Climate Change and Multi-Dimensional Sustainability in African Agriculture: Climate Change and Sustainability in Agriculture

716 Pages·2016·15.7 MB·English

by  Rattan Lal

Rattan Lal · David Kraybill
David O. Hansen · Bal Ram Singh
Theodosy Mosogoya · Lars Olav Eik Editors
Climate Change and
Multi-Dimensional
Sustainability in
African Agriculture
Climate Change and Sustainability in
Agriculture
Climate Change and Multi-Dimensional
Sustainability in African Agriculture
Rattan Lal David Kraybill
(cid:129)
David O. Hansen Bal Ram Singh
(cid:129)
Theodosy Mosogoya Lars Olav Eik
(cid:129)
Editors
Climate Change and
Multi-Dimensional
Sustainability in African
Agriculture
Climate Change and Sustainability
in Agriculture
123
Editors
Rattan Lal BalRamSingh
SENR-CMASC NorwegianUniversity of LifeSciences
TheOhio State University Ås
Columbus, OH Norway
USA
Theodosy Mosogoya
DavidKraybill SokoineUniversity of Agriculture
AEDE/CFAES Morogoro
TheOhio State University Tanzania
Columbus, OH
USA LarsOlav Eik
NorwegianUniversity of LifeSciences
DavidO.Hansen Ås
Collegeof Food, Agricultural, Norway
andEnvironmental Sciences
TheOhio State University
Columbus, OH
USA
ISBN978-3-319-41236-8 ISBN978-3-319-41238-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41238-2
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2016949560
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Foreword 1
USAID/Tanzania Efforts to Promote Economic, Environmental,
Social, and Institutional Sustainability in Tanzania
in the Context of Climate Change:
Priorities and Investments
“Sustainability” is a critical issue that should be at the heart of all interventions to
improve agricultural production, food access, and agriculture-based livelihoods
around the world, especially in Tanzania. This focus becomes even more critical
when considering the context of climate change and extreme weather events
associated with it.
It is important to think about what “sustainability” means, in terms of the four
keydimensionsdiscussedinthecontextofclimate change,namelyenvironmental,
economic, social, and institutional. I will briefly touch on each category and how
USAID/Tanzania’s programs under Feed the Future (FTF) are seeking to address
these four aspects of the sustainability issue.
As the donor partner that is supporting the iAGRI project’s partnership with
Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) to strengthen the institutional sustain-
ability, USAID is rightfully proud of the many creative initiatives that result from
this partnership, including diversifying SUA’s financial support, for example, by
broadening the university’s mandate to undertake practical research that meets the
needs of Tanzania’s private sector; fostering leadership at multiple levels of the
university; improving the quality and environment for teaching, including
upgradingSokoineUniversity’sITsystemsthroughdirectfundingfromUSAIDto
SUA; and, of course, training the next generation of Tanzanian agricultural sci-
entists to identify real and applied solutions to the problems of agricultural sus-
tainability in Tanzania.
The iAGRI project has been central in organizing and implementing two recent
climatechangeconferencesattheSokoineUniversityofAgriculture.However,the
v
vi Foreword1
project is just one of the many activities in which USAID is investing in Tanzania
under the Feed the Future program. From 2010 to 2015, USAID invested US
$350M in Tanzania through the Feed the Future program, the goal of which is to
“sustainably reduce poverty and hunger.”
Briefly,theUSAID/TanzaniaFeedtheFutureprogramhasavalue-chainfocus—
targeting increased productivity, input supply, and market access for three
commodities: rice, maize, and horticulture. The approach is to work with farmer
associationstopromotegoodagriculturalpractices,usingsustainableintensification
approaches, such as the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), low-till and
labor-savingtechnologies,maize–legumeintercropping,anddripirrigationandsoil
managementforhorticulture. USAIDishelpingtofoster privatesectorapproaches
toinputsupplyandextensionservicesthroughvillage-basedagentsandorganizing
agriculturalmarketingcooperativestoenablefarmerstogetthebestpricesfortheir
inputsandproduction,whilepoolingresourcesforpost-harveststorage.Investments
arebeingmadeinrehabilitationoffarm-to-marketroadsthatarehelpingtoincrease
competitionamonggraintraders,thusbringinghigherwholesalepricesatthefarm
gatewhileloweringfoodpricesforurbanconsumersduetolowertransportcosts.On
the agriculture policy front, the focus is on commodity trade issues, agricultural
taxation, and land tenure—all policy priorities identified by the Government of
Tanzania. Underlying all of these efforts is a focus on nutrition. In addition to
reducing poverty rates by 20 % in target areas of program investment, Feed the
Future Tanzania is targeting a 20 % reduction in childhood stunting rates (which
rangefrom35%tomorethan50%oftheunder-fivepopulationinvariousregions
of Tanzania) and a 20 % reduction in maternal anemia. We are addressing these
nutrition targets by working with millers on cereal fortification and working at the
household level to improve awareness of good nutrition and access to nutritious
foodsformothersandtheirchildren,especiallyduringthechild’sfirst1000days.Of
the 13 high-level Feed the Future impact targets in Tanzania, 10 indicators are
focused on nutrition. Nutrition is our investment in the future productivity and
sustainable development ofTanzania’s human capital.
For many years, USAID did not invest in Tanzania’s agriculture sector; as
recentlyas2009,USAIDfundingforagricultureprogramsinTanzaniawasaround
$2M.By2012,thishadrisento$77M/year,includingfundingfornutrition,acore
elementofFTF.Essentiallyovernight,Tanzaniabecametherecipientofoneofthe
largest USAID agriculture budgets in the world. Tanzania was seen as a “new
frontier”fortheadministration’ssignatureFeedtheFutureprogram:acountrywith
abundant land and water resources, untapped potential to dramatically improve
agriculture-led growth, and a government committed to prioritizing its agricultural
economy.
Yet one of the first issues that USAID and the Government of Tanzania con-
fronted whenwelaunchedouragriculturalinvestmentswasthequestionofnatural
resourceabundance—anissueattheheartofenvironmentalsustainability.Tanzania
is blessed with abundant freshwater resources on its border and in its rivers, but
access to, and distribution of, water for multiple needs remains a challenge.
Foreword1 vii
Currently, irrigated agriculture accounts for approximately 70 % of water use1 in
thecountry,whileaccordingtothe2002TanzaniaNationalIrrigationMasterPlan,
the country has reached only 2 % of its irrigation potential. How then to accom-
modate for water for Tanzania’s future growing population? How to meet the
growing need for water to supply households, and industrial and energy needs,
while still ensuring adequate environmental flows for the survival of rivers, water
bodies, and the species that depend upon them?
Abundanceoflandisanotherissue—abundance,butforwhatpurposes?Withits
wealth of biodiversity, Tanzania has committed more of its land to conservation
thanperhapsanyothercountryintheworld—27%ofTanzania’slandareaisunder
some form of protected status. The remainder—more than 70 %—is under village
land tenure, and 20 % is government land. The challenge for social and economic
sustainability is to provide sufficient land for those who want to cultivate crops
or graze livestock, while providing adequate land for forests, fallow, and soil
regeneration. Already there is intense competition for land in many parts of the
country—with growing competition between farmers and livestock keepers, large
investors,andsmallfarmers.Thechallengeforsocialandeconomicsustainabilityis
to develop land tenure policies that provide security of access for small farmers,
including women, youth, herders, and investors at the same time.
Tanzaniaispromotingoutgrowermodelswithlarge-scaleagriculturalinvestors.
This is a model that, if undertaken responsibly, can provide smallholders with
access to improved inputs, post-harvest storage, and a ready and easily accessible
market. However, for these models to be sustainable and beneficial to Tanzania’s
small farmers, it will be necessary for farmer organizations, civil society, and
governmentactorstobeactivelyandpositivelyengagedasregulatorstoensurethat
the economic relations between large investors and outgrowers do not become
exploitative.
Finally, I’d like to focus a bit on economic sustainability and specifically the
balance that Tanzanian policymakers must find between supporting fair prices for
agriculturalproducers,whilekeepingurban foodsuppliesandpricesaffordablefor
their populations. At USAID, we are working closely with the Government of
Tanzania to improve their data on food production and prices, to avoid the temp-
tation to allow imports of duty-free commodities such as rice and sugar—the very
productstheirfarmersareworkinghardtoproduce—justatthepointintheseason
whenmarketpricesarehighest.Lastyear,despitebumperriceharvests,dutieswere
waived on the import offoreign rice, out offear that staple commodity prices had
risentoohighfortheurbanconsumer.Thenegativeimpactonfarmgatepricesfor
rice was immediate and devastating for producers. Similarly, export permits for
maize restricted the number of traders and, thus, access to important regional
1GovernmentofTanzania,“TanzaniaIntegratedWaterResourceManagementandDevelopment
Plans,” 2012: Of 8282 million cubic meters (MCM) of water available in Tanzania, irrigation
accountedfor5796MCMin2012.
viii Foreword1
marketsformaizeproducers,justatatimewhentheyhadsurplusmaizewhileother
countries in the region were facing deficits.
To ensure economic sustainability of Tanzania’s agriculture sector, USAID is
supporting commodity associations to develop their capability to inform and
influence agricultural trade and taxation policies. Additionally, USAID is sup-
porting the Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives to
access reliable production and market data to ensure evidence-based agriculture
policy decisions are made in the future. Without a supportive policy environment,
the economic sustainability of Tanzania’s agriculture sector will be compromised.
This first International Conference on Climate Change and Multi-Dimensional
SustainabilityinAfricanAgriculture,heldhereinMorogoro,Tanzania,andhosted
by Sokoine University of Agriculture, promises to be an important milestone in
engaging representatives from academia, government, and civil society to share
information with one another on important new developments in sustainable
environmental, social, economic, and institutional approaches for African agricul-
ture.Therearefewmoreimportanttopicsforthefuturefoodsecurityandprosperity
of this continent.
Mary Hobbs, Ph.D.
Economic Growth Office Director
USAID/Tanzania
Foreword 2
The Ohio State University and Its Commitment
to Global Food Security
The Ohio State University (OSU) has long been committed to global food
production and sustainability, particularly through building institutional and
countryeducationalcapacityindevelopingregionsoftheworld.Theseeffortsdate
backtothe1950/1960seraandhavecontinuedtothecurrentday.TheUSAIDhas
been a key partner in many of these initiatives and continues that partnership
through its investment in iAGRI, which OSU leads and manages in Tanzania. As
with most significant efforts that are able to move the needle on our knowledge
base,aconsortiumofcapacitybuildersarecommitted.Aspartofthatbasewiththe
UN/FAO, NORAD and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences all contributed
to the conference and its significant theme. I was impressed by the contributions
and involvement of our special host, the Sokoine University of Agriculture, who
made a memorable conference a memorable experience.
As I reflect on the topic of this conference and the unique blend of talent
assembled to share expertise and perspectives across multiple disciplines, I found
myself reflecting on the structure and function of my own institution. The OSU is
called a land-grant university (LGU), one of which was established in each state
oftheUSAthroughtheMorrillActof1862.Thisact,whileinitiatinganetworkof
institutions with significant colleges of agriculture, was augmented by the passage
of the Hatch Act in 1887. The Hatch Act created a network of agricultural
experiment stations to generate research findings to complement teaching efforts
and fill knowledge gaps. In 1914, the Smith/Lever Act created the Cooperative
ExtensionSystemtodelivertheknowledgediscoveredthroughresearchtosociety,
essentially creating a lifelong learning network. This knowledge triangle has been
critical not only to turn the academic wheel at our universities, but to also connect
ourcommunitiesandregionsinawaythathasbeencriticaltotheprosperityofour
states.
ix
x Foreword2
Ohio is comparatively small in area compared to other USA states, ranking
38outof50insize.However,itisseventhinpopulation(11.5millionpeople)and
hasmultipleurbancenterslinkedtogetherbyarurallandscapeasaninterface.This
interface iscomprised of some 78,000 farms coveringabout 50 million land acres.
The Ohio agriculture sector annually generates over $100 billion US in economic
value to the state. It is the state’s premier economic sector and generates one in
everysevenjobs.OhioisstrategicallylocatedsouthofLakeErie(GreatLakes)and
west and north of the Ohio River, a major feeder into the Mississippi River. It is
blessed with rich soils and a favorable agricultural climate. This productive agri-
cultural region has continued to evolve and prioritize its goals to match societal
needs and changes. The OSU has been an important contributor to this process.
Function is impacted by priorities; however, the integrated teaching–research–ex-
tension structureinourLGU’shasprovidedanintegratedsystem thatcontinuesto
be essential.
In the past decade our College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental
Sciences strategically identified three major themes that crosscut our academic
departmental structure: “Food Production, Security and Human Health,”
“Environmental Quality and Sustainability” and “Advanced Bioenergy and
Biobased Products.” We conducted an economic analysis that demonstrated the
value or return on investment for our university, state, and federal partners. It
demonstrated that the economic value of the research investment exceeded
investments tenfold. Currently, OSU has embraced these same themes in an
institutional framework called Discovery Themes in order to integrate outstanding
talent that exists across its 14 colleges and to build strength-on-strength with new
investments, which will ensure continued commitment to and leadership in these
strategicareasinthefuture.Thisapproachisimportantbothtomakeanimpacton
societynationallyandinternationallyandtoaccruetheresourcescriticaltosuccess.
Resources come from multiple public and private donors and are a mix of com-
petitiveandcapacitygrants,contracts,andgifts.Thediversityofresourcetypeand
donor is key to maintain and growing a resilient system that reflects society.
It was a pleasure and anhonortoparticipate inthis conference andto represent
OSU. The quality of presentations and the broad scope of presentations, ranging
from agricultural to environmental to economic to social sustainability were
impressive and the dialogue even richer. My congratulations to all involved!
Steven A. Slack
Associate Vice President for Agricultural Administration and
Director, Agricultural Research and Development Center
College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
The Ohio State University