiodiversity and agroecosystem, I personally have no problem with that.
Dr Irene Egyir, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Ghana who has strongly criticized agroecology, said redefining the concept was worth it.
“When we were doing agroecological agriculture, when we were talking about agroecology, we didn’t want to plow and use improved seeds. It was the model of border and conservation. But if now the scope changes and the typology changes, then that’s fine. This is what I call climate smart agriculture, ”she observed.
Nassib Mugwanya, a Ugandan agricultural communications specialist who previously worked with the National Crop Resources Research Institute, believes the holistic definition of agroecology creates an opportunity to adopt emerging technologies, such as genetically seeded modified (GM).
“For example, agroecology today is concerned with minimizing damage to the environment,” Mugwanya said. “What if I told you about the GM crop that was designed to reduce the application of pesticides?” If what interests agroecology is the farmers who choose what works for them, and if I told you that there is a farmer in Uganda who is interested in the virus resistant cassava variety that is genetically modified ? This is the conversation I want to hear, which is rooted in the contextual realities of what agriculture is in Africa. “
Agroecology and agricultural biotechnology
To date, anti-GMO activism has been at the heart of agroecological movements in Africa. But supporters in Ghana have indicated some receptiveness to improved seeds.
“In terms of GMOs, agroecology talks about ecology,” Nyaaba explained. “So we don’t give more importance to GMOs or plant species. We believe that modern farming methods encourage GMOs to increase productivity, because with our present land, if you use native seeds, you will not get the yield you are looking for.
But with agroecology, whether with GMOs or native seeds, without fertilizer, you will still increase your yields. So you don’t have to spend money and try to bring seeds from elsewhere. That is why we do not focus on GMOs. “
Guri has a more open stance. “If this biotechnology doesn’t work against nature and produce artificial things, that’s okay. But most biotechnologies like GMOs are all about playing with genes and creating something. And we don’t know the long term effects of these GMOs.
This kind of thing is not accepted in agroecology. But if it is a natural process, and the use of biotechnology to improve a natural process, it is acceptable in agroecology… anything that reduces the use of artificial inputs is acceptable… Agroecology is not anti-technology. This is the way technology is developed. “
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