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Industrial scale farming is flawed: What ecologically-friendly farming practices could look like in Africa

is a new book with 33 contributions from academics, non-governmental organizations, farmer organizations and policy makers. It is , and reviewers have described it as a "must read for all who care about the future of Africa and its people." The book outlines how , which brings ecological principles into farming practices and food systems, can solve food shortages and environmental damage caused by mass, commercial farming. We asked the book's editor and the South African Research Chair on Environmental and Social Dimensions of the , , to set out why this book is so important.

What's wrong with the current system of food production?

The dominant model of modern agriculture in the world is based on monoculture, where one crop is grown across large areas using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. It relies on seeds that are owned by and are often subsidized by governments at a high cost.

The book outlines how this approach to growing food is flawed. Firstly, it carries major costs. According to the report, the costs of diet-related disease, hunger and malnutrition and other costs amount to about US$8 trillion a year. Countries in the global south carry much of the burden.

Secondly, the current approach is a . This happens through deforestation and land degradation, livestock and fertilizer emissions, energy use, and the globalized nature of agriculture. Food is often produced far from where it is consumed.

Huge farmlands also and degrade one third of all soils, globally. Industrial agriculture has many negative impacts on ecosystem health, livestock and human well-being.

What's the alternative?

Agroecology is a good alternative. It uses natural processes such as in the soil by planting legumes, and conserving natural habitat to encourage beneficial predators that keep pests in check. It includes planting a diversity of crops, rather than just one, to prevent pest outbreaks, and avoiding synthetic pesticides and herbicides.

Agroecology places importance on building natural, local, economically viable and socially just food systems. It aims to support farmers and rural communities.

As a result, it fosters more equal social relations and improves food and nutritional security.

Agroecology also recognizes local ways of knowing and doing things, and respects the rights of Indigenous people to seeds and plants that they have planted for many generations. Transforming research and education are an important part of agroecology.

What are the advantages?

Agroecology increases the capacity of farming systems to adapt to climate change. agroecology increases crop yields, regulates water and nutrients, increases agricultural diversity and reduces pests.

It gives farmers more choice about what to grow and eat. This enables them to produce a wider variety of healthy food.

Can agroecology grow enough food for everyone?

Agroecology can be scaled up through:

• farmer-to-farmer knowledge exchanges
• creating professional networks of agroecology practitioners
• local seed-saving networks or groups that share different seeds that are adapted to local conditions

• solidarity networks: community-based groups or movements that aim to support each other, cooperate and take collective action.
• the revival and use of indigenous and under-utilized crops and livestock breeds such as pearl and finger millet, sorghum and Nguni cattle
• linking producers with consumers and markets.

What needs to be done?

Urgent actions are needed, especially in the climate "hotspot" of sub-Saharan Africa. Agroecology needs supportive policies and funding. South Africa has had a for more than 10 years but this has not yet been adopted.

Development aid for farmers often undermines agroecology. It typically promotes a "new" African Green Revolution that uses hybrid seeds, agrochemicals, new technologies, and links to markets. However, hybrid seed, especially genetically modified seed, can contaminate local seed systems that are better adapted to local conditions.

The book illustrates what can go wrong. Maize is said to have in Africa. But it has displaced indigenous crops such as sorghum and millet, which are more nutritious and drought-resistant.

Subsidy programs and state support for hybrid maize also back .

Governments, industry and those funding research, innovation and consumer marketing must actively move away from a maize culture and invest in a bigger range of crops.

For millions of smallholder African farmers, there is a deep understanding of how animals, plants, soil, people and weather patterns are connected to and affect one another. Agricultural development programs, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, and genetically modified seeds disrupt these relationships. They can devalue local knowledge and skills in favor of . This means that farmers lose their capacity to understand their environment and their ability to react appropriately.

Lastly, agriculture research and training needs to be rethought. Research and development is now mostly shaped by market-led approaches that favor crops grown by large-scale commercial farmers. A public sector research and development agenda for agroecology needs to be developed. It should be based both on scientific knowledge as well as traditional and local knowledge.

What would help?

Agricultural research should be co-created by everyone involved. Farmer-led research and innovation can support food system transformations.

New ways of seeing and doing research are evolving. Western scientific and traditional knowledges are mixing in ways that can transform farming. Our book social movements are emerging as a powerful force for change.

We hope to support these efforts through a new, four--year, European Union-supported initiative to establish a research and training network: the in Southern Africa. New in South Africa and Zimbabwe have also been started to coordinate research and develop curricula.