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 February saw me back in Uganda, one of my all time favorite places. I was there to support the Sustainable Agriculture Networking and Extension (SANE) project. SANE is funded by the U.N. Development Program to promote agroecological farming practices in nine African, Asian, and Latin American countries. Food First Board member Dr. Miguel Altieri is SANE's general coordinator, though the project is actually implemented by local organizations in each country. In Uganda the key groups are Environmental Alert, Talent Calls Club, the Joint Effort to Save the Environment (JESE), and Community Action for Rural Development (CARD).
Many people tend to equate agroecology with organic farming because it advocates the use of natural inputs. But agroecology is a much broader and systematic concept. Agroecology is an approach to agriculture which builds upon and enhances the specific ecological setting of each farmer, utilizes locally available and environmentally safe inputs, draws upon local farming knowledge and practices, and seeks not only economically viable, but also socially equitable outcomes. For example, in the Uganda SANE program, the local organizations work with poor small-scale farmers, using farmers' knowledge about local crop species and enhancing traditional farming practices.
The Ugandans have made remarkable progress despite bureaucratic glitches
in receiving funds from the U.N. In areas where people had insisted the
soils were too poor to grow the country's staple crops-principally bananas
and plantains-farmers had employed composting, green manures, multi-cropping
and other natural methods to rejuvenate the soil and were enjoying bumper
harvests of bananas and other fruits and vegetables as well.
Households that previously reported periodic food shortages now not only
had sufficient food available throughout the year, but also had begun
to increase their net income through savings achieved by no longer purchasing
expensive imported fertilizers and pesticides, and because they were producing
to sell modest surpluses in local markets. The SANE program clearly has
the potential to demonstrate alternatives to environmentally unsustainable
Green Revolution technologies based on chemical fertilizers and pesticides
as the only way to feed local populations.
Institute for Food and Development Policy
News & Views
Summer 1997, Vol. 19, No. 65
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