7
ensuring supply/accessibility of agricultural inputs (improved seeds and fertilizers)
using different approaches. Common approaches have included provision of subsidies to resource poor small-scale farmers in Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and Ghana
(FinMark Trust 2016), with varied success, including improved productivity and
ensuring the countries are food secure (FinMark Trust 2016). Further, performance
of these programs is documented, discussed, and presented in this book as a way to
provide evidence to improve similar future endeavors. Alternative sustainable intensification performances are also presented.
Another major threat caused by population growth is the increase in pressure on
land, which may constrain farming system. One way of ensuring increased productivity is agricultural intensification, which can be done by increasing yield per unit
area through increased use of agricultural inputs (improved seeds, fertilizers, pesticides), labor, and technology (irrigation, mechanization, frequency of cultivation)
(Carswell 1997), as opposed to increasing production by expanding the area under
cultivation or rangeland. A study in Ethiopia by Josephson et al. (2014) showed an
increase in agriculture intensification and a decrease in farm size with increase in
population. Similarly, a community approach to the study of increased population
and climate change impact in SSA revealed that these two stresses cause shift in
livestock-keeping practice from purely migratory pastoralism to agro-pastoralist
coupled with adoption of conservation agriculture (CA) and have a positive impact
by improving food security in SSA dryland areas (Burian et al. 2019). However,
improved food security due to change of agro-pastoral system has not been universally achieved (Tache and Oba 2010; Josephson et al. 2014), especially in areas with
less than 500 mm annual rainfall and without CA. Further analysis by Burian et al.
(2019) cautioned that with continued increase in population, it would reach a stage
when the household land area will be too small to sustain household food security,
leading to food shortage, to the extent that increased productivity might not solve
the food shortage problem. Another study in Kenya reported that 500 people/km
2
is
the threshold for intensification in farming; beyond this population density, even
agricultural intensification will also decrease (Muyanga and Jayne 2014), and the
agricultural productivity may not sustain the population demand. These findings
suggest that the current increase in population may cause serious problems in food
supply and increase in hunger and poverty. The warning is that increase in productivity per unit area alone may not solve the problem. In such a scenario, sustainable
intensification that ensures increase in productivity without compromising environmental and social benefits is needed (Dicks et al. 2019). Therefore, a more integrative approach that includes other sectors such as health and environment is necessary.
Although agricultural production increased during the 30 -year period from 1983
to 2013, the anticipated productivity is yet to be realized (NEPAD 2013). The
increased production has been due to expansion of agricultural land (Amuri 2015;
Charles et al. 2010), leaving less or no improvement in intensification of land and
labor (NEPAD 2013). The trend of expansion of agricultural land can be exemplified by the increase in land area under cereal production (major staple food for most
of SSA population) at the rate of 1 million ha (Mha) per year (Fig. 2). The trend of
increase in cropland is similar to that of increase in population in SSA, indicating
Agricultural and Natural Resource Sustainability Under Changing Climate in Africa
ensuring supply/accessibility of agricultural inputs (improved seeds and fertilizers)
using different approaches. Common approaches have included provision of subsidies to resource poor small-scale farmers in Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and Ghana
(FinMark Trust 2016), with varied success, including improved productivity and
ensuring the countries are food secure (FinMark Trust 2016). Further, performance
of these programs is documented, discussed, and presented in this book as a way to
provide evidence to improve similar future endeavors. Alternative sustainable intensification performances are also presented.
Another major threat caused by population growth is the increase in pressure on
land, which may constrain farming system. One way of ensuring increased productivity is agricultural intensification, which can be done by increasing yield per unit
area through increased use of agricultural inputs (improved seeds, fertilizers, pesticides), labor, and technology (irrigation, mechanization, frequency of cultivation)
(Carswell 1997), as opposed to increasing production by expanding the area under
cultivation or rangeland. A study in Ethiopia by Josephson et al. (2014) showed an
increase in agriculture intensification and a decrease in farm size with increase in
population. Similarly, a community approach to the study of increased population
and climate change impact in SSA revealed that these two stresses cause shift in
livestock-keeping practice from purely migratory pastoralism to agro-pastoralist
coupled with adoption of conservation agriculture (CA) and have a positive impact
by improving food security in SSA dryland areas (Burian et al. 2019). However,
improved food security due to change of agro-pastoral system has not been universally achieved (Tache and Oba 2010; Josephson et al. 2014), especially in areas with
less than 500 mm annual rainfall and without CA. Further analysis by Burian et al.
(2019) cautioned that with continued increase in population, it would reach a stage
when the household land area will be too small to sustain household food security,
leading to food shortage, to the extent that increased productivity might not solve
the food shortage problem. Another study in Kenya reported that 500 people/km
2
is
the threshold for intensification in farming; beyond this population density, even
agricultural intensification will also decrease (Muyanga and Jayne 2014), and the
agricultural productivity may not sustain the population demand. These findings
suggest that the current increase in population may cause serious problems in food
supply and increase in hunger and poverty. The warning is that increase in productivity per unit area alone may not solve the problem. In such a scenario, sustainable
intensification that ensures increase in productivity without compromising environmental and social benefits is needed (Dicks et al. 2019). Therefore, a more integrative approach that includes other sectors such as health and environment is necessary.
Although agricultural production increased during the 30 -year period from 1983
to 2013, the anticipated productivity is yet to be realized (NEPAD 2013). The
increased production has been due to expansion of agricultural land (Amuri 2015;
Charles et al. 2010), leaving less or no improvement in intensification of land and
labor (NEPAD 2013). The trend of expansion of agricultural land can be exemplified by the increase in land area under cereal production (major staple food for most
of SSA population) at the rate of 1 million ha (Mha) per year (Fig. 2). The trend of
increase in cropland is similar to that of increase in population in SSA, indicating
Agricultural and Natural Resource Sustainability Under Changing Climate in Africa