Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) held group discussions with CmiA farmers in Zambia to find out where they are seeing ecological change and what they are doing about it.
The CmiA smallholder group is comprised of 46% men and 54% women, with 66% living in the area since birth and 34% living there for 10 to 20 years.
“The discussion focused on addressing challenges and solutions with Zambian farmers,” said AbTF Monitoring and Evaluation Project Manager Nina Shottle. She explained that the foundation’s main goals include halting biodiversity loss and increasing the resilience of Africa’s smallholder farmers through comprehensive, community-led responses.
Research shows biodiversity is declining in rural Africa, while deforestation, poaching and settlement expansion are having a “severe” impact on many wildlife species, even driving some species to extinction. connections, fueling many conflicts between humans and wildlife. .
Water shortages in local rivers have also been pointed out as an urgent issue.
In the discussion group, AbTF said that the absence of certain fungi in forests indicates a decrease in biodiversity, changes in soil structure and color indicate a decline in soil quality, and changes in the environment, including the proliferation of certain weeds. He emphasized that farmers described signs of ecological change. Demonstrate changes in biological balance, such as witchweed and ragwort.
They also cited fluctuating temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns, which are reportedly disrupting local agricultural cycles.
AbTF said that soil fertility was deteriorating and yields were falling, and highlighted the impact of reduced biodiversity on fields, adding: “In the past, it was possible to achieve good results without fertilizers, but today it is no longer possible to achieve good results. forest fires and the use of herbicides.” The presence of useful soil organisms such as earthworms, which help break down organic matter, has decreased. ”
Initiatives to promote biodiversity
AbTF noted that group discussions with smallholder farmers revealed that the way cotton fields are managed has a “significant” impact on soil health and surrounding biodiversity.
The foundation says that to promote biodiversity, farmers should minimize the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides in favor of organic alternatives, while adopting practices such as crop rotation and integrated pest management. I explained that there was. Also, to maintain soil quality, avoid tilling the soil and use organic fertilizers such as compost and cow dung to improve soil quality.
AbTF noted that these sustainable agricultural practices are consistent with the principles of the CmiA standard, which has long emphasized climate and environmental protection. The organization regularly shares these practices with smallholder farmers through training programs, with the aim of increasing their resilience to climate change and improving their livelihoods in the long term.
Recently, the AbTF’s annual report on CmiA validation and implementation suggested that positive progress has been made from 2022 onwards.
“AbTF, Zambian farmers tackle biodiversity and climate change through sustainable agriculture” was originally created and published by Just Style, a brand owned by GlobalData.
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