Sustainable farming versus external inputs-based farming (African Agriculture)

Read at :

http://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/for-many-ethiopian-farmers-sustainable.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+africanagricultureblog%2FNaEx+%28African+Agriculture%29

For many Ethiopian farmers, sustainable farming more realistic, accessible than external inputs-based farming

Laura Rance, editor of the Manitoba Co-operator, Canada, recently went to Ethiopia on a media food study tour with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. She found that many of the farming methods that are taken for granted in Canada, and advocated in Africa by some, are simply not within the realm of possibility for many Ethiopian farmers.

For some poor farmers, lack of access to hybrid seed, fertilizer and mechanization means poverty and hunger. But training in various sustainable farming methods can make a big difference in the livelihoods of farmers, giving them independence over their operations, improved food security and chances for surpluses to sell.

Many African countries have over the decades embarked on various ambitious agricultural ‘modernization’ programmes involving hybrid seed, fertilizer and agrochemicals and modern farm equipment. Usually funded by external donors or with expensive foreign debts, few countries are able to sustain them.

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