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From organic farming to agroecological farming, what challenges do organic farmers face in central Uganda?
(Ecological Organic Agriculture - Growing Sustainability, 2023-03-30) Akowedaho, Dagoudo Bienvenu; Ssekyewa, Charles; Ssekandi, Joseph; Ngom, Khady; Moumouni, M. Ismail
Introduction - Based on environmental protection and providing healthy and safe foods to the population, organic agricultural production is considered an opportunity to create new agri-food systems for agricultural production. Agroecological farming is considered sustainable agriculture which focuses on ecological production for agrobiodiver-sity protection and food sovereignty through using multiple and diverse crops or animals, relying on biological processes for building soil fertility and controlling pests and diseases, etc. Does organic agricultural production entail agroecological farming? This paper explores the challenges faced by organic farmers in agroecological practices through agroecological principles. Methodology - The study was carried out in Central in Central Uganda mainly in 5 districts: Wakiso, Masaka, Bukomansimbi, Ssembabule, and Kyotera. These districts belonged to the agroecological zone called Mukono Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (ZARDI). The multiple-stage stratified sampling procedure was used to select 310 organic farmers by proportional random sampling in the 8 counties. The visit to the farm is essential for gathering fieldwork material that is generated through qualitative interpretive methods like interviews and participant observation. Descriptive analysis was used to summarize socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the respondents, agroecological variables, and the Pearson correlation coefficient as a measure of the significant relationship between agroecological variables. Results & Discussion - The study focuses on organic farming analysis through an agroecological approach that emphasizes four agroecology principles: diversity, synergies, recycling, and resilience. The finds highlighted that the majority (52,9%) of organic farmers respondents have more than 3 crops adapted to local and changing climatic conditions and 58.71% of organic farming has Medium integration (animals are mostly fed with feed produced on the farm and grazing, their manure is used as fertilizer). The seeds and animal genetic resources are self-produced or exchanged, although some specific seeds are purchased from the market by 51.61% of organic farming. The re-sult revealed that the local environment can suffer from climatic shocks, but the system has a good capacity to adapt to climate change in 40.65% of organic farming. In organic farming that participates in this research, 50%of the soil is covered with residues or cover crops, with the majority at 61.61%. Most residues and by-products are recycled, with a little waste discharged or burned in 37.1 % of organic farming. In organic farming, 34.52%of organic farming have one type of equipment for water harvesting or saving (e.g., drip irrigation, tanks). Ac-cording to the findings, 47.74% of organic farmers’ income is declining, production varies from year to year (with constant inputs), and income and production mostly recover after shocks or perturbations. The correla-tion test revealed that the diversity crops affect positively diversity activities, products and services (r =+ 0.523, p<0.01), the diversity animals affect positively crop-livestock integration (r = +0.674, p<0.01), and the water har-vesting and saving influence positively the environmental resilience and capacity to adapt to climate change (r = +0.546, p<0.01). Conclusion - This empirical research addressed the agroecological principles implemented by organic farmers in Central Uganda. It focuses on diversity, synergies, recycling, and resilience, which are the agroecological principles that contribute to producing healthy and safe food for society and building resilient and sustainable local food systems through agrobiodiversity protection, food sovereignty, adaptation to climate change, and participation in the green economy.
Review paper: The role of agroecology in combatting hunger and food insecurity among smallholder farmers
(Ecological Organic Agriculture - Growing Sustainability, 2023-03-30) Mubashakwaya, Isaac; Ssekandi, Joseph
Introduction - The term agroecology emerged more than 80 years ago and originally referred to the ecological study of agricultural systems (Gliessman, 2007). The term agroecology was first used in the 1930s by Bensin (Schaller, 2013), a Russian agronomist, initially in reference to applying ecological methods to research on crops. In 1965, Ger-man ecologist and animal scientist Tischler published what is most probably the first book titled Agroecology (Tischler, 1965). Yet, some controversy about the definition of agroecology remains. Agroecology is a concept that inspires more and more people, but also means different things to different people. There is no single way to define or practice agroecology, but the concept unifies different groups of scientists, practitioners in the food systems, and social movements. Initially, Altieri (1983) defined agroecology as the application of ecological prin-ciples to agriculture. Twenty years later, agroecology was enlarged to the whole food system linking production with the food chain and consumers. This new definition allows for the analysis of the socio-economic and po-litical dimensions of food systems. Agroecology became an interdisciplinary method that put to test scientific and social borders. Methodology Review paper - Results & Discussion 2. Principles of agroecology in relation to food security As the definition of agroecology is rather wide, a better understanding of the concept can be obtained by exploring the principles that guide researchers, practitioners and social actors involved in the field of agroecology. 3. Agroecology versus Green Revolution Long before the era of Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, agriculture was dependent on the local resources of land, water, and other resources, as well as local varieties and indigenous knowledge. 4. Hunger and Food status on the planet The vast majority of hungry people live in lower-middle-income regions, which witnessed a 42 percent reduc-tion in the prevalence of undernourished people between the periods 1990 - 1992 and 2012-2014. Despite this progress, in 2016, the global prevalence of undernourishment surged (FAO et al., 2017). 5. Potential interventions of agroecology for food security 5.1 Agricultural practices improvement 5.2 Increased agricultural production and productivity 5.3 Reducing inputs expenses and diversifying income sources 5.4 Agroecology and resiliency to climate change 5.5 Agroecology and gender 5.6. Agroecology and health promotion 81 eoai-africa.org Transforming Food Systems for Responsible Production, Consumption and Social Wellbeing Conclusion - As it is mentioned in this paper, many researchers demonstrate that agroecology offers the possibility to increase agricultural production and productivity through agroecological practices and local available resources. Agroecology is therefore increasingly being looked at as the best option to sustain food security and combat hunger without destroying the environment at small scale farming levels due to its advantages. It is healthy and offers long lasting and fully sustainable solutions to rural employment, environmental and climate chal-lenges, today and for the future. However, if this is to be wholesomely accepted and embraced by all, a lot more empirical evidence pointing to positivity must be provided.

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