Agro-Ecology and Farming System For Third Year Students

MIZAN-TEPI UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
COURSE
Agro-ecology and Farming System (GeES 3103)
By
Fikru Hailu (MA)
Academic year, 2012/2020
Mizan-Tepi, Ethiopia
Agro-ecology and farming system note dep’t of GeEs

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CHAPTER ONE
1. AGRO-ECOLOGY AND FARMING SYSTEM
1.1 The Concept of Ecology, Agro-ecology and Farming System

A. Ecology
Origin of the word “ecology” that is, it is a Greek origin: OIKOS = household,
LOGOS = study. Therefore, Ecology is the Study of the
“house/environment” in which we live.
Ecology is study of interactions between non-living components in the
environment (such as light, water, wind, nutrients in soil, heat, solar radiation,
atmosphere, etc.) and Living organisms (such as Plants, Animals,
microorganisms in soil, etc.). It views each locale/ environment as an
integrated whole of interdependent parts that function as a unit. The
interdependent parts are Non-living such as dead organic matter, nutrients
in the soil and water; Producers such as green plants; Consumers such as
herbivores and carnivores; Decomposers such as fungi and bacteria.
Then, ecology is an integrated and dynamic study of the environment; the
study of living organisms in the natural environment. It studies how they
interact with one another and how they interact with their non-living
environment (www.worldofteaching.com).
B. Agro-ecology
The science of agro-ecology, is defined as the application of ecological
concepts and principles to the design and management of sustainable agro-
ecosystems, provides a framework to assess the complexity of agro-
ecosystems. Agro-ecology is the study of the interactions between living
organisms and their environment in agricultural systems. The idea of agro-
Agro-ecology and farming system note 1 dep’t of GeEs

ecology is to go beyond the use of alternative practices and to develop agro-
ecosystems with the minimal dependence on high agrochemical and energy
inputs, emphasizing complex agricultural systems in which ecological
interactions and synergisms between biological components provide the
mechanisms for the systems to sponsor their own soil fertility, productivity
and crop protection.
Agro-ecology has emerged as the discipline that provides the basic ecological
principles for how to study, design and manage agro-ecosystems that are both
productive and natural resource conserving, and that are also culturally
sensitive, socially just and economically viable. Agro ecology goes beyond a
one-dimensional view of agro-ecosystems -their genetics, agronomy, and so on
to embrace an understanding of ecological and social levels of co evolution,
structure and function. Instead of focusing on one particular component of
the agro-ecosystem, agro-ecology emphasizes the interrelatedness of all
agro-ecosystem components and the complex dynamics of ecological
processes. Agro-ecology has been defined as a science, as a set of practices,
and even as a social and political movement.
Agro-ecology as a science in its simplest form is seen as the “application of
ecological science to the study, design and management of sustainable agro-
ecosystems”. This can apply not just at the farm-level, but also across the
global network of food production, distribution and consumption, including
food production systems, processing and marketing, the role of the consumer,
and the policy level. As such, it uses knowledge from a range of disciplines,
including agricultural and ecological science, and traditional knowledge
systems. It questions conventional approaches which are centered on the use
of science to promote economic growth.

Agro-ecology as a practice -seeks ways to enhance farming systems by
mimicking natural processes, using biological interactions and synergies to
support production.
Agro-ecology as a social and political movement is about how individuals,
communities and societies contribute to building sustainable, fair food models
through what they buy, but also in the ways in which they shop and organize
food distribution. Agro-ecological movements seek to influence national and
international policies through grassroots cooperation, participation and action
to create more sustainable management systems for food and seeds
Agro-ecology is a discipline that defines, classifies and studies agricultural
systems from an ecological and socio-economic perspective, and applies
ecological concepts and principles to the design and management of
sustainable agro-ecosystems. Agro-ecology is first and foremost a response
to the negative ecological, social & economic impacts of industrial agriculture.
➢ The ecological perspective, focusing on how natural resources - soil and
water are used and managed for sustainable agricultural production;
➢ The economic perspective, focusing on the marketing of agricultural
products through competitive value chains which link farmers to the
consumer; and
➢ The social perspective, focusing on how stakeholders interact, who controls
change in agricultural practices, and how to ensure that the benefits of
innovation are enjoyed by all sectors of society including the poor and
previously disadvantaged.

Hot topics in agro-ecology:
Pesticide effects on biodiversity.
Mixtures of pesticides and effects on organisms.
Endocrine disrupting effects of pesticides and industrial chemicals.
Genetic engineering and “genetic pollution” in environment.
Soil food web- function of diversity.
Predator/prey interactions and bio control.
Nutrient cycles.
Industrial waste--toxic waste and application to land of heavy metals and
dioxin in fertilizers.
C. Farming system
Farming as a system
Farm: is an area of land and its buildings which is used for growing crops and
rearing animals. It is the basic facility in food production.
A system: is a set of inter-related, interacting and interdependent elements
acting together for a common purpose and capable of reacting as a whole to
external stimuli.
Any farm can be viewed as a system, with inputs, processes, and outputs.
Inputs: are the factors that a farm needs to work. Inputs can be divided into
two groups. Physical inputs: are naturally occurring things such as water, raw
materials, and the land. Human/Cultural inputs: are things like money, labour,
and skills.
Processes: are the actions within the farm that allow the inputs into outputs
such as ploughing, sowing, and harvesting. Outputs: can be positive or negative.

The positive outputs: are the finished products, such as wheat, meat, milk, eggs,
and the money gained from the sale of those productions. The negative outputs
include waste products and soil erosion.
A farm = a system
Inputs into the system,
Processes taking place in it.
Outputs from the system; e.g. profits can be reused back in the system.
Depending on the type of farming, the type & amount of inputs, processes and
outputs will vary.
A farming system can be defined from the aspect of:
▪ Boundary what belongs to the farm, what the environment that farming is
going to be operated;
▪ Crop or cropping system, livestock system, etc.;
▪ Interactions: the relationships between components such as inputs, material
formation and energy originating outside the system but utilized within the
system;
▪ Internal resources, material formation and energy originating within the
system; and
▪ Production and products.
Farms are systems because several activities are closely related to each other
by the common use of the farm labour, land and capital, by risk distribution and
by the joint use of the farmer’s management capacity.
Farming systems refers to a resource management strategy to achieve
economic and sustained production to meet diverse requirement of farm
household while preserving resource base and maintaining a high level of

environmental quality. For example, it represents integration of farm
enterprises such as cropping systems, animal husbandry, fisheries, forestry,
sericulture, poultry etc. for optimal utilization of resources bringing prosperity
to the farmer. The farm products other than the economic products, for which
the crops are grown, can be better utilized for productive purposes in the
farming systems approach.
Farming system is an approach for developing farm household systems, built on
the principles of productivity, profitability, stability, and sustainability. Farming
system is a decision making unit comprising the farm household, cropping and
livestock system that transformed land, capital and labour into useful products
that can be consumed or sold.
Farmer as a decision maker

✓ has to decide which crops to grow or which animals to rear = decision based
on:
• physical factors
• human factor
• economic factors
✓ Chooses the type of farming most suitable to the conditions.
✓ Using the most efficient method to gain maximum profit.
1.2. Ecosystem and agro-ecosystem

A. Ecosystem
Ecosystem is communities of organisms interacting with each other and with
their physical environment.
Levels of Organization - a hierarchy of organization in the environment:
➢ Biosphere - Surface of the earth and it composed of many ecosystems.
➢ Ecosystems - Community + Abiotic environment, interacting.

➢ Biodiversity - the variety of organisms living in an ecosystem. The total
number of different species in an ecosystem and their relative abundance.
➢ Organism – simplest level of organization (e.g., fish).
➢ Population – one species live in one place at one time (e.g. many fish).
➢ Community – All populations (diff. species) that live in a particular area (e.g.
many fish + other organisms). All the populations of the different species
living and inter-acting in the same ecosystem.
➢ Habitat – physical location of community. The characteristics of the type of
environment where an organism normally lives (e.g. a stoney stream,
deciduous temperate woodland).
B. Agro-ecosystem
Agro-ecosystems are communities of plants and animals interacting with their
physical and chemical environments that have been modified by people to
produce food, fiber, fuel and other products for human consumption and
processing. The main focus of sustainable agro-ecosystems lies on the
reduction or elimination of agrochemical inputs through changes in
management to assure adequate plant nutrition and plant protection through
organic nutrient sources and integrated pest management, respectively. Agro
ecology is the holistic study of agro-ecosystems, including all environmental
and human elements. It focuses on the form, dynamics and functions of their
interrelationships and the processes in which they are involved. An area used
for agricultural production, e.g. a field is seen as a complex system in which
ecological processes found under natural conditions also occur, e.g. nutrient
cycling, predator/prey interactions, competition, symbiosis and successional
changes. Implicit in agro-ecological research is the idea that, by
understanding these ecological relationships and processes, agro-ecosystems

can be manipulated to improve production and to produce more sustainably,
with fewer negative environmental or social impacts and fewer external
inputs.
1.3. Fundamental principles of agro-ecology

The practice of agro-ecology as scientific discipline has allowed for the
identification of key principles that form the foundation of agricultural
sustainability. Maintenance of biological diversity and nutrient cycling
mechanisms are global principles that are common to all agro-ecosystems and
therefore essential in the design of sustainable agricultural systems.
Regional or site-specific factors include climate, soils and socio economic
preferences and conditions. These regional factors differ greatly among
agro-ecosystems and may assume major importance in some. Major principles
of agro-ecology in agro farming systems and their advantages:
Use Renewable Resources:
➢ Use renewable sources of energy instead of non-renewable sources,
biological nitrogen fixation, naturally-occurring materials instead of
synthetic, manufactured inputs, on-farm resources as much as possible,
recycle on-farm nutrients.
Minimize Toxics:
Reduce or eliminate the use of materials that have the potential to harm the
environment or the health of farmers, farm workers, or consumers. Use
farming practices that reduce or eliminate environmental pollution with
nitrates, toxic gases, or other materials generated by burning or overloading
agro-ecosystems with nutrients.

Conserve Resources:
• Conserve Soil: We have to sustain soil nutrient and organic matter stocks.
Again we have to minimize erosion by the following methods: use perennials,
use no-till or reduced tillage methods and use mulch.
• Conserve Water: employ Dry farm and Use efficient irrigation systems.
• Conserve Energy: we have to use energy efficient technologies.
• Conserve genetic resources: Save seed, maintain local landraces and use
heirloom varieties.
• Conserve Capital: Keep bank debt to a minimum and reduce expenditures.
Manage Ecological Relationships:
Reestablish ecological relationships that can occur naturally on the farm
instead of reducing and simplifying them.
Manage pests, diseases, and weeds instead of “controlling” them.
Use intercropping and cover cropping.
Integrate Livestock.
Recycle Nutrients: Shift from through flow nutrient management to
recycling of nutrients. Return crop residues and manures to soils and when
outside inputs are necessary, sustain their benefits by recycling them.
Minimize Disturbance: Use reduced tillage or no-till methods, Use mulches
and Use perennials.
Adjust to Local Environments:
❖ Match cropping patterns to the productive potential and physical limitations
of the farm Landscape.

❖ Adapt Biota, i.e. you have to adapt plants and animals to the ecological
conditions of the farm rather than modifying the farm to meet the needs of
the crops and animals.
Diversify:
✓ Landscapes: Maintain undisturbed areas as buffer zones, use contour and
strip tillage, Maintain riparian buffer zones and use rotational grazing.
✓ Biota: Intercrop, Rotate crops, use polyculture, Integrate animals in system,
Use multiple species of crops and animals on farm and Use multiple varieties
and landraces of crops and animals on farm.
✓ Economics:
Avoid dependence on single crops/products.
Use alternative markets.
Organic markets.
Community Supported Agriculture.
Add value to agricultural products.
Process foods before selling them.
Find alternative incomes.
Agro-tourism.
Avoid dependence on external subsidies.
Use multiple crops to diversify seasonal timing of production over the
year.
Empower People:
▪ Ensure that local people control their development process.
▪ Use indigenous knowledge

▪ Promote multi-directional transfer of knowledge, as opposed to "top-down"
knowledge transfer. You have to teach experts and farmers to share
knowledge, not "impose" it.
▪ Engage in people-centric development.
▪ Increase farmer participation specially by linking farmers with consumers
▪ Strengthen communities: Encourage local partnerships between people and
development groups. Ensure intergenerational fairness.
▪ Teach principles of agro-ecology & sustainability.
Manage Whole Systems:
➢ Use planning processes that recognize the different scales of agro
ecosystems. These are landscapes, households, farms, communities,
bioregions and nations.
➢ Minimize impacts on neighboring ecosystems.
Maximize Long-Term Benefits:
§ Maximize intergenerational benefits, not just annual profits.
§ Maximize livelihoods and quality of life in rural areas.
§ Facilitate generational transfers.
§ Use long-term strategies - we have to develop plans that can be adjusted
and reevaluated through time.
§ Incorporate long-term sustainability into overall agro-ecosystem design and
management.
§ Build soil fertility over the long-term that means it build soil organic matter.
Value Health:
These are mainly human, cultural, and environmental health; Animal and plant
health. Value most highly the overall health of agro-ecosystems rather than

the outcome of a particular crop system or season and eliminate
environmental pollution by toxics and surplus nutrients.
1.4, Major Agro-ecological zones of the world and associated
Farming system
A. Koppen’s methods of climatic classification
Köppen climate classification widely used vegetation-based empirical climate
classification system developed by German botanist-climatologist Wladimir
Köppen. His aim was to devise formulas that would define climatic boundaries
in such a way as to correspond to those of the vegetation zones (biomes) that
were being mapped for the first time during his lifetime. Köppen published his
first scheme in 1900 and a revised version in 1918. He continued to revise his
system of classification until his death in 1940. Other climatologists have
modified portions of Köppen’s procedure on the basis of their experience in
various parts of the world.
Köppen’s classification is based on a subdivision of terrestrial climates into
five major types, which are represented by the capital letters A, B, C, D, and
E. Each of these climate types except for B is defined by temperature
criteria. Type B designates climates in which the controlling factor on
vegetation is dryness (rather than coldness). Aridity is not a matter of
precipitation alone but is defined by the relationship between the
precipitation input to the soil in which the plants grow and the evaporative
losses. Since evaporation is difficult to evaluate and is not a conventional
measurement at meteorological stations, Köppen was forced to substitute a
formula that identifies aridity in terms of a temperature-precipitation index
(that is, evaporation is assumed to be controlled by temperature).

The Köppen Climate Classification System is the most widely used system for
classifying the world's climates. Its categories are based on the annual and
monthly averages of temperature and precipitation.
The Köppen system recognizes five major climatic types; each type is
designated by a capital letter.
➢ A - Tropical Moist Climates: all months have average temp above 18°C.
➢ B - Dry Climates: with deficient precipitation during most of the year.
➢ C - Moist Mid-latitude Climates with Mild Winters.
➢ D - Moist Mid-Latitude Climates with Cold Winters.
➢ E - Polar Climates: with extremely cold winters and summers.
1. Tropical Moist Climates (A): Tropical moist climates extend northward and
southward from the equator to about 15° to 25° of latitude. In these climates
all months have average temperatures greater than 18° Celsius. Annual
precipitation is greater than 1500 mm. Three minor Köppen climate types exist
in the A group, and their designation is based on seasonal distribution of
rainfall.
➢ Tropical wet is a tropical climate where precipitation occurs all year long.
Monthly temperature variations in this climate are less than 3° Celsius.
Because of intense surface heating and high humidity, cumulus and
cumulonimbus clouds form early in the afternoons almost every day. Daily
highs are about 32° Celsius, while night time temperatures average 22°C.
➢ Tropical monsoon climate. Annual rainfall is equal to or greater than tropical
wet, but most of the precipitation falls in the 7 to 9 hottest months. During
the dry season very little rainfall occurs.

➢ The tropical wet and dry or savanna has an extended dry season during
winter. Precipitation during the wet season is usually less than 1000
millimeters, and only during the summer season.
2. Dry Climates (B): The most obvious climatic feature of this climate is that
potential evaporation and transpiration exceed precipitation. These climates
extend from 20 - 35° North and South of the equator and in large continental
regions of the mid-latitudes often surrounded by mountains. Minor types of this
climate include:
➢ Dry arid (desert) is a true desert climate. It covers 12% of the Earth's land
surface and is dominated by xerophytic vegetation. The additional letters h
and k are used generally to distinguish whether the dry arid climate is found
in the subtropics or in the mid-latitudes, respectively.
➢ Dry semiarid (steppe). Is a grassland climate that covers 14% of the Earth's
land surface? It receives more precipitation than the BW either from the
inter tropical convergence zone or from mid-latitude cyclones. Once again,
the additional letters h and k are used generally to distinguish whether the
dry semiarid climate is found in the subtropics or in the mid-latitudes,
respectively.
3. Moist Subtropical Mid-Latitude Climates (C): This climate generally has warm
and humid summers with mild winters. Its extent is from 30 to 50° of latitude
mainly on the eastern and western borders of most continents. During the
winter, the main weather feature is the mid-latitude cyclone. Convective
thunderstorms dominate summer months. Three minor types exist:
➢ Humid subtropical; Mediterranean; and Marine.
The humid subtropical climate has hot muggy summers and frequent
thunderstorms. Winters are mild and precipitation during this season comes

from mid-latitude cyclones. A good example of a humid subtropical climate is
the southeastern USA.
Marine climates are found on the western coasts of continents. They have a
humid climate with short dry summer. Heavy precipitation occurs during the
mild winters because of the continuous presence of mid-latitude cyclones.
Mediterranean climates receive rain primarily during winter season from the
mid-latitude cyclone. Extreme summer aridity is caused by the sinking air of
the subtropical highs and may exist for up to 5 months. Locations in North
America are from Portland, Oregon to all of California.
4. Moist Continental Mid-latitude Climates (D): Moist continental mid-latitude
climates have warm to cool summers and cold winters. The location of these
climates is pole ward of the C climates. The average temperature of the
warmest month is greater than 10° Celsius, while the coldest month is less than
-3° Celsius. Winters are severe with snowstorms, strong winds, and bitter cold
from Continental Polar or Arctic air masses. Like the C climates there are three
minor types: Dry winters; Dry summers; and Wet all seasons.
5. Polar Climates (E)
Polar climates have year-round cold temperatures with the warmest month
less than 10° Celsius. Polar climates are found on the northern coastal areas
of North America, Europe, Asia, and on the landmasses of Greenland and
Antarctica. Two minor climate types exist.
➢ Polar tundra is a climate where the soil is permanently frozen to depths of
hundreds of meters, a condition known as permafrost. Vegetation is
dominated by mosses, lichens, dwarf trees and scattered woody shrubs.
➢ Polar ice caps have a surface that is permanently covered with snow and
ice.

B. Thornwaith’s methods of climatic classification
In 1931 Thornthwaite devised a complex and empirical classification, which is
very close to Koppen's scheme. It also attempts to define climatic boundaries
quantitatively and is based on plant associations. However, Thornthwaite's
classification is based on precipitation effectiveness and thermal efficiency
(temperature efficiency). Under this classification climatic types were
subdivided by the use of a term to denote the seasonal distribution of
precipitation. The climatic types and their boundaries were defined
empirically by observing the characteristics of natural vegetation, soil, and
the drainage pattern.
Thornthwaite established the fact that not only the amount of precipitation,
but the rate of evaporation as well is significant for the growth of natural
vegetation. Thus, besides the precipitation amount and the evaporation rate,
temperature was made a very important basis for Thornthwaite's climatic
classification. An expression for precipitation efficiency was obtained by
relating measurements of pan evaporation to temperature and precipitation.
For each month the ratio 11.5 (rt-10)10/9 where r = mean monthly rainfall (in
inches) t = mean monthly temperature (in °F) is calculated.
The sum of the 12 monthly ratios gives the precipitation effectiveness (also
called precipitation efficiency) index. In other words, the effectiveness of
precipitation is taken to be a function of precipitation and evaporation and is
calculated by dividing the monthly precipitation by the monthly evaporation to
get the P/E ratio (precipitation effectiveness ratio).
On the basis of P/E indices and boundary values for the major vegetation
regions, five humidity provinces were defined. Main Climatic groups based on
precipitation effectiveness.

Humidity Province Vegetation P/E Index
A (Wet) Rain Forest 127
B (Humid) Forest 64-127
C (Sub humid) Grassland 32-63
D (Semiarid) Steppe 16-31
E (Arid) Desert 16
Thornthwaite introduced an index of thermal efficiency which is expressed
by the positive departure of monthly mean temperatures from the freezing
point. The index is thus the annual sum of (t-32)/4 for each month. In other
words, the sum of twelve monthly temperature-efficiency ratios (T/E) gives a
T/E index. Again, the world was divided into 6 temperature provinces on the
basis of T/E index. Main Climatic groups based on thermal efficiency
Temperature Province T/E index
A-Tropical 127
B-Mesothermal 64-127
C-Microthermal 32-63
D-Taiga 16-31
E-Tundra 1-15
F-Frost 0
T/E Index-sum of 12 monthly values of (T-32)14, where T is mean monthly
temp in °F.
C. FAO global ecological Zoning framework for 2010
Criteria: (Approximate equivalent of Köppen – Trewartha Climatic types, in
combination with vegetation physiognomy and one orographic zone within each
domain).
1, Tropical: All months without frost: in marine areas over 18°C.

➢Tropical rain forest: Wet: 0 – 3 months dry, during winter.
➢Tropical moist deciduous forest: Wet/dry: 3 – 5 months dry, during winter.
➢Tropical dry forest: Dry/wet: 5 – 8 months dry, during winter.
➢Tropical shrub land: Semi-Arid: Evaporation > Precipitation.
➢Tropical desert: Arid: All months dry.
➢Tropical mountain systems: Approximate > 1000 m altitude (local variations).
2, Subtropical: Eight months or more over 10°C.
➢ Subtropical humid forest: Humid: No dry season.
➢ Subtropical dry forest: Seasonally Dry: Winter rains, dry summer.
➢ Subtropical steppe: Semi-Arid: Evaporation > Precipitation.
➢ Subtropical desert: Arid, All months dry.
➢ Subtropical mountain systems: Approximate > 800-1000 m altitude.
3, Temperate: Four to eight months over 10°C.
➢Temperate oceanic forest: Oceanic climate: coldest month over 0°C.
➢Temperate continental forest: Continental climate: coldest month under 0°C
➢Temperate steppe: Semi-Arid: Evaporation > Precipitation.
➢Temperate desert: Arid: All months dry.
➢Temperate mountain systems: Approximate > 800 m altitude.
4, Boreal: Up to 3 months over 10°C.
➢ Boreal coniferous forest: Vegetation physiognomy: coniferous dense forest
dominant.
➢ Boreal tundra woodland: Vegetation physiognomy: woodland and sparse
forest dominant.
➢ Boreal mountain systems: Approximate > 600 m altitude.
5, Polar: All months below 10°C.

CHAPTER TWO
2. Agro-ecology and its approach
2.1. The science of agro-ecology as a solution for the
environmental problems
From a management perspective, the agro-ecological objective is to provide
balanced environments, sustained yields, biologically mediated soil fertility
and natural pest regulation through the design of diversified agro-ecosystems
and the use of low-input technologies. Agro-ecologists are now recognizing
that intercropping, agro forestry and other diversification methods mimic
natural ecological processes, and that the sustainability of complex agro
ecosystems lies in the ecological models they follow. By designing farming
systems that mimic nature, optimal use can be made of sunlight, soil nutrients
and rainfall.
Agro-ecological management must lead management to optimal recycling of
nutrients and organic matter turnover, closed energy flows, water and soil
conservation and balance pest-natural enemy populations. The strategy
exploits the complementarities and synergisms that result from the various
combinations of crops, tree and animals in spatial and temporal arrangements.
In essence, the optimal behavior of agro-ecosystems depends on the level of
interactions between the various biotic and abiotic components. By assembling
a functional biodiversity, it is possible to initiate synergisms which subsidize
agro-ecosystem processes by providing ecological services such as the
activation of soil biology, the recycling of nutrients, the enhancement of
beneficial arthropods and antagonists, and so on. Today there is a diverse
selection of practices and technologies available, and which vary in

effectiveness as well as in strategic value. Key practices are those of a
preventative nature and which act by reinforcing the "immunity" of the agro-
ecosystem through a series of mechanisms.
Various strategies to restore agricultural diversity in time and space include
crop rotations, cover crops, intercropping, crop/livestock mixtures, and so on,
which exhibit the following ecological features:
➢ Crop Rotations: Temporal diversity incorporated into cropping systems,
providing crop nutrients and breaking the life cycles of several insect pests,
diseases, and weed life cycles.
➢ Poly cultures: Complex cropping systems in which two or more crop species
are planted within sufficient spatial proximity to result in competition or
complementation, thus enhancing yields.
➢ Agro forestry Systems: An agricultural system where trees are grown
together with annual crops and/or animals, resulting in enhanced
complementary relations between components increasing multiple use of the
agro ecosystem.
➢ Cover Crops: The use of pure or mixed stands of legumes or other annual
plant species; under fruit trees for the purpose of improving soil fertility,
enhancing biological control of pests and modifying the microclimate.
➢ Animal integration in agro-ecosystems aids in achieving high biomass output
and optimal recycling.
All of the above diversified forms of agro-ecosystems share in common the
following features.
✓ Maintain vegetative cover as an effective soil and water conserving measure,
met through the use of no-till practices, mulch farming, and use of cover
crops and other appropriate methods.

✓ Provide a regular supply of organic matter through the addition of organic
matter (manure, compost, and promotion of soil biotic activity).
✓ Enhance nutrient recycling mechanisms.
✓ Promote pest regulation through enhanced activity of biological control
agents achieved by introducing and/or conserving natural enemies and
antagonists.
Research on diversified cropping systems underscores the great importance
of diversity in an agricultural setting. Diversity is of value in agro-ecosystems
for a variety of reasons (Altieri 1994, Gliessman 1998):
❖ As diversity increases, so do opportunities for coexistence and beneficial
interactions between species that can enhance agro-ecosystem
sustainability.
❖ Greater diversity often allows better resource-use efficiency in an agro-
ecosystem. There is better system-level adaptation to habitat
heterogeneity, leading to complementarities in crop species needs,
diversification of niches, overlap of species niches, and partitioning of
resources.
❖ Ecosystems in which plant species are intermingled possess an associated
resistance to herbivores as in diverse systems there is a greater
abundance and diversity of natural enemies of pest insects keeping in check
the populations of individual herbivore species.
❖ A diverse crop assemblage can create a diversity of microclimates within
the cropping system that can be occupied by a range of non-crop organisms
- including beneficial predators, parasites, pollinators, soil fauna and
antagonists - that are of importance for the entire system.

❖ Diversity in the agricultural landscape can contribute to the conservation
of biodiversity in surrounding natural ecosystems.
❖ Diversity in the soil performs a variety of ecological services such as
nutrient recycling and detoxification of noxious chemicals and regulation of
plant growth.
❖ Diversity reduces risk for farmers, especially in marginal areas with more
unpredictable environmental conditions. If one crop does not do well,
income from others can compensate.
Agricultural systems have the potential to improve the environment, to be the
custodians of critical aspects of farm genetic diversity needed for future
agricultural improvement programs around the world, and to host vast
populations of wild biodiversity. Yet our production systems have not been
developed to do so, in recent history. While modern agriculture has brought
vast increases in productivity to the world’s farming systems, it is widely
recognized that much of this may have come at the price of sustainability.
The bountiful yields of modern agriculture have been “purchased” with high
levels of nonrenewable and often toxic inputs such as fossil fuels, inorganic
fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. In developing countries, these inputs
are often imported and strain the importing country’s balance of payments.
Often, purchased inputs are used primarily on export crops, and do not
improve local food security.
How does this relate to biodiversity? We know that conventional agricultural
practices displace nature. Instead of letting the ecosystem control itself,
control comes from outside. Industrially-produced fertilizer substitutes for
relationships between plants and nitrogen- fixing bacteria, overriding rather

than working with agro-ecosystems. Pesticides and insecticides replace
equilibrating mechanisms such as pest and insect predators.
The main social and ecological costs associated with industrial agriculture:
➢ Loss of vegetal and animal genetic diversity, notably due to deforestation,
the standardization of farming systems or the elimination of beneficial
organisms resulting from the use of synthetic pesticides;
➢ Soil degradation, resulting for example from their overexploitation and the
use of synthetic inputs;
➢ Water pollution and depletion of water resources, for example due to water
contamination by nitrate contained in inorganic fertilizers, and excessive
groundwater withdrawals due to inadequate irrigation techniques such as
deep tube-well irrigation;
➢ Increased vulnerability to pest, disease outbreaks and related economic
losses;
➢ Adverse impacts on farmers and/or consumers health, due to pesticides’
intrinsic toxicity, combined with unsafe conditions of use (lack of adequate
equipment of protection and/or unsafe storage conditions), and/or excessive
concentration of their residues in food products.
➢ Increased indebtedness induced by various factors including farmers’
growing expenses related to the use of pesticides (notably due to the use of
their increased quantities as a consequence of pests’ resistance dev’t).
➢ Significant contribution to climate change and increased vulnerability to its
impacts. The use of huge amounts of chemical fertilizers, the expansion of
the industrial meat industry, and the ploughing under of the world’s
savannahs and forests to grow agricultural commodities are together
responsible for global greenhouse-gas emissions that cause climate change.

➢ Industrial agriculture has particularly badly affected women. As the main
food producers and caregivers in most communities in developing countries,
they are most affected where there is erosion of biodiversity.
Environmental degradation impacts their daily life, for example by forcing
them to walk long distances for water because of water scarcity. Higher
exposure of women to health problems resulting from the use of synthetic
pesticides is another example. They are often the ones that are assigned
these hazardous tasks, and are therefore particularly affected. Weight
gain, lack of energy, falling air, obstructive pulmonary diseases, Leukemia in
children, Parkinson’s disease are a few examples of health risks women
commonly confront.
Agro-ecology as an alternative path to industrialized agriculture
But it is equally possible to reverse this approach, to find the ways and means
to restore and build on the resilience and strength of the agro-ecosystem in
the struggle to fight pests, diseases or soil deficiencies, or to augment crop
yields through pollination. The component of agro biodiversity which we call
“agricultural ecosystem services” is a potent tool to be encouraged and
fostered. Agro biodiversity can be used to re-establish natural balances in
farming systems with healthier environments, a more rational use of
resources, and a greater dependence on internal rather than purchased
controls. And to do this, the primary technique is “bio diversification” of agro
ecosystems, to evoke self-regulation and sustainability.
Key principles for the conservation of agricultural ecosystem services are:
➢ It is important that everyone- farmers and policymakers both- understand
the concept that agricultural ecosystem services can sustain themselves
with proper design.

➢ Ecosystem services have the potential to reduce both off-site inputs and on-
and off-site pollution.
➢ Promoting identification and taxonomy is necessary.
➢ Assessment of risks over time, relative dependence, and sustainable
livelihoods are critical issues for agricultural biodiversity, and need to be in
appropriate balance.
➢ Policy makers are biased toward large scale plans, whereas much of agro
biodiversity is fine-scaled.
➢ Costs and benefits of agro biodiversity goods and services need to be
identified.
➢ Costs and benefits need to be distributed on the basis of careful
assessment of possible trade-offs, paying attention to incentives and
subsidies, and making them appropriate.
➢ Creating popular awareness and education is necessary for change.
➢ It is necessary to enhance capacity for adaptation to change.
Agro-ecology as a science
As a first step, agro-ecology developed through an attempt to integrate the
principles of ecology to the redefinition of agronomy. The term was first used
in two scientific publications by Bensin (1928, 1930), a Russian agronomist,
for describing the use of ecological methods in research on commercial crop
plants. In 1965, in what is probably the first book titled ‘agro ecology’, the
German ecologist/zoologist Tischler analyzed the different components such
as plants, animals, soils, and climate, and their interactions within an agro
ecosystem as well as the impact of human agricultural management on these
components, thus applying an approach combining ecology, especially the

interactions among biological components at the field or agro-ecosystem level,
and agronomy with a focus on the integration of agricultural management.
Today’s most frequent benchmark definition of agro-ecology as a science
combining ecology and agronomy has been established by Altieri, entomologist
from University of California Berkeley. He defines agro-ecology as “the
application of ecological science to the study, design, and management of
sustainable agriculture” (Altieri, 1995). Focused on the analysis of agro-
ecosystems (communities of plants and animals interacting with their physical
and chemical environments), agro-ecology hence aims at producing knowledge
and practices which provide the means to make agriculture more sustainable.
Put crudely, as a scientific discipline, agro ecology can be understood as “the
science behind sustainable agriculture” (PANNA, 2009), or the science of
sustainable agriculture.
But while this definition remains widely used, since the 1930’s the scope and
nature of agro-ecology as a scientific discipline have broadened considerably,
moving beyond the level of agro-ecosystems towards a larger focus on the
whole food system (defined as a global network of food production,
distribution and consumption), and developing a trans disciplinary approach,
thus no more exclusively based on biotechnical sciences but also applying
social sciences (Wezel et al., 2009; Schaller, 2013). This evolution can be well
illustrated for example by Francis et al. (2003), who defined agro-ecology as
“the integrative study of the ecology of the entire food systems,
encompassing ecological, economic and social dimensions, or more simply the
ecology of food systems” (Wezel et al., 2009). As a scientific discipline, agro-
ecology is increasingly considered as the science of sustainable food systems.

Agro-ecology as an agricultural approach
Since the 1970s, agro-ecology no longer referred simply to a scientific
discipline or research area, but also to farming practices and a number of
collective mobilizations (mainly in response to the Green Revolution). In terms
of farming systems, agro-ecology could be synthetically defined as a holistic
approach consisting in seeking to make agro-ecosystems economically,
ecologically and socially more sustainable by realizing key agro-ecological
principles (that are precisely understood as those which form the basis of
agricultural sustainability as explained above) for meeting local needs.
Agro-ecological farming indeed promotes community-oriented approaches
that look after the subsistence needs of its members & very much privileges
the local: providing for local markets that shorten the circuits of food
production and consumption, simultaneously avoiding the high energy needs of
‘long-distance food’. It also seeks to increase resilience. Usually defined as
the propensity of a system to retain its organizational structure and
productivity following perturbation, resilience is a constant preoccupation of
agro-ecology. Realizing agro-ecological principles consists primarily in
mimicking natural processes, thus creating beneficial biological interactions
and synergies among the components of the Agro-ecosystem through multiple,
context-specific combinations of strategies and practices that are designed,
applied and managed primarily by farmers themselves, building first and
foremost on their traditional knowledge and know-how.
One fundamental feature of agro-ecology as a holistic agricultural transition
process is the systematic search for the best combinations of techniques and
strategies, instead of relying on a few standardized best practices, for
optimizing sustainability performances of farming systems. The challenge is

to identify the most efficient socio-technical arrangements in heterogeneous
environments, the right combinations of practices that will best allow for
realizing agro-ecological principles. Those combinations will necessarily vary
from one context to another, since each context has its own characteristics
and therefore its own conditions to achieve sustainability. This is one of the
reasons why, while some types of practices have been typically described as
agro-ecological, agro-ecological farming cannot be reduced to a ‘catalogue of
techniques’, whose standardized application would automatically bring
sustainability. Agricultural sustainability does not depend on the intrinsic
characteristics of a few magic bullet solutions that would be independent
from the environment to which they apply. It relies on the quality of complex
interactions that result from an entire package, adequate combination of
various practices whose operationalization in particular circumstances will
necessarily have to change depending on each context.
Types of practices typically promoted as agro-ecological
Jules Pretty (2008), from University of Essex in the United Kingdom (UK),
has highlighted seven agro-ecological practices and resource-conserving
technologies:
1. Integrated pest management (IPM), which uses ecosystem resilience and
diversity for pest, disease and weed control, and seeks only to use pesticides
when other options are ineffective.
2. Integrated nutrient management, which seeks both to balance the need to
fix nitrogen within farm systems with the need to import inorganic and
organic sources of nutrients, and to reduce nutrient losses through erosion
control.

3. Conservation tillage, which reduces the amount of tillage, sometimes to zero,
so that soil can be conserved and available moisture used more efficiently.
4. Agro forestry, which incorporates multifunctional trees into agricultural
systems, and collective management of nearby forest resources.
5. Aquaculture, which incorporates fish, shrimps and other aquatic resources
into farm systems, such as into irrigated rice fields and fishponds, and so
leads to increases in protein production.
6. Water harvesting in dry land areas, which can mean formerly abandoned and
degraded lands can be cultivated and additional crops grown on small patches
of irrigated land owing to better rainwater retention.
7. Livestock integration into farming systems, such as dairy cattle, pigs, and
poultry, including using zero-grazing cut and carry systems.
Applying a bottom-up, farmer-led approach
While the Green Revolution model has favored a top-down approach which
tends to reduce peasants to no-choice passive recipients of technology
received from extension agents or inputs suppliers, agro-ecological transition
requires bottom-up processes in which farmers take the front seat.
Conventional top-down extension can be demobilizing for farmers, as technical
experts have all too often had the objective of replacing peasant knowledge
with purchased chemical inputs, seeds and machinery. On the contrary, agro
ecological farming is highly knowledge-intensive and based on techniques that
are not delivered top-down but developed on the basis on farmer’s knowledge,
experimentation and innovation.

Traditional knowledge helps adaptation in agriculture in the following ways:
➢ Resilient properties: Traditional farmers often live on marginal land where
climate change impacts and selection pressures are greatest. This enables
them to identify resilient crop species and varieties for adaptation.
➢ Plant breeding: Traditional farmers – particularly women and the old – are
active plant breeders, conserving local landraces and selecting seeds for
preferred and adaptive characteristics over generations. Some innovative
farmers cross lines for crop improvement.
➢ Wild crop relatives: Local communities often draw on wild areas for crop
improvement and domestication as well as to supplement their diet and
provide food when crops fail.
➢ Farming practices: Traditional farming practices – from water, soil or pest
management to erosion control and land restoration – conserve key resources
for resilience and adaptation, such as biodiversity, water, soil and nutrients.
➢ Climate forecasting: Traditional knowledge can help forecast local weather,
predict extreme events and provide accessible information to farmers at a
local scale. Traditional farmers can also monitor climate change in specific
locations and fill the resolution gap of scientific models.
According to GRAIN (2009): some practices for reducing GHG emissions and
increasing carbon sequestration:
➢ By using agro-ecological practices to rebuild the organic matter in soils lost
from industrial agriculture, sequestration equivalent to 20–35% of current
GHG emissions can be achieved;
➢ By stopping land clearing and deforestation for plantations, total GHG
emissions can be reduced by 15–18%.

➢ By distributing food mainly through local markets instead of transnational
food chains, total GHG emissions can be reduced by 10–12%; by
decentralizing livestock farming and integrating it with crop production,
total GHG emissions can be reduced by 5–9%.
Brought together, these measures would lead to reduction and sequestration
of one-half to three fourths of current global GHG emissions.
Agro-ecology and sustainable agro-ecosystem
What is sustainability?
➢ The word "sustain," from the Latin sustinere (sus-, from below and tenere,
to hold), to keep in existence or maintain, implies long-term support or
permanence.
What is sustainable agriculture?
➢ A farm system that mimics as closely as possible the complexity of a healthy
and natural ecosystem.
➢ Goals include:
✓ Providing a more profitable farm income.
✓ Promoting environmental stewardship.
✓ Promoting stable, prosperous farm families and communities.
Sustainable Agriculture:
➢ Reduces inputs.
➢ Uses ecological pest and weed management strategies.
➢ Cycles nutrients back into the soil for fertility and health.
➢ Strengthens rural and urban communities.
➢ Produces viable farm income.
➢ Promotes healthy family and social values.
➢ Brings the consumer back into agriculture.

Sustainable describes farming systems that are "capable of maintaining their
productivity and usefulness to society indefinitely.
Types of Sustainable Farming
➢ Organic farming
➢ Biodynamic
➢ Permaculture
➢ Agro ecological Systems
➢ Low-input
Environmental Sustainability
➢ Sustainable agriculture can be viewed as management of a production system
where there is a multitude of complex interactions occurring between soil,
water, plants, animals, climate and people.
➢ The GOAL is to integrate all these components into a solid production
system that benefits all participants.
➢ Farms stay environmentally sustainable by mimicking natural processes and
ecosystem function.
➢ Diversifying our farms with various enterprises, both animals and crops, we
manage risks a whole lot better.
Farm as an Ecosystem: Energy Flow
➢ Energy flow is the pathway of sunlight through a biological system.
➢ In relation to the farm, energy capture is enhanced by maximizing the leaf
area available for photosynthesis and by cycling the stored energy through
the food chain.
➢ We make money in farming by capturing sunlight – in essence; we are
farming the sun (and the soil).

Farm as an Ecosystem: Water Cycle
➢ An effective water cycle includes: no soil erosion, fast water entry into the
soil and the soil’s ability to store water.
➢ Management decisions on the farm that add to ground cover and soil organic
matter only enhance the natural water cycle.
➢ Effective water use on the farm results in low surface runoff, low soil
surface evaporation, low drought incidence, low flood incidence, high
transpiration by plants & high seepage of water to underground reservoirs.
Farm as an Ecosystem: Mineral Cycle
➢ In nature, minerals needed for plant and animal growth are continuously
being recycled through the ecosystem.
➢ An effective mineral cycle is one where there is a movement of nutrients
from the soil to crops and animals and then back to the soil, basically a circle
of nutrient renewal.
➢ Ways to enhance this cycle on the farm include: on-farm feeding of
livestock, careful management of manure and crop residues, and practices
that prevent erosion.
Farm as an Ecosystem: Biodiversity
➢ A farm will be dynamic and healthy if it has a high diversity of plants and
animals (above ground and below).
➢ Greater diversity = greater stability.
Bringing It All Together: Integrated Farming Systems
Goal is to find and adopt "integrated and resource-efficient crop and
livestock systems that maintain productivity, that are profitable, and that
protect the environment and the personal health of farmers and their

families," as well as "overcoming the barriers to adoption of more sustainable
agricultural systems.
The promotion of sustainable agriculture is aiming at creating a form of agriculture
that maintains productivity in long term by:
➢ Optimizing the use of locally available resources by combining the different
components of farm systems.
➢ Reducing the use of off-farm, external and non-renewable inputs with great
potential not to damage the environment or harm the health of farmers and
consumers, and a more targeted use of the remaining inputs and with a view
of minimizing the variable costs.
➢ Relying mainly on resources within the agro-ecosystem by replacing external
inputs with nutrient cycling, better conservation, and an expanded use of
local resources.
➢ Improving the match between cropping patterns and the productive
potential and environmental constraints of climate and landscape to ensure
long-term sustainability of current production level.
➢ Working to value and concern biological diversity and making optimum use of
the biological and genetic potential of plants and animals species.
➢ Making full advantage of local knowledge and practices including innovation
approaches not yet fully understood by scientists although widely adopted
by farmers.
The ultimate goal of agro-ecological design is to integrate components so that:
➢ Overall biological efficiency is improved,
➢ Biodiversity is preserved,
➢ Agro-ecosystem productivity and its self-regulating capacity are maintained.

Ecological processes to optimize agro ecosystem:
➢ Strengthen the immune system, eg: functioning of natural pest control;
➢ Decrease toxicity through elimination of agro-chemicals;
➢ Optimizing metabolic functioning/organic matter decomposition;
➢ Balance regulatory systems, for instance, nutrient cycle, water balance,
energy flow, and population regulation;
➢ Enhance conservation & regeneration of soil/water resources & biodiversity;
➢ Increase and sustain long term productivity.
On the other hand, mechanisms to improve agro-ecosystem’s immunity include:
➢ Increase of plant species genetic diversity in time and space;
➢ Enhancement of functional biodiversity;
➢ Increment of soil organic matter and biological activities
➢ boosting up of soil cover and crop competitive ability;
➢ Elimination of toxic inputs and residual
Most people involved in the promotion of sustainable agriculture aim at
creating a form of agriculture that maintains productivity in the long term by
(Vandermeer 1995):
➢ optimizing the use of locally available resources by combining the different
components of the farm system, i.e. plants, animals, soil, water, climate and
people, so that they complement each other and have the greatest possible
synergetic effects;
➢ reducing the use of off-farm, external and non-renewable inputs with the
greatest potential to damage the environment or harm the health of
farmers and consumers, and a more targeted use of the remaining inputs
used with a view to minimizing variable costs;

➢ relying mainly on resources within the agro ecosystem by replacing external
inputs with nutrient cycling, better conservation, and an expanded use of
local resources;
➢ improving the match between cropping patterns and the productive potential
and environmental constraints of climate and landscape to ensure long-term
sustainability of current production levels;
➢ working to value and conserve biological diversity, both in the wild and in
domesticated landscapes, and making optimal use of the biological and
genetic potential of plant and animal species; and
➢ Taking full advantage of local knowledge & practices, including innovative
approaches not yet fully understood by scientists / adopted by farmers.
Agro-ecology provides the knowledge and methodology necessary for
developing an agriculture that is on the one hand environmentally sound and on
the other hand highly productive, socially equitable and economically viable.
Through the application of agro-ecological principles, the basic challenge for
sustainable agriculture to make better use of internal resources can be easily
achieved by minimizing the external inputs used, & preferably by regenerating
internal resources more effectively through diversification strategies that
enhance synergisms among key components of the agro-ecosystem.
The ultimate goal of agro-ecological design is to integrate components so that
overall biological efficiency is improved, biodiversity is preserved, and the
agro-ecosystem productivity and its self-regulating capacity are maintained.
The goal is to design an agro ecosystem that mimics the structure and
function of local natural ecosystems; that is, a system with high species
diversity and a biologically active soil, one that promotes natural pest control,
nutrient recycling and high soil cover to prevent resource losses.

CHAPTER THREE
3. Agro-ecological zones of Ethiopia
3.1. Agro-ecological zonation

Agro-ecological zonation can be defined as a spatial classification of the
landscape into area units with “similar” agricultural and ecological
characteristics.
3.2. Attributes of Agro-ecological zonation

There are attributes of such units which determine similarities, such as:
Comparable agro climatic conditions for annual cropping, perennial
crops, or agroforestry,
Similar conditions for livestock raising,
Comparable land resource conditions such as soil, water or vegetative
parameters, or
Similar land management conditions such as raggedness of agricultural
land, slope steepness, or topography in general.
3.3. The purpose of Agro-ecological zonation

Such attributes of units determining similarities can further be distinguished
according to actual or potential conditions. The former may be used for
determining actual agro-ecological differentiation of farming systems as they
persist today. Potential similarities, on the other hand, are concerned more
with the assessment of general land capability/suitability for specific crops.
Usually, agro-ecological zonation is used to improve the planning of
agricultural development, be it in the field of forestry, field cropping, or for
livestock management and improvement. Ecological conditions usually relate to
climatic parameters, such as amount of rainfall, rainfall variability,

temperature or frost hazard, vegetation characteristics (types and
composition), whether natural or man-made vegetation, and finally, soil and
water characteristics which are further important parameters that permit
ecological differentiation. In mountainous countries the topography, in
particular altitude, steepness and slope characteristics play an important role
in agro-ecological zonation.
In Ethiopia, where the most pronounced mountain system in Africa is found,
altitudinal gradients and variability have been recognized as primordial
parameters for agro-ecological zonation. Usually, when it comes to the
vertical zonation of major agro-ecological characteristics in mountains, the
term “belt” is used to indicate these altitudinal variations. Altitudinal belt
assessments were introduced about 200 years ago. The method was first
applied in Latin America through the expeditions of Alexander von Humboldt
(1769 – 1859) in the early years of the 19th Century. Von Humboldt observed
distinct vegetation belts when leading a bio geographical expedition along the
north-south extension of the Andean Mountains, between 10° N and 10° S.
There, distinct vegetation belts could be differentiated from field
observations. Much of this historic methodology was re-used and applied to a
large spatial unit in the case of the map on agro-ecological belts of Ethiopia.

3.4 Traditional Agro-ecological Zones /altitudinal belts
The Traditional Agro-ecological Zones indicate major physical conditions that
are grouped into relatively homogenous area having similar agricultural land
uses. Under Ethiopian conditions elevation has a strong influence on
temperature and rainfall. Therefore, this parameter (elevation) is the basis
for traditional agro-ecological divisions. These different zones are:
➢ Bereha; Hot & hyper-arid (hot lowlands, <500m, In the arid east, crop
production is very limited , in the humid west root crops & maize are largely
grown).
➢ Kolla; Warm, semi-arid lowlands (lowlands, 500 - 1,500, sorghum, finger
millet, sesame, cowpeas, groundnuts).
➢ Woina Dega; Temperate, cool sub-humid, highlands (midlands, 1,500 - 2,300,
wheat, Teff, barley, maize, sorghum, chickpeas, haricot beans).
➢ Dega; Cool, humid, highlands (highlands, 2,300 - 3,200, barley, wheat,
highland oilseeds, highland pulses).
➢ Wurch; Cold highlands (highlands, 3,200 - 3,700, barley is common)
➢ Kur; (highland, >3,700, primarily for grazing).
Because of the importance of altitude in mountain systems, Ethiopian land
users have traditionally classified their environment in relation to topography.
This traditional denomination is a relative one, although it has some absolute
characteristics. Early travellers, such as James Bruce in 1768-1773, used the
term 'Kolla' for the 'hottest part of Ethiopia'.
Later on, scientists confirmed this traditional Ethiopian zonation and added a
further zone at high altitudes, called ‘Wurch’. That this classification is
relative can be confirmed by many examples. In the Simen Mountains, a high

altitude area of Northern Ethiopia with the country’s highest peak, Ras
Dejen, farmers who are living at elevations above 3000 m a.s.l. would say that
land users below them live in the Kolla belt, although these villages are as high
up as 2800 m a.s.l. In a ‘normal’ situation in other parts of the highlands, an
altitude of 2800 m a.s.l. would itself be called Dega.
In the Wurch zone, usually no rain fed crops would be expected to grow.
There, frost is a frequent phenomenon, and afroalpine grasslands are the
dominant land use type if altitudes are not too high even for these perennial
or annual grasses. The Dega zone usually is a zone where crops such as barley,
wheat, and pulses are grown. However, no teff and maize would be expected
to grow in this belt. Within the Dega, a differentiation can be made between
the High Dega belt, where only barley and sometimes potatoes are grown, but
no wheat and pulses, and a Lower Dega or "Dega proper" belt, which would
additionally allow for wheat and pulses, but still be an area with relatively cold
climatic conditions and no teff or maize grown.
The most dominant Ethiopian agricultural belt is called Weyna Dega. All major
rain fed crops can be grown in most parts of this belt, particularly teff and
maize. This is a belt where both agro-climatic as well as ecological conditions
are highly suitable for rain fed farming. The lower part of the Weyna Dega is
also suitable for cash crops such as coffee and tea, or for inset, another
major staple crop of southwestern & southern Ethiopia. The Weyna Dega belt
usually has sufficient rainfall, allowing at least one cropping season per year.
Below theWeyna Dega belt there is the Kolla belt, where there are moisture
limitations for crops such as maize, potatoes, wheat and pulses. However,
sorghum is a dominant crop in the Kolla belt, and teff and maize will also be
grown there if rainfall permits.

It is a belt where temperature conditions are much warmer than in the
highlands, and where there is higher rainfall variability and recurring drought
conditions. Below the Kolla is the Berha Belt, where no rain fed cultivation is
normally possible. Hot temperatures and persistent drought render the area
unsuitable for rain fed agriculture, although large-scale irrigation systems
along major rivers have been developed in some parts of Ethiopia, particularly
along the Awash River.
The country has very diversified agro-ecologies that are may be difficult to
correctly describe. Hence, most recently the agro-ecology of the country has
been divided into 33 major zones. Generally, crop distribution is mosaic in
Ethiopia. Some crops are found within several zones while others are
restricted to only one or two agro-ecological zones. In this recent
classification, length of crop growing period (LGP) was taken into account.

CHAPTER FOUR
4. Major Categories of Farming System
The major farming systems provide a useful framework within which
appropriate agricultural development strategies and interventions can be
determined. The decision to adopt very broad farming systems inevitably
results in a considerable degree of heterogeneity within any single system.
However, the alternative of identifying numerous, discrete, micro-level
farming systems in each developing country which could result in hundreds or
even thousands of systems worldwide would complicate the interpretation of
appropriate regional and global strategic responses and detract from the
overall impact of the analysis. Only the major farming systems have,
therefore, been identified and then mapped in order to estimate the
magnitudes of their populations and resource bases. Each of these broad
systems is characterized by a typical farm type or household livelihood
pattern, although significant sub-types are described where appropriate.
The classification of the farming systems has been based on the following
criteria:
➢ Available natural resource base, including water, land, grazing areas and
forest; climate, of which altitude is one important determinant; landscape,
including slope; farm size, tenure and organization; and
➢ Dominant pattern of farm activities and household livelihoods, including
field crops, livestock, trees, aquaculture, hunting and gathering, processing
and off-farm activities; and taking into account the main technologies used,
which determine the intensity of production and integration of crops,
livestock and other activities.

Based on these criteria, the following broad categories of farming system
have been distinguished:
➢ Irrigated farming systems, embracing a broad range of food and cash crop
production;
➢ Wetland rice based farming systems, dependent upon monsoon rains
supplemented by irrigation;
➢ Rain fed farming systems in humid areas of high resource potential,
characterized by a crop activity (notably root crops, cereals, industrial tree
crops – both small scale and plantation – and commercial horticulture) or
mixed crop-livestock systems;
➢ Rain fed farming systems in steep and highland areas, which are often
mixed crop-livestock systems;
➢ Rain fed farming systems in dry or cold low potential areas, with mixed
crop-livestock and pastoral systems merging into sparse and often dispersed
systems with very low current productivity or potential because of extreme
aridity or cold;
➢ Dualistic (mixed large commercial and small holder) farming systems,
across a variety of ecologies and with diverse production patterns;
➢ Coastal artisanal fishing, often mixed farming systems; and
➢ Urban based farming systems, typically focused on horticultural and
livestock production.
There is also key distinguishing attributes, notably:
(i) water resource availability, e.g. irrigated, rain fed, moist, dry;
(ii) climate, e.g. tropical, temperate, cold;
(iii) landscape relief/altitude, e.g. highland, lowland;
(iv) farm size, e.g. large scale;

(v) production intensity, e.g. intensive, extensive, sparse;
(vi) Dominant livelihood source, e.g. root crop, maize, tree crop, artisanal
fishing, pastoral;
(vii) Dual crop livelihoods, e.g. cereal-root, rice-wheat (note that crop-
livestock integration is denoted by the term mixed); and
(viii) Location, e.g. forest based, coastal, urban based.
There is also specific classification of farming system
Farm as a unit transfers input into agricultural output and which undergoes
changes over time. In the process of adapting cropping patterns and farming
techniques to the natural, economic and socio-political conditions of each
location and the aims of the farmers, distinct farming systems are developed.
For the purpose of agricultural development it is advisable to group farms
with similar structures into classes.
Collecting
This is the most direct method of obtaining plant products. It includes
regular and irregular harvesting of uncultivated plants. Hunting goes hand in
hand with collecting. It is still being practiced to provide additional to the
normal subsistence food supply. It is only in few cases like wild oil palm in
some parts of West Africa and gum Arabic in Sudan and wild honey in
Tanzania that collecting is a major cash earning activity.
Cultivation
This class is more important than collecting.
Classification according to type of rotation
Cultivation alternates with an uncultivated fallow which may take the
following forms:- Forest fallow made up of woody vegetation with trunks, A
bush fallow comprising of dense wood without trunks, A savannah fallow

comprising of a mixture of fire resistant trees and grasses and in which
grasses are dominant, A grass fallow comprising grass without woody
vegetation, Ley systems describes where grass is planted or establishes itself
on previously cropped land, i.e. the grass is allowed to grow for some years
and used for grazing. Wild and unregulated Ley is common in the savannah. In
regulated Ley, the swards are established during the non-cropping period.
These are rare in the tropics but are found in some highlands (Kenya) and in
Latin America. Field systems occur where arable crops follow another and
where established field are clearly separated from each other.
System with perennial crops (field and tree crops)
Classification according to the intensity of rotation between cropping and
fallow period
Considerable variation and degree of intensity exists between cropping and
fallow period within one cycle. The symbol R is the number of years of
cultivation divided by the length of the cycle of land utilization multiplied by
100. If 20% of available land in one holding is cultivated, then R is 20%, the
larger R becomes, the more stationary is farming. When is < 33%, it is
shifting cultivation: When R> 33% and< 66% it is Fallow systems: while it is
permanent cropping when R > 66%. Permanent cropping can again be classified
according to the degree of multiple cropping. An R value of 150 would indicate
that 50% of the area is carrying two crops a year and three crops a year for
a value of 300.
Classification according to water supply
This is in terms of whether it is irrigated farming or rain-fed farming.

Classification according to the cropping pattern and animal activities
This classification is according to the leading crops and livestock activities of
the holdings. Each activity has different requirements as to climate, soils,
markets and inputs e.g. coffee-banana holdings or rice-jute holdings.
Classification according to the implement used for cultivation
In different parts of the world, land is cultivated by methods that require no
implement or simple tools. In the Sahara desert nomads sow millet without
fire-farming or soil preparation, shifting cultivators frequently sow in ashes
without touching the soil. Rice growers in Thailand make use of water buffalo
to trample on moist fields. The main divisions vary from hoe-farming or spade
farming to farming with ploughs and animal traction to farming with ploughs
and tractors.
Classification according to the degree of commercialization
The 1970 World Census on Agriculture classified farms into three groups
based on the destination of the agricultural output.
1. Subsistence farming –if there is virtually no sale of crop and animal
products,
2. Partly commercialized farming-- if more than 50% of the value of the
produce is for home consumption.
3. Commercialized farming--- If more than 50% of the produce is for sale.
Classification according to grassland utilization
Low yields in grassland area of the arid and semi-arid areas necessitated
nomadic life, or semi-nomadic life, or development of ranching. Total
nomadism – the animal owner do not have a permanent place of residence.
They do not practice regular cultivation and their families move with the
heards tended by herdsmen. Semi-nomadism where the animal owners have a

semi-permanent place of residence near which supplementary irrigation is
practiced however, they travel with their herds to distant grazing areas.
Transhumance in which, farmers with a permanent place of residence send
their herds tended by herdsmen for long period of time to distant grazing
areas. Partial nomadism is characterized by farmers who live continuously in
permanent settlements with their herds remaining in the vicinity. Stationary
animal husbandry occurs where the animals remain on the holding or in the
village through the entire year.
Generally, classification of agriculture shows the contrast between different
types of farming found all over the world. Four broad types are: (a) arable;
pastoral and mixed farming; (b) subsistence and commercial farming; (c)
shifting cultivation and sedentary farming; and (d) extensive and intensive
farming. Each category as you below is comprised of sub-classes of similar
nature of contrasting characteristics. For example sub-classes in the first
classification (arable, pastoral and mixed farming) are similar in such a way
that they are producing agricultural products of crops and livestock so
grouped under one category. But what makes them different is that the first
sub-class (arable farming) is predominantly of crop production, the dominant
product of the second sub-class is livestock, while the third sub-class
combines both crop and livestock production. So the varied types of products
in each sub-class create the basis for sub-class formation.
A) Arable, Pastoral and Mixed Farming
i. Arable farming: - the growing of crop; usually on flatten lands where soils of
high quality. It has led the first permanent settlers in the Tigris-Euphrates,
Nile and Indus valleys.

ii. Pastoral farming: - is the rearing of animals usually on land, which is less
favorable to arable farming.
iii. Mixed farming: - is the growing of crops & rearing of animals together. It
is practiced on a commercial scale in developed countries and subsistence
level in developing countries.
B) Subsistence and Commercial Farming
i. Subsistence farming: - is the production of food by farmers for their own
family or the local community-there is no surplus. Farmers rarely able to
improve their product due to lack of capital, land and technology not lack of
effort or ability.
ii. Commercial farming: - it takes place on large profit making scale. Farmers
produce cash crops and seek to maximize yields/hectares. Cash crops operate
successfully where transport is well developed, domestic markets are large &
expanding and there are opportunities for international trade.
C) Shifting cultivation and sedentary farming
Shifting cultivation is now limited to a few place where there are low
population densities and a limited demand for food. However, most of the
farming systems of the world is now sedentary way of farming where farmers
remain in one place to look after their crops and rear their animals. It is a
more advance form of subsistence agriculture in tropical lowlands, where the
fallowed fields are frequently reused.
D) Extensive and Intensive cultivation
On the basis of amount of labor, capital and land involved in the farming
system, agriculture is divided in to extensive and intensive farming.

i. Intensive farming: is best defined as farming in which much capital is
expended or much labor is applied to a given area of land in order to increase
its productivity.
ii. Extensive farming: is a method of farming in which the amount of capital
and labor applied to a given area is relatively small. In contrast to intensive
farming where the aim is to get the maximum return per unit of land area,
extensive farming aims at producing the maximum product per unit of man
power. Therefore, extensive farming is carried out on large scale while
intensive farming is usually relatively on small scale.
Generally, intensive farming is practiced where land is scarce and the
population density is higher while extensive farming is practiced in the
reverse situation.
Agriculture
Agriculture is the art, science, and industry of managing the growth of
plants and animals for human use. In a broad sense agriculture includes
cultivation of the soil, growing and harvesting crops, breeding and raising
livestock, dairying, and forestry.
Evolution of agriculture
The history of agriculture may be divided into five broad periods of unequal
length, differing widely in date according to region: prehistoric, historic
through the Roman period, feudal, scientific, and industrial. A countertrend
to industrial agriculture, known as sustainable agriculture or organic farming,
may represent yet another period in agricultural history.
A. Prehistoric agriculture
As archaeologists agree early farmers were, largely of Neolithic culture.
Sites occupied by such people are located in:

➢ Southwestern Asia in what are now Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Syria, and
Turkey;
➢ Southeastern Asia, in what is now Thailand;
➢ Africa, along the Nile River in Egypt; and
➢ Europe: along the Danube River and in Macedonia, Thrace, and Thessaly.
Early centers of agriculture have also been identified in the Huang He (Yellow
River) area of China; the Indus River valley of India and Pakistan; and the
Tehuacán Valley of Mexico, northwest of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
The dates of domesticated plants and animals vary with the regions, but
most predate the 6th millennium BC, and the earliest may date from 10,000
BC. Scientists have carried out carbon-14 testing of animal and plant remains
and have dated finds of domesticated sheep at 9000 BC in northern Iraq;
cattle in the 6th millennium BC in northeastern Iran; goats at 8000 BC in
central Iran; pigs at 8000 BC in Thailand and 7000 BC in Thessaly; on agers,
or asses, at 7000 BC in Iraq; and horses around 4000 BC in central Asia.
According to carbon dating, wheat and barley were domesticated in the
Middle East in the 8th millennium BC; millet and rice in China and Southeast
Asia by 5500 BC; and squash in Mexico about 8000 BC. Legumes found in
Thessaly and Macedonia is dated as early as 6000 BC. Flax was grown and
apparently woven into textiles early in the Neolithic Period.
The period was characterized by:
➢ The transition from hunting and food gathering to dependence on food
production was gradual, and in a few isolated parts of the world this
transition has not yet been accomplished.
➢ Neolithic farmers lived in simple dwellings — caves and small houses of sun
-baked mud brick or reed and wood. These homes were grouped into small

villages or existed as single farmsteads surrounded by fields, sheltering
animals and humans in adjacent or joined buildings.
➢ In the Neolithic Period, the growth of cities such as Jericho (founded about
9000 BC) was stimulated by the production of surplus crops.
➢ Pastoralism (individual country living) may have been a later development.
Evidence indicates that mixed farming, combining cultivation of crops and
stock raising, was the most common Neolithic pattern. Nomadic herders,
however, roamed the steppes of Europe and Asia, where the horse and
camel were domesticated.
➢ The earliest tools of the farmer were made of wood and stone. They
included the stone adz, an ax -like tool with blades at right angles to the
handle, used for woodworking; the sickle or reaping knife with sharpened
stone blades, used to gather grain; the digging stick, used to plant seeds
and, with later adaptations, as a spade or hoe; and a rudimentary plow, a
modified tree branch used to scratch the surface of the soil and prepare it
for planting. The plow was later adapted for pulling by oxen.
Although Neolithic settlements were more permanent than the camps of
hunting peoples, villages had to be moved periodically in some areas when the
fields lost their fertility from continuous cropping. This was most necessary
in northern Europe, where fields were produced by the slash -and -burn
method of clearing. Settlements along the Nile River, however, were more
permanent, because the river deposited fertile silt annually from the
highlands of Ethiopia.
B. Historical Agriculture through the Roman Period
With the close of the Neolithic period and the introduction of metals, the
age of innovation in agriculture was largely over. The historical period— known

through written and pictured materials, including the Bible; Middle Eastern
records and monuments; and Chinese, Greek, and Roman writings — was
highlighted by agricultural improvements. A few high points must serve to
outline the development of worldwide agriculture in this era, roughly defined
as 2500 BC to 500 AD.
Improvements in tools and implements were particularly important. Tools
of bronze and iron were longer lasting and more efficient, and cultivation was
greatly improved by such aids as the ox-drawn plow fitted with an iron-tipped
point, noted in the 10th century BC in Palestine. In Mesopotamia in the 3 rd
millennium BC a funnel -like device was attached to the plow to aid in seeding,
and other early forms of seed drills were used in China. Threshing was also
done with animal power in Palestine and Mesopotamia, although reaping,
binding, and winnowing was still done by hand. Egypt retained hand seeding
through this period on individual farm plots and large estates alike.
Mixed farming and stock raising, which were flourishing in the British
Isles and on the continent of Europe as far north as Scandinavia at the
beginning of the historical period, already displayed a pattern that persisted
throughout the next 3,000 years. In many regions, fishing and hunting
supplemented the food grown by farmers. The Roman Empire appears to
have started as a rural agricultural society of independent farmers and
tenant was attached to the land.
C. Feudal Agriculture
The feudal period in Europe began soon after the fall of the Roman Empire,
reaching its height about AD 1100. This period was also marked by
development of the Byzantine Empire and the power of the Saracens in the

Middle East and southern Europe. Agriculture in Spain, Italy, and southern
France, in particular, was affected by events outside continental Europe.
As the Arab influence extended to Egypt and later Spain, irrigation was
extended to previously sterile or unproductive land. Rice, sugarcane,
cotton, and vegetables such as spinach and artichokes, as well as the
characteristic Spanish flavoring saffron, were produced. The silkworm was
raised and its food, the mulberry tree, was grown.
By the 12th century agriculture in the Middle East had become static, and
Mesopotamia declined to subsistence production levels when irrigation
systems were destroyed by invading Mongols. The Crusades, however,
increased European contact with Islamic lands and familiarized Western
Europe with citrus fruits and silk and cotton textiles.
➢ Under the direction of an overseer, they produced the crops, raised the
meat and draft animals, and paid taxes in services, either forced labor on
the lord’s lands and other properties or in forced military service.
➢ A large manor had a mill for grinding grain, an oven for baking bread,
fishponds, orchards, perhaps a winepress or oil press, and herb and
vegetable gardens. Bees were kept to produce honey.
➢ Woolen garments were produced from sheep raised on the manor. The wool
was spun into yarn, woven into cloth, and then sewn into clothing. Linen
textiles could also be produced from flax, which was grown for its oil and
fiber.
➢ Leather was produced from the manor’s cattle. Horses and oxen were the
beasts of burden; as heavier horses were bred and a new kind of harness
was developed, they became more important. A blacksmith, wheelwright,
and carpenter made and maintained crude agricultural tools.

In all systems, the lord’s fields and needs came first, but about three days a
week might be left for work on the family strips and garden plots.
Wood and peat for fuel were gathered from the commonly held wood lots, and
animals were pastured on village meadows. When surpluses of grain, hides, and
wool were produced, they were sent to market.
In about 1300 BC a tendency developed to enclose the common lands and to
raise sheep for their wool alone. The rise of the textile industry made sheep
raising more profitable i n England, Flanders (now in Belgium), Champagne
(France), Tuscany and Lombardy (Italy), and the Augsburg region of Germany.
At the same time, regions about the medieval towns began to specialize in
garden produce and dairy products. With the decline in the labor force, only
the best land was kept in cultivation. In southern Italy, for instance,
irrigation helped to increase production on the more fertile soils. The
emphasis on grain was replaced by diversification, and items requiring more
care were produced, such as wine, oil, cheese, butter, and vegetables.
D. Scientific Agriculture
By the 16th century, population was increasing in Europe, and agricultural
production was again expanding. The nature of agriculture there and in other
regions was changed considerably in succeeding centuries. Several reasons
can be identified for this trend:
➢ Europe was cut off from Asia and the Middle East by an extension of
Ottoman power.
➢ New economic theories were put into practice, directly affecting
agriculture.
➢ A new period of global exploration and colonization was undertaken to
circumvent the Ottoman Empire’s control of the spice trade, to provide

homes for religious refugees, and to provide new resources for European
nations convinced that only precious metals constituted wealth.
➢ Colonial agriculture was intended not only to feed the colonists but also to
produce cash crops and to supply food for the home country. This meant
cultivation of such crops as sugar, cotton, tobacco, and tea, and production
of animal products such as wool and hides.
➢ From the 15th to the 19th century the slave trade provided laborers
needed to fill the large workforce required by colonial plantations. Many
early slaves replaced indigenous peoples who died from diseases carried by
the colonists or were killed by hard agricultural labor to which they were
unaccustomed. Slaves from Africa worked, for example, on sugar
plantations in the Caribbean regions and on indigo and cotton plantations in
what would become the southern United States. Native Americans were
virtually enslaved in Mexico. Indentured slaves from Europe, especially
from the prisons of Great Britain, provided both skilled and unskilled labor
to many colonies. Both slavery and serfdom were substantially wiped out in
the 19th century.
➢ The scientific revolution resulting from the Renaissance and the Age of
Enlightenment in Europe encouraged experimentation in agriculture as well
as in other fields.
➢ Trial-and - error efforts in plant breeding produced improved crops, and
a few new strains of cattle and sheep were developed. Notable was the
Guernsey cattle breed, which is still a heavy milk producer.
➢ Crop rotation, involving alternation of legumes with grain, was more readily
practiced outside the village strip system inherited from the manorial
period.

By the mid-19th century the agricultural pattern was based on the
relationship between the landowner, dependent on rents; the farmer,
producer of crops; and the landless laborer, the hired hand of American
farming lore. Drainage brought more land into cultivation, and, with the
Industrial Revolution, farm machinery was introduced.
➢ It is not possible to fix a clear decade or series of events as the start of
the agricultural revolution through technology. Among the important
advances were the purposeful selective breeding of livestock, begun in the
early 1700s, and the spreading of limestone on farm soils in the late 1700s.
➢ Mechanical improvements in the traditional wooden plow began in the mid-
1600s with small iron points fastened onto the wood with strips of leather.
➢ Science and technology developed for industrial purposes were adapted for
agriculture, eventually resulting in the agribusinesses of the mid-20th
century.
➢ In the 17th and 18th centuries the first systematic attempts were made
to study and control pests.
➢ Improvements in transportation affected agriculture. Roads, canals, and
rail lines enabled farmers to obtain needed supplies from remote suppliers
and market their produce over a wider area.
Efficient use of these developments led to increasing specialization and
eventual changes in the location of agricultural suppliers. A so-called green
revolution, involving selective breeding of traditional crops for high yields,
new hybrids, and intensive cultivation methods adapted to the climates and
cultural conditions of densely populated countries.

E, Industrial Agriculture
Many of the innovations introduced to agriculture by the scientific and
Industrial revolutions paved the way for a qualitative change in the nature of
agricultural production, particularly in advanced capitalist countries. This
qualitative change became known as industrial agriculture.
It is characterized by:
➢ heavy use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides;
➢ extensive irrigation;
➢ large -scale animal husbandry involving animal confinement and the use of
hormones and antibiotics;
➢ Reliance on heavy machinery; the growth of agribusiness and the
commensurate decline of family farming; and the transport of food over
vast distances.
➢ Industrial agricultural has been credited with lowering the cost of food
production and hence food prices, while creating profitable businesses and
many jobs in the agricultural chemistry and biotechnology industries.
➢ It has also allowed farmers and agribusinesses to export a large
percentage of t their crops to other countries. Farm exports have enabled
farmers to expand their markets and have contributed to aiding a
country’s trade balance. At the same time, industrial -scale agriculture
has had adverse environmental consequences, such as:
➢ Intensive use of water, energy, and chemicals. Many aquifers and other
water reservoirs are being drained faster than they can be renewed.
➢ The energy required to produce nitrogen-based synthetic fertilizers, to
operate heavy farm equipment, to manufacture pesticides, and to

transport food over long distances involves burning large amounts of fossil
fuels, which in turn contribute to air pollution and global warming.
➢ The use of synthetic fertilizers has affected the ability of soil to retain
moisture, thus increasing the use of irrigation systems. Fertilizer runoff
has also stimulated algae growth in water systems. Finally, herbicides and
insecticides in many cases have contaminated ground and surface waters.
During the 20th century, a reaction developed to industrial agriculture
known as sustainable agriculture. While industrial agriculture aims to produce
as much food as possible at the lowest cost, the main goal of sustainable
agriculture is to produce economically viable, nutritious food without
damaging natural resources such as farmland and the local watershed.
Examples of sustainable agricultural practices include:
➢ rotating crops from field to field to prevent the depletion of nutrients from
the soil,
➢ using fertilizers produced naturally on the farm rather than synthetic
products, and
➢ Planting crops that will grow without needing extensive irrigation.
Sustainable agricultural practices have seen great success in parts of the
developing world where resources such as arable land and water are in short
supply and must be carefully utilized and conserved.
Types of agriculture
Based on different guidelines, agriculture may have various types. It can
constituent all rain -fed, irrigation, animal husbandry or crop production.
Rain-fed and irrigation agriculture
Rain -fed agriculture is commonly known as dry land agriculture. It is a type
of agriculture which mainly depends on the rainfall bestowed from the nature.

Since it is nature oriented weather induced problems are the major
constraints in this type of agriculture. Problems include:
➢ Recurrent flood
➢ Drought
➢ Excessive run off
Characteristics of rain -fed/dry land agriculture:
➢ The area is less densely populated than irrigated area in the country level.
➢ High proportion of landless households and agricultural laborers.
➢ Low land and labor productivity mainly due to the tenure system.
➢ High poverty concentration.
➢ Low infrastructural development in the regions.
Irrigation is the provision of a supply of water from a river, lake or
underground source to enable an area of land to be cultivated. It is needed
where:
➢ Rainfall is limited and where evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation.
➢ There is a seasonal water shortage due to drought.
➢ Amount of rainfall is unreliable as in case of Sahel countries.
➢ Farming is intensive either subsistence or commercial despite high annual
rainfall to fall.
In economically more developed countries, technology based large dams may
be built for irrigation purpose, where as in less developed and developing
countries, lack of capital and technology force them to design their schemes
for extremely labor intensive as they have to be constructed and operated by
hand.

Crop farming and animal husbandry
As rapid climatic fluctuations of glacial period affects plants and animals food
sources, people experiments domestication of plants and animals. Animal
domestication began during the Mesolithic age not as a conscious economic
effort but as out growths of the keeping of young wild animals. The
assignment of religious significant to certain animals and the docility of
other to herder by hunter all strengthened the human -animal connection that
ultimately leads to full domestication.
Radioactive carbon dating suggests that the domestication of:
➢ Goat- at 8000 BC in central Iran
➢ Sheep at 9000 BC in northern Iraq
➢ Pigs at 8000 BC in Thailand, etc
Once the advantages of animal domestication were learned numerous
additional domestications spread. After the domestication, animal husbandry
was started and Animal Husbandry is breeding, feeding, and management of
animals, or livestock, for the production of food, fiber, work, and pleasure.
Modern methods concentrate on one type of animal in large, efficient farming
units that generate animal products at the highest rate of return for
investment. Intensive husbandry conditions include large numbers of animals
in small lots, enriched feed, and growth stimulation by various means, and
vaccination against disease. Most of the world’s domestic animals, however,
are raised in small units under less efficient conditions and at lower rates of
return.
The domestication of plants like that of animals appeared to have occurred
independently in more than one world region over a time span between
100,000 – 200,000 years ago. Most wide spread European food crops were

first cultivated in the near east beginning some 100,000 years ago and
dispersed rapidly from there across the mid latitude. Although not clear,
evidences also exist that African people were raising crops of wheat, barley,
litters and peas on the flood plain of the Nile River as early as 185,000 years
ago.
Familiarity with plants of desirable characteristics made universal among
hunters and gatherers. In those society females were assigned the primary
food gathering role and thus developed the greatest familiarity with nutritive
plants. Nevertheless the food scale domestication of plants like that of
animals can be traced to a limited number of original areas from which its
techniques spread through. There were several source regions certainly
uniform them. Domestication focused on plant species selected apparently
from their capability of providing large quantities of storable calories or
protein. Crop Farming is extensive cultivation of plants to yield food, feed,
or fiber; to provide medicinal or industrial ingredients; or to grow ornamental
products. Crop farming developed in ancient times as hunters and gatherers
of the Stone Age turned to the cultivation of favored species. Modern crops
were gradually derived from their wild ancestors through continual selection
for larger seed size, improved fruit, and other desired traits.
Fish farming
It is impossible to overstate the importance of fish to human populations
around the world. Throughout history, humans have used fish protein as a
food source, with wild caught fish providing the bulk of fish protein. Fish
have also been farmed in large quantities for more than 2000 years in China.
Recent advances in fish farming, especially with some African cichlids have
alleviated hunger in many parts of the world. In industrialized countries, farm

- raised fish provide relief for overfished stocks of wild fish. Fish also have
served as a source of recreational pleasure for many people. The catches
from sports fisheries are far larger than commercial catches from most
freshwaters and in marine waters close to large population centers.
Aquariums provide an intimate acquaintance with the aquatic world. More than
20 million home aquariums are kept in the United States alone. Among the
many fish kept in aquariums, the most common are minnows, characins, and
cichlids.
Forestry
Forestry is management of forestlands for maximum sustained yield of
forest resources and benefits. Although forestry originally concerned mainly
timber production, it now also involves the management of grazing areas for
domestic livestock, the preservation of wildlife habitats, watershed
protection, and the development of recreational opportunities. The
management of forestlands therefore helps to ensure that wooded areas are
used for maximum benefit according to their nature.
World Agriculture
Over the 10,000 years since agriculture began to be developed, peoples
everywhere have discovered the food value of wild plants and animals, and
domesticated and bred them.
The most important crops are cereals such as wheat, rice, barley, corn, and
rye; sugarcane and sugar beets; meat animals such as sheep, cattle, goats, and
pigs or swine; poultry such as chickens, ducks, and turkeys; animal products
such as milk, cheese, and eggs; and nuts and oils. Fruits, vegetables, and olives
are also major foods for people. Feed grains for animals include soybeans,
field corn, and sorghum.

Agricultural income is also derived from nonfood crops such as rubber, fiber
plants, tobacco, and oil seeds used in synthetic chemical compounds, as well as
animals rose for pelts. Conditions that determine what is raised in an area
include climate, water supply and waterworks, terrain, and ecology.
Farm size varies widely from region to region. In the early 2000s the
average farm size is by far larger in the developed countries like Canada and
USA. By contrast, the average size of a single land holding in developing
nations is too small. Size also depends on the purpose of the farm.
Commercial farming, or product ion for cash, usually takes place on large
holdings. The latifundia of Latin America are large, privately owned estates
worked by tenant labor. Single-crop plantations produce tea, rubber, and
cocoa. Wheat farms are most efficient when they comprise thousands of
hectares and can be worked by teams of people and machines. Australian
sheep stations and other livestock farms must be large to provide grazing for
thousands of animals.
➢ Individual subsistence farms or small -family mixed-farm operations are
decreasing in number in developed countries but are still numerous in the
developing countries of Africa and Asia.
➢ Nomadic herders range over large areas in sub -Saharan Africa,
Afghanistan, and Lapland; and herding is a major part of agriculture in
such areas a s Mongolia.
In 2003, 44 percent of the world’s labor force was employed in agriculture.
The distribution ranged from 66 percent of the economically active
population in sub -Saharan Africa to less than 3 percent in the United States
and Canada. In Asia and the Pacific the figure was 60 percent; in Latin
America and the Caribbean, 19 percent; and in Europe, 9 percent.

Much of the foreign exchange earned by a country may be derived from a
single agricultural commodity; for example, Sri Lanka depends on tea,
Denmark specializes in dairy products, Australia in wool, and New Zealand and
Argentina in meat products. In the United States, wheat, corn, and soybeans
have become major foreign exchange commodities in recent decades.
Because nations depend on agriculture not only for food but for national
income and raw materials for industry as well, trade in agriculture is a
constant international concern. It is regulated by the World Trade
Organization.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) directs
much attention to agricultural trade and policies. According to the FAO,
world agricultural production, stimulated by improving technology, grew
steadily from the 1960s to the 1990s. Per capita food production saw
sustained growth in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, and the Pacific, and
limited growth in the Near East and North Africa. The only region not to
experience growth during the 1980s and 1990s was sub -Saharan Africa,
which suffered from climatic conditions that made agriculture difficult.
Although agricultural growth began to taper off in the year 2000, it
continued to outpace world population growth.

CHAPTER FIVE
5. Factors affecting farming system

The location of different types of agriculture at all scales depends upon the
interaction of physical, cultural and economic factors.
A. Physical factors
Although there has been a movement away from the view that agriculture is
controlled solely by physical conditions, it must be accepted that
environmental factors do exert a major influence in determining the type of
farming practiced in any particular area. These factors include:
❖ Temperature
This is a critical for plant growth because each plant or crop and animal type
requires a minimum growing temperature and a minimum growing season. In
temperate latitudes, the critical temperature is 6ºC. Below this figure,
members of the grass family, which include most cereals, cannot grow- an
exception is rye, a hardy cereal, which may be grown in many northerly
latitudes. For instance, in tropics, there is a continuous gr owing season,
provided moisture is available. As well as decreasing with distance from the
equator, both temperatures and the length of the growing season decrease
with height above sea -level.
❖ Altitude
The growth of various crops is controlled by the decrease in temperature
with height. As height increases, so too does exposure to wind and the
amount of clouds, snow and rain while the length of the growing season
decreases.

Soils take longer to develop as there are fewer mixing agents as well there is
a high tendency of soil erosion. Example:
➢ In tropical rainforest- subsistence/shifting cultivation;
➢ In mixed forest- some subsistence agriculture;
➢ Dwarf forest- very little agriculture;
➢ In grass lands- herding; and
➢ In ice and snow- almost no agricultural activities except hunting and
fishery.
❖ Precipitation and water supply
The mean annual rainfall for an area determines whether its farming is likely
to be based up on tree crops, grass or cereals, or irrigation. The relevance
and effectiveness of this annual total rainfall depends on temperatures and
the rate of evapotranspiration. However the seasonal distribution of rainfall
is usually more significant for agriculture than is annual total.
The type of precipitation is also important. For instance, long, steady periods
of rain allow the water to infiltrate into the soil, making moisture available
for plant use. On the other hand, short, heavy downpours can lead to surface
runoff and soil erosion and so are less effective for plants. Hail, falling during
the heavy convectional storms in summer, can destroy crops. In the absence
of rain, cops also fail disastrously. In regions like Sahel and Sub -Saharan
Africa a fluctuation of precipitation from the mean can ruin harvests and
causes the death of many animals.
❖ Wind
Strong winds can increase evapotranspiration rates which allow the soil to dry
out and to become vulnerable to erosion. Several local winds also have harmful
effects on farming.

Hurricanes and tornadoes can all destroy crops by their sheer strength. Bu t
it is better to understand that some other winds are important for farming
activities.
❖ Angle of slope (gradient)
Slope affects the depth of soil, its moisture content and it’s PH, and hence
the type of crop which can be grown on it. It influences erosion and is a
limitation on the use of machinery. Until recently, 5 º slope was the maximum
for mechanized ploughing but technological improvements have increased this
to 11º.
❖ Aspect
Aspect is an important part of the micro climate. South facing and north
facing slopes in northern hemisphere, that are wind ward and lee ward
respectively, can influence cropping. Crops and trees both grow to higher
altitudes on the wind ward slopes as they have the chance to get high er
temperature and drier soils.
❖ Soils (edaphic factors)
Farming depends up on the depth, stoniness, water -retention capacity,
aeration, texture, structure, PH, leaching and mineral content of the soil.
For instance:
➢ Clay soils tend to be heavy, acidic, poorly drained, cold and ideally should be
left under permanent grass.
➢ Sandy soils tend to be lighter, less acidic, perhaps too well drained, warmer
and more suited to vegetables and fruits.
➢ Lime soils (chalk) are light in texture, alkaline, dry and give high cereal
yields.

❖ Global warming
Scientists agree that the greenhouse effect will not only lead to an increase
in temperature but also to changes in rainfall patterns. The global increase in
temperature will allow many parts of the world to grow crops which at
present are too cold for them.
B. Cultural (human) factors affecting farming
❖ Land tenure
Farmers may be owners-occupiers, tenants, landless laborers, or state
employees on the land which they farm. For instance in cash tenancy, farmers
have to give as much as 80 percent of their income or a fixed pre-arranged
rent to the land owner whereas share cropping is when the farmer has to
give 50 percent for the land owner. In sum tenure security affects the
farming system because farmers are expected to invest more when they feel
the land the y use belongs to them in permanent manner.
❖ Inheritance laws and land fragmentation
In several countries, inheritance laws have meant that on the death of a
farmer the land is divided equally among all his sons (rarely among daughters).
This tradition has led to the sub -division of farms in to numerous scattered
and small fields. Fragmentation results in much time being wasted in moving
from one distant field to another.
❖ Farm size
As indicated above, inheritance laws tend to reduce the size of individual
farms so that they can operate only at subsistence level or below.
Differences in farm size also affect types of land use.

C. Economic factors affecting farming
However favorable the physical environment may be, it is of limited value until
human resources are added to it.
❖ Transport
This includes the type of transport available, the time taken and the cost of
moving raw materials to the farm and produce to market. For perishable
commodities like milk and fresh fruit, the need for speedy transport to
market demands an efficient transport network, while for bulky goods, like
potatoes, transport costs must be lower for output to be profitable. In both
cases, the items should ideally be grown as near to their market as possible.
❖ Market
The role of markets is closely linked with transport (perishable and bulky
goods). For further understanding, read the von Thünen least cost theory.
❖ Capital
Developed countries have large reserves of readily available finance, which
over time have been used to build up capital-intensive types of farming such
as dairying, market gardening and mechanized cereal growing. On the other
hand, farmers in developing countries, often with limited capital resources,
have to resort to labor intensive methods of farming. In addition, purchasing
and using of modern and expensive farming machineries will be difficult for
such countries.
❖ Technology
Technological developments such as new strains of seeds cross -breeding of
animal s, improved machinery and irrigation may extend the area of optimal
conditions and the limits of production.

Lacking in capital and expertise, developing countries are rarely able to take
advantages of these advances and so the gap between them and the
economically developed world continuous to increase.
❖ Government
In centrally planned economies it is the state, not the individual, which makes
the major farming decisions. This can affect the overall profitability of the
farming business. For instance, the developed countries’ governments provide
a sustainable subsidy to their farmers; this in turn lowered the
competitiveness of developing countries’ farmers in international markets,
who do not have any kind of subsidy.

CHAPTER SIX
6. Agricultural Policy
6.1 Meaning and basic tools of Agricultural Policy

Policy is guiding principle leading to a course of action that is pursued by the
government.
The term ‘policy’ has various definitions:
A. Everything that a Government decides to do or not to do.
B. A set of interrelated decisions, including the identification of objectives
and the tools to achieve them taken by a political actor(s) to address a
certain issue.
C. A set of principles and directives that guide the decisions of an
organization.
Policy making
‘Policy making’ is a long-term, interactive, and multi-stakeholder process to
develop a framework to implement a certain policy, and to evaluate and modify
its implementation on a regular basis. It also refers to elaborating a policy
document or a policy statement.
What is Agricultural Policy?
Agricultural Policy
Agricultural Policy is a set of laws relating to domestic agriculture & imports
of foreign agriculture Products. It is pathway of improving the activities
involve in cropping, livestock, forestry, processing & marketing of agriculture
Product. Agricultural Policy is predetermined gaols, objectives & pathway set
by individual or gov’t for the purpose of achieving a specified outcome, for
the benefit of the individuals, society, & the nations’ economy at large.

Agricultural Policy takes into consideration the primary, secondary & tertiary
processes in agriculture Production.
Agricultural policy defined as a course of public action directed primarily, but
not exclusively, toward the farm and agribusiness sectors of society.
Broadly speaking, agricultural policy involves the full range of public decisions
that influence individuals and firms to decide on:
✓ what products shall be produced
✓ how they shall be produced and
✓ for whom they shall be produced
Policy development basic terms
➢ Policy – a set of principles and directions that guide the decisions and
actions of an organization.
➢ Objectives – a desired situation or outcome that one wants to achieve.
Objectives can be general or specific, the latter defining the necessary
components to achieve the general objective.
➢ Strategy – an outline how to achieve identified objectives. Includes broad
guidelines (‘basic principles’) to develop an action plan.
➢ Action plan – specifies the steps necessary to implement a strategy. An
action plan sets out what will be done, who will do it, when, with what
resources, and what are the expected results.
➢ Programmes – components of an action plan related to specific topics, such
as financing, energy efficiency, sectoral initiatives, etc.
➢ Projects – smallest operational components of programmes.

6.2. Objetives of Market Intervention-National Security
Agricultural policy applies to two broad sets of markets:
✓ Agricultural input markets and
✓ Agricultural product markets.
Agricultural input markets are markets through which the resources and
commodities used in farming are made available for production, and
agricultural product markets are markets through which farm and food
products are marketed and processed for consumption at home and
abroad.
Policy in the input markets covers problems or issues related to:
• Use of land, water (irrigation), soil, forest and other natural
resources and the environment,
• agricultural credit & finance,
• industrial products used by agriculture, and
• The human resource employed in sector the agricultural.
Policy in the product markets/ output markets involves a broad range of
laws, government rules and regulations that apply to these markets. For
instance, it deals with issues such as:
a free markets, or price supports with or without production
controls,

free trade in farm food products (or trade agreements),
subsidies, tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade and
protection measures,
consumer food subsidies, such as food stamps, and school
lunch programs,
value adding, standards, and related practices,
role of NGOs in buying and selling of aid commodities, and
domestic agricultural inputs and outputs, and
Dumping practices, contrabands, cross-border trade/
international trade.
Policy issues related to the agricultural input markets and output markets
are studied using the demand and supply principles of agricultural
economies.
Interface and goals of Agricultural policy

Agriculture policy involves farm and agribusiness issues as an interface
with food policy issues. Broadly, agriculture and food policy involves the
principles that guide government involvement in production; resources
utilized in production; the marketing and consumption of food; and
conditions under which people live in rural areas.
In many instances, farm policy is considered as a sectoral economic policy
that deals with agriculture and food. Understanding farm policy requires
knowledge of both the political process by which laws are enacted and

administered and the economic origin and consequences of those laws. In
this context, the goals of food and agricultural policy could be:
❖ producing an ample supply of food at reasonable price,
❖ removing hunger and malnutrition,
❖ maintaining health and reducing health hazards,
❖ conserving and allocating resources such as land, water,
forest and wildlife, and
❖ Preserving crop and livestock genetic resources.
6.3. Agricultural Policy in ethiopia

6.3.1. Policy Framework – agriculture
Ethiopia has a consistent set of policies and strategies for agriculture and
rural development that reflect the importance of the sector in the nation’s
development aspirations.
The policy framework is based on the concept of the strategy of Agricultural
Development-Led Industrialization (ADLI), which has been the central pillar
of Ethiopia’s development vision since the 1990s. ADLI is an economy and
society wide strategy in which agriculture has a central role. It envisages an
economically transformed society within which agriculture will grow rapidly,
but see its relative importance decline in favor of an even more dynamic
industrial and manufacturing sector. The rural non-farm sector, which
provides goods and services for the rural population, also has an important
role to play recognizing that it currently accounts for around a third of GDP.
Demand for such goods and services are expected to expand in line with rising
rural incomes, generating much-needed employment and self-employment
opportunities for rural households.

The Rural Development Policy and Strategies (RDPS, 2003) presents
specific policies and strategies to guide agricultural and rural development,
based on the ADLI platform. The RDPS recognizes that the development
effort in rural areas cannot be limited to agriculture alone. There is a need
for rural infrastructure and social development programs and for trade and
industry to build on and support developments in agriculture. Key elements of
the RDPS include: rural and agricultural centered development as a means of:
(i) ensuring rapid economic growth;
(ii) enhancing benefits to the people;
(iii) eliminating food aid dependency; and
(iv) Promoting the development of a market-oriented economy.
It also sets out five basic directions for agricultural development:
✓ The labour intensive strategy, which sees the mobilization of under-
utilized and unproductive rural labour as a key driver of growth,
rather than capital-intensive approaches. It envisages high levels of
training and technology adoption in order to boost agricultural
productivity without drawing heavily on the country’s scarce capital
resources;
✓ proper utilization of agricultural land, by guaranteeing the availability
of land to people who seek to make a living out of land, and assisting
them to utilize it productively on a sustainable basis through
irrigation, multi-cropping and diversified production;
✓ a “foot on the ground”, which envisages moving ahead in a stepwise
manner building on experiences and indigenous knowledge at the same
time as exploring opportunities for deploying new technologies in
conjunction with human resource development;

✓ Differentiation according to agro-ecological zones, which recognizes
that Ethiopia’s enormous agro-ecological diversity calls for different
approaches to agricultural development in different parts of the
country. This also provides the opportunity for risk management
through diversification; and
✓ An integrated development path among various activities and products
in agriculture, as well as linking these to education, health and
infrastructure development.
The Plan for Accelerated and Sustainable development to End poverty/
PASDEP (2005/06 to 2009/10)
PASDEP included six fundamental agricultural development strategies:
✓ adequately strengthened human resources capacity and their effective
utilization;
✓ ensuring prudent allocation and use of land;
✓ adaptation of development compatible with different agro-ecological
zones;
✓ specialization, diversification and commercialization of agricultural
production;
✓ integrating development activities with other sectors; and
✓ Establishment of effective agricultural marketing systems.
The Five Year growth and Transformation plan / FYGTP (2010/11 to
2015/16)
➢ The FYGTP recognizes the pivotal role of agriculture and rural
development, and plans for accelerated growth for the sector on the
basis of solid performance in the previous plan period as well as
growing demand for food and industrial raw materials. Infrastructure

development has also created opportunities for large scale private
investment in the sector including horticulture and extensive arable
agriculture in areas with under-utilized land resources. Smallholder
agriculture, however, is expected to remain the principal source of
agricultural growth. Increasing male and female smallholder
productivity and production is the main thrust of the plan and will be
achieved in three major ways.
• First, by scaling up best practices used by leading farmers whose
productivity is 2-3 times higher than the average.
• Second, by improving the management of natural resources with
a focus on improving water utilization and the expansion of
irrigation.
• Third, by encouraging farmers to change from low value to high
value products in order to increase their cash incomes, with
complementary investments in market and infrastructure
development.
These initiatives will be supported by farmer training and measures
to improve access to agricultural inputs and product markets using
cooperatives as the delivery mechanism.
The Five Year growth and Transformation plan envisages differentiation
among the three main agro-ecological zones. In the adequate moisture areas
the focus will be on scaling up best production and marketing practices to
increase productivity by supplying agricultural inputs and providing training to
development agents (DAs) and farmers. Particular attention will be given to
soil fertility management using organic and inorganic fertilizers; improved
rainfed agronomic methods; irrigation and improved water use efficiency;

production and distribution of seed; natural resource conservation; livestock
and forage development; capacity building, and strengthening research-
extension-farmer linkages.
In the moisture deficit areas the focus will be on soil and water
conservation, and watershed management using labour-based methods.
Particular attention will be given to underground and surface water
utilization; development of small ruminants, poultry and apiculture; and
productive safety net initiatives to underpin food security for vulnerable
households. Steps will also be taken to strengthen Government
implementation capacity in the moisture deficit areas.
In the pastoral areas the FYGTP will focus on livestock development; water
for people and livestock; forage development; irrigation; improving the
livestock marketing system; and strengthening implementation capacity.

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MIZAN-TEPI UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

Agro-ecology and Farming System (GeES 3103)

Fikru Hailu (MA)

Academic year, 2012/2020

Agro-ecology and farming system note dep’t of GeEs

1. AGRO-ECOLOGY AND FARMING SYSTEM

1.1 The Concept of Ecology, Agro-ecology and Farming System

LOGOS = study. Therefore, Ecology is the Study of the

“house/environment” in which we live.

Ecology is study of interactions between non-living components in the

atmosphere, etc.) and Living organisms (such as Plants, Animals,

microorganisms in soil, etc.). It views each locale/ environment as an

integrated whole of interdependent parts that function as a unit. The

interdependent parts are Non-living such as dead organic matter, nutrients

herbivores and carnivores; Decomposers such as fungi and bacteria.

Then, ecology is an integrated and dynamic study of the environment; the

study of living organisms in the natural environment. It studies how they

The science of agro-ecology, is defined as the application of ecological

concepts and principles to the design and management of sustainable agro-

ecosystems, provides a framework to assess the complexity of agro-

ecosystems. Agro-ecology is the study of the interactions between living

organisms and their environment in agricultural systems. The idea of agro-

Agro-ecology and farming system note 1 dep’t of GeEs

ecosystems with the minimal dependence on high agrochemical and energy

inputs, emphasizing complex agricultural systems in which ecological

interactions and synergisms between biological components provide the

and crop protection.

one-dimensional view of agro-ecosystems -their genetics, agronomy, and so on

to embrace an understanding of ecological and social levels of co evolution,

structure and function. Instead of focusing on one particular component of

the agro-ecosystem, agro-ecology emphasizes the interrelatedness of all

agro-ecosystem components and the complex dynamics of ecological

processes. Agro-ecology has been defined as a science, as a set of practices,

and even as a social and political movement.

Agro-ecology as a science in its simplest form is seen as the “application of

ecological science to the study, design and management of sustainable agro-

global network of food production, distribution and consumption, including

including agricultural and ecological science, and traditional knowledge

systems. It questions conventional approaches which are centered on the use

of science to promote economic growth.

Agro-ecology and farming system note 2 dep’t of GeEs

mimicking natural processes, using biological interactions and synergies to

Agro-ecology as a social and political movement is about how individuals,

communities and societies contribute to building sustainable, fair food models

food distribution. Agro-ecological movements seek to influence national and

international policies through grassroots cooperation, participation and action

to create more sustainable management systems for food and seeds

Agro-ecology is a discipline that defines, classifies and studies agricultural

systems from an ecological and socio-economic perspective, and applies

ecological concepts and principles to the design and management of

sustainable agro-ecosystems. Agro-ecology is first and foremost a response

to the negative ecological, social & economic impacts of industrial agriculture.

➢ The ecological perspective, focusing on how natural resources - soil and

water are used and managed for sustainable agricultural production;

➢ The economic perspective, focusing on the marketing of agricultural

products through competitive value chains which link farmers to the

➢ The social perspective, focusing on how stakeholders interact, who controls

change in agricultural practices, and how to ensure that the benefits of