ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE FOR SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN ETHIOPIA

ANDTHE CONTRIBUTION OF COMPOST

PLUSA SYSTEM OF CROP INTENSIFICATION

Sue Edwards with Dereje Gebre Michael, Hailu Araya and Arefayne AsmelashInstitute for Sustainable Development, Ethiopia

CLIMATE AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate gives us the weather of an area (region, country, even the whole world)

It describes the behaviour of the atmosphere It is the overall effects of:

air temperature, rainfall amount and pattern, air movements, i.e. Winds, and dramatic events such as hailstorms, droughts, etc.

Climate change is a statistical change in the average behaviour of weather over a given time period

GREENHOUSE GASES (GHG)

Greenhouse gas Normal Source Excess generated by:

Water vapour Water bodies, all living things, soil

Behaviour is affected by temperature. Hot ter air holds more water vapour than cold air

Carbon dioxide (CO2)

All living things, wild fires

Burning of fossil fuels; changes in land use – clearing forests and grasslands; cement production

Methane (CH4) Swamps, ruminants (cattle, shoats)

Intensive livestock production; extraction of fossil fuels; paddy rice; landfills; sewage

Nitrous oxide (N2O)

Breakdown of proteins, lightening

Use of chemical fertilizers, industrial processes

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluoro-carbons

Volcanic eruptions Leakage from refrigerators; air fresheners, air conditioners; aluminium production; semi-conductor industry

Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)

Volcanic eruptions, hot springs

Electrical insulation; magnesium smelting

Greenhouse gases enable the surface of the earth to be suitable for life by absorbing and emitting radiation from the sun; if they ‘trap’ heat radiated from the earth so it does not go into space, the temperature of the atmosphere around the earth’s surface rises

SOURCES OF INCREASED GREENHOUSE GASES

Source Examples of emission generating activities

Agriculture (17-32%) Crop and animal production, particularly that based on high external inputs and intensive production methods; burning / dumping of agricultural wastes

Forestry Deforestation, particularly clear-felling; burning of fuel wood; non-recycling of wastes

Energy supplies Electricity and centralized heat generation, resource extraction (mining), grid-based transmission/distribution including transformers etc

Industry Extraction and processing of metals; pulp & paper; cement; chemicals; refining of petroleum

Transport All forms of mechanical transport – vehicles, planes, trains, ships

Human settlements, villages, towns, cities

Heating; cooling; supplying services (water, power, food, etc.)

Wastes from people Landfills, incineration, wastewater

Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, about 1750, use of fossil fuels have produced more GHGs than could be recycled. The result is climate change and global warming.

THE GREENHOUSE EFFECTMore radiation is held in the atmosphere than is radiated back to space

GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL OF GHG

Global warming potential = the heat-trapping power of a gas relative to CO2 over a particular time period (usually 100 years)

The most abundant GHG is CO2

Methane has x25 the warming potential of CO2

Nitrous oxide has x298 the warming potential of CO2

SOME EXPECTED IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

An increasingly unstable / unreliable climate for Ethiopia is expressed through: Increased droughts Increased heavy rainstorms, flooding and soil erosion Decreased availablility of drinking and fresh water Increased salinization of freshwater and soils Decreased forest cover, expansion of arid areas Spread of exotic, invasive plants and animals Reduced crop yields, increased hunger and

malnutrition Increased problems for human and animal health,

including distribution of infectious diseases such as malaria and sleeping sickness

STRATEGIES TO REDUCE EMISSIONS AND CAPTURE GREEN HOUSE GASES

The earth’s soil and biomass (plants and animals) hold 3 times more carbon than the atmosphere

More than 30% of all GHG emissions come from changes in land use that disturb or destroy the natural vegetation cover – agriculture, forestry, mining, etc.

GHG emissions can be reduced by changes in land use practices that reduce emissions

Some practices can also deliberately remove GHG, particularly CO2, from the atmosphere and store it in a carbon sink – this is termed SEQUESTRATION

IMPACT OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE ON FOOD PRODUCTION AND CARBON SEQUESTRATION

FAO farm system categories relevant to Ethiopia

Average increase in crop yields (%)

Carbon sequestered

(ton C/ha/year)

Smallholder irrigated 129.8 (±21.5) 0.15 (±0.012)

Wetland rice 22.3 (±2.8) 0.34 (±0.035)

Smallholder rainfed humid

102.2 (±9.0) 0.46 (±0.034)

Smallholder rainfed highland

107.3 (±14.7) 0.36 (±0.022)

Smallholder rainfed dry/cold

99.2 (±12.5) 0.26 (±0.035)

Dualistic mixed 76.5 (±12.6) 0.32 (±0.023)

Urban agriculture & kitchen gardens

146.0 (±32.9) 0.24 (±0.061)

All projects 79.2 (±4.5) 0.35 (±0.016)

Source: Menale Kassie & Precious Zikhali, May 2009, Sustainable Development Innovation Briefs, Issue 7Sustainable agriculture = low external input with soil improvements through conservation tillage, and/or incorporation of animal manure, compost, green manures, etc.

EMISSION REDUCTIONS – AVAILABLE MEANS

Carbon dioxide -- through: Avoidance of shifting cultivation Reduction of fossil fuel consumption Production and incorporation of compost, green manures,

stubble in harvested fields ploughed in (conservation tillage)

Methane – through: Soil management to increase the oxidation of methane

through good balance of air and moisture; also Maintaining and improving grasslands and forests Recycling through compost and biogas Animal husbandry, particularly locally-produced and with

appropriate feeds, and controlling grazing Paddy cultivation with aeration periods – see SRI (System

of Rice Intensification)

EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS (CONT.)

Nitrous oxide -- through Avoiding use of synthetic N fertilizer, or using it

on composted soil and placing strategically with crop seed in rows

Build up organic nitrogen as this comes from within the system thus avoiding overdoses and high losses

Limit animal stocking rates Provide dairy cows with diets high in fiber, and

use crops (sunflower seeds) that reduce NO2 emissions

FIGURE 1: AVERAGE YIELDS FOR GRAIN AND STRAW FOR ALL CROP SAMPLES, TIGRAY, 2001-2006

2,477

4,0733,404

1,200

2,473

1,812

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

Check Compost Ch. Fertilizer

Treatment

Ave

rag

e yi

eld

(kg

/ha)

Grain

Straw

The crops grown in compost-treated fields also had a higher grain index

RECOVERY OF SOIL FERTILITY

Farmers also applied compost to fields growing faba bean, field pea, and finger millet

After 4 years (1998 to 2002), the yields of the check (non-treated fields) were similar to those treated with compost

This indicates: The residual effect of compost The number of years over which soil fertility can be

restored from a single application The need for participatory plant breeding with

farmers to develop varieties that can give higher responses to fields treated with locally-made compost

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000

Finger Millet/ Adi Nefas/02

Finger Millet/ Guroro/02

Faba Bean / Adi Abo Mossa/98

Faba Bean / Adi Abo Mossa/02

Field Pea / Adi Abo Mossa/98

Field Pea / Adi Abo Mossa/02

Yield (kg/ha)

Compost

Check

FIGURE 2: YIELDS (KG/HA) FOR FABA BEAN, FIELD PEA AND FINGER MILLET IN 3 SITES - 1998 AND 2002

Faba Bean with and without compost

Yields have risen from less than 500 kg/ha on non-compost treated fields to around 2,500 kg/ha when compost is applied.

COMPOST AND ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

Soil in fields treated with compost: Holds moisture for about 2 weeks longer

than other fields Resists erosion from wind and water Allows water to infiltrate to the water table,

seen through the re-appearance of springs and longer water flows during the dry season

Hasreduced weed populations, particularly of weeds that flourish in poor soils such as Striga and Parthenium

SYSTEM OF CROP INTENSIFICATION

A set of insights and practices that change the management of plants, soil, water and nutrients used

First developed for rice in Madagascar Now spreading throughout SE Asia and India Also being applied to other crops, particularly

wheat, sugarcane, and finger millet It is not a new approach for Ethiopian farmers

- who have been transplanting vegetables such as green pepper and tomatoes

FINGER MILLET IN INDIA

WHEAT IN INDIA

IN SICHUAN PROVINCE, CHINA

Since 2001, the technologies have been widely extended to 50 counties and cities in Sichuan. According to several years of experiences, these technologies have proved to be water saving and give high yield, with excellent performance especially in drought seasons.

SRI methods are used (young seedlings, less plant population, wider spacing, no flooding) on permanent raised beds with plastic mulch

HEHU VILLAGE IN ZHUJIA TOWNSHIP, ALSO RENSHOU COUNTY

According to local experience, with the new methods, 70% of the water normally applied could be saved per mu, and the yield increase was 30% per mu. The yield even reached 700 kilograms per mu in some water-stressed seasons (10.5 tons per hectare)

This year small (young) seedlings were planted one month earlier than usual. This saved time, and solved the conflicts with other activities.

SCI AND ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE Raising seedlings makes young plants ready

for transplanting when the main rains start Wider spacing between plants means they

are not competing for water and nutrients More space for the plants makes it possible

for the sunlight to reach all the leaves, so all can contribute through photosynthesis

Weed control is easier and quicker, i.e. simple mechanical weeders (e.g. hoe) can be used

More information on the farmers’ experiences will be given

later