'Evergreen agriculture' wins for climate and hunger

Sustaining families in Africa

Meanwhile the productivity advantages of agroforestry, as in Zambia, are telling. Long-term studies show that farmers using fertiliser trees can cut the need for commercial fertilises by up to 75 per cent, while routinely doubling or tripling their yields.

Other practices, such as minimum tillage - first adopted to prevent wind erosion in the American Midwest after the 1930s dust bowl - can further improve soil quality and crop yields.

In Zambia, the fertiliser trees are part of a sustainable agriculture program funded by the Norwegian government that is now benefiting more than 160,000 families.

In neighbouring Malawi, at least 200,000 families - about 1.3 million of the country's poorest people - are improving their soils, increasing their food production and enhancing their nutrition through agroforestry, thanks to the assistance of Irish Aid.

These projects are just the start.

Wider commitment is needed

At the 2007 climate change conference in Bali, negotiators decided that reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) should be a key component of any future agreement. That makes good sense, as deforestation contributes approximately 20 per cent of global emissions.

But the scope of REDD should be broadened to include all land uses. We need a firm commitment in Copenhagen to provide the measures and financial incentives needed to encourage the transition to sustainable forms of agriculture.

It is likely that a legally binding climate deal will not be reached in Copenhagen and that negotiations will continue well into next year. But it is imperative that world leaders at least agree in outline, if not in precise detail, to firm targets and commitments.

Evergreen agriculture can help us to avoid a grim future of more poverty and hunger, and even greater climatic instability.