Agroecological techniques: adoption of safe and sustainable agricultural practices among the smallholder farmers in Africa

Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

Sustainable Food Systems

Dennis Obonyo Ndolo¹  Anne Margaret Akol²  Olubukola Oluranti Babalola³  Akinlolu Olalekan Akanmu³  Funso Raphael Kutu⁴ 

[1] Biopesticides Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Cape Town Component, Cape Town, South Africa;Department of Zoology, Entomology and Fisheries Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda;Food Security and Safety Focus Area, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Mmabatho, South Africa;School of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Mbombela, South Africa;

关键词: agroecological farming;    sustainable development goals;    sustainable food production;    small-scale farmers;    economic profitability;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fsufs.2023.1143061

 received in 2023-01-12, accepted in 2023-04-25,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Attaining sufficiency in food supply to support a growing population without compromising ecosystem functioning remains a top agenda of researchers and agricultural stakeholders. Agroecological farming approaches are effective techniques that ensure sustainable food production even in adverse situations. Population growth has been forecasted to reach over 9.1 billion by 2050 outpacing food production. However, cereals and grain legumes are strategic to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of zero hunger by 2030 (SDG 2), ending extreme poverty (SDG 1), and mitigating the climate change effect (SDG 13). There remains an urgent need to embrace more sustainable measures to increase food production for the growing population. This review explores the role of agroecology which employs a transdisciplinary approach to sustainable agricultural practices to improve the resilience of farming systems by increasing diversification through poly-cropping, agroforestry, use of local varieties, and integrated crop and livestock systems. Furthermore, the agroecological farming approach minimizes water use, lowers pollution levels on the farm, and ensures economic profitability for the farmers. Thus, application of agroecology techniques among the smallholder farmers is strategic to ensuring food security.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 Akanmu, Akol, Ndolo, Kutu and Babalola.