AFSA (Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa), 9 November 2015

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Source: http://afsafrica.org/agroecology-the-bold-future-for-africa-2/

Over 25 African civil society organizations and networks representing hundreds of millions of small-scale farmers today urge African governments to adopt Agroecology as the future of farming in Africa. AFSA also launches a new series of African case studies to show the benefits of Agroecology.

As African leaders meet at the FAO Regional Symposium on Agroecology for Food Security and Nutrition in sub-Saharan Africa, in Dakar 5-6 Nov 2015, it is time for us to recognize that agroecology is the future of farming in Africa!

Industrial agriculture is a dead end. It claims to have raised yields in places but it has done so at great cost, with extensive soil damage, huge biodiversity loss and negative impacts on nutrition, food contamination and groundwater pollution. Agroecology is the antithesis of our conventional, corporate-driven, monoculture-based farming systems.

Where conventional agriculture seeks to simplify, agroecology embraces complexity. Where conventional agriculture eliminates biodiversity, agroecology celebrates it. Where conventional agriculture de-skills farmers, agroecology is knowledge intensive, building on traditional agricultural practices with modern research and technology to put farmers in control. Where conventional agriculture offers one-size-fits-all fixes like GMOs, chemical fertilisers and pesticides, agroecology provides local solutions to local problems. Where conventional agriculture pollutes and degrades, agroecology regenerates and restores, resisting climate change, working with nature – not against her.

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TAGS: Africa | Agroecology