ADIGRAT UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Course Title: Agro-Ecology and Farming System

Course Code: GeES - 3103
Credit Hour: 3
Academic Year: 2017 E.C

Prepared By

Tadesse Brhane Hadgu (Aassistant Professor)

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 ADIGRAT UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
UNDER GRADUATE PROGRAM

Course Title: Agro-Ecology and Farming System

Course Code: GeES-3103
Credit Hours: 3
Instructors:-
Tadesse Brhane Hadgu (Aassistant Professor) Email:- tadesse1985@gmail.com

 Course Description

The course will cover the meaning and theories as well as concepts of agriculture and agro ecology.
Course is also intended to acquaint students with the basic interrelationship of agriculture, ecology and
farming system; the advantage of applying ecological principles and concepts application in agriculture.

 Course Objectives
At the end of the course students will be able to:-

 Analyze the various factors affecting the farming system;

 Observe the interrelationship of agriculture, ecology and farming system ;
 Identify advantage and disadvantages of agricultural development.
Course Contents
Chapter One: BASIC CONCEPT IN AGRO-ECOLOGY AND FARMING SYSTEM

1.1. AGRO ECOLOGY

1.1.1. Agro Ecosystems: Perspectives
1.2. Agro Ecosystem Structure and Function
1.3. Agro Ecology: Principles and Strategies for Designing Sustainable Farming System
1.3.1. Principles of Agro Ecology
1.3.2. An additional Principles, Strategies and Approaches Designing for Sustainable Farming
Systems
1.4. Bio-Diversification of Agro Ecosystems

Chapter Two: CONCEPTUAL DEFINITION OF FARMING SYSTEM

2.1. Introduction
2.2. Development of Farming Systems and Reduction of Hunger and Poverty
2.3. Factors Controlling Farming System
2.4. Determinants of Farming Systems

Chapter Three: THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

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3.1. Agriculture and Economic Growth
3.2. Economic Development and Pro-Poor Growth
3.3. Linkages between Agricultural and Non-Agricultural Sector
3.4. Backward and Forward Linkages
3.5. Factor Markets: Land, Labor and Capital
Chapter Four: CLASSIFICATION OF FARMING AND CROPPING SYSTEMS
4.1. Classification of Farming System
4.2. Classifications of Cropping System
4.3. Agro Climatic Zones

Chapter Five: THE ECOLOGICAL ROLE AND ENHANCEMENT OF BIODIVERSITY IN

AGRICULTURE
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Modern Agriculture and Biodiversity
5.3. Biodiversity in Traditional Farming Systems
5.4. Organic Agriculture and Biodiversity
5.5. Managing Planned and Associated Biodiversity
5.6. Agro-Ecosystem Biodiversity Components and their Ecological Function

Methods of Course Delivery

 Group Discussions
 Lecture Methods
 Presentations
Assessment and Evaluation Techniques

Activities Assignment Final Exam Total

Mark 60% 40% 100%

References:-
 Boeken 2005-10 Agro-ecology as a science, a movement and a practice. A review Wezel1*, S.
Bellon2, T. Dor´e3, C. Francis4, D.Vallod1, C.David1
http://cmsprod.bgu.ac.il/Eng/Units/bidr/Faculty__ Members/Boeken.htm
 Gerdien meijerink & pim roza (2007 ) The role of agriculture in economic development
 Menale Kassie, Precious Zikhali, John Pender, and Gunnar Köhlin (2009) Sustainable Agricultural
Practices and Agricultural Productivity in Ethiopia
 Agricultural Geography
 Wand a W. Collins and Calvin O .Qualset (1986) Biodiversity in Agro ecosystem

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 CHAPTER ONE

BASIC CONCEPT IN AGRO-ECOLOGY AND FARMING SYSTEM

1.1. AGRO ECOLOGY

Agro ecology is one of many terms people use to describe an approach to farming – others being
sustainable agriculture, ecological agriculture, low-external input agriculture or people-centered
agriculture.
Agro ecology is: farming that “centers on food production that makes the best use of nature’s goods
and services while not damaging these resources.” It applies ecology to the design of farming
systems; uses a whole-systems approach to farming and food systems; and links ecology, culture,
economics and society to create healthy environments, food production and communities.

The term agro ecology refers to ecosystems. Ecosystems are characterized by aspects such as nutrient
cycling, population regulation, energy flows and a dynamic equilibrium. These characteristics apply to
natural ecosystems, and, in a much altered form, also to manmade or agricultural ecosystems. The
magnitude of the differences between natural and agricultural ecosystems depends mainly on the human
manipulations, generally characterized by the intensity of management or intervention, and the level of
disturbance visà- vis the (natural) equilibrium. Both the intensity of management and the level of
disturbance have to be considered as a result of social and economic pressures on the human actors in
the agricultural ecosystem.

Agroecology is a scientific discipline that uses ecological theory to study, design, manage and evaluate
agricultural systems that are productive but also resource conserving. Agroecological research considers
interactions of all important biophysical, technical and socioeconomic components of farming systems
and regards these systems as the fundamental units of study, where mineral cycles, energy
transformations, biological processes and socioeconomic relationships are analyzed as a whole in an
interdisciplinary fashion.

Agroecology is concerned with the maintenance of a productive agriculture that sustains yields and
optimizes the use of local resources while minimizing the negative environmental and socio-economic
impacts of modern technologies. In industrial countries, modern agriculture with its yield maximizing
high-input technologies generates environmental and health problems that often do not serve the needs
of producers and consumers. In developing countries, in addition to promoting environmental

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degradation, modern agricultural technologies have bypassed the circumstances and socio-economic
needs of large numbers of resource-poor farmers.

The contemporary challenges of agriculture have evolved from the merely technical to also include
social, cultural, economic and particularly environmental concerns. Agricultural production issues
cannot be considered separately from environmental issues. In this light, a new technological and
development approach is needed to provide for the agricultural needs of present and future generations
without depleting our natural resource base. The agroecological approach does just this because it is
more sensitive to the complexities of local agriculture, and has a broad performance criteria which
includes properties of ecological sustainability, food security, economic viability, resource conservation
and social equity, as well as increased production.

To put agroecological technologies into practice requires technological innovations, agriculture policy
changes, socio-economic changes, but mostly a deeper understanding of the complex long-term
interactions among resources, people and their environment. To attain this understanding agriculture
must be conceived of as an ecological system as well as a human dominated socio-economic system. A
new interdisciplinary framework to integrate the biophysical sciences, ecology and other social sciences
is indispensable. Agroecology provides a framework by applying ecological theory to the management
of agroecosystems according to specific resource and socio-economic realities, and by providing a
methodology to make the required interdisciplinary connections.

1.1.1 Agro Ecosystems: Perspectives

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1.2. Agro Ecosystem Structure and Function

Another distinction to keep in mind is that between agro ecosystem structure and agro ecosystem
function (Fig. 1.6.). Agro ecosystem structure is how the agro ecosystem is organized. It is a
consequence of both an agricultural technology system and the environmental and social setting in
which the technology is applied. Agro ecosystem structure includes all elements of the ecosystem and
how they are connected functionally to one another: i.e. all species of crops, livestock, weeds, pests, soil
animals, and decomposer organisms as well as all other plants, animals or micro-organisms that are
present. It includes details of soil status and everything about inputs that shape the agro ecosystem the
annual calendar of human activities in the fields, sources of labor (e.g. family labor or hired laborers),
how much capital and energy (e.g. petroleum or beasts of burden) are employed, and where they come
from (e.g. bank loans).

Agro ecosystem function is a consequence of agro ecosystem structure. Agro ecosystem function
consists of:

(a) Movements of materials, energy and information from one part of the agro ecosystem to
another and

(b) Movements of materials, energy, and information in and out of the agro ecosystem. Materials
that leave the agro ecosystem for human use are regarded as products.

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Figure 1.6 Hierarchies of agro-ecosystems

1.3. Agro Ecology: Principles and Strategies for Designing Sustainable Farming Systems

The concept of sustainable agriculture is a relatively recent response to the decline in the quality of the
natural resource base associated with modern agriculture. Today, the question of agricultural production
has evolved from a purely technical one to a more complex one characterized by social, cultural,
political and economic dimensions. A wider understanding of the agricultural context requires the study
between agriculture, the global environment and social systems given that agricultural development
results from the complex interaction of a multitude of factors.

The sustainability concept has prompted much discussion and has promoted the need to propose major
adjustments in conventional agriculture to make it more environmentally, socially and economically
viable and compatible. Several possible solutions to the environmental problems created by capital and
technology intensive farming systems have been proposed and research is currently in progress to
evaluate alternative systems. The main focus lies on the reduction or elimination of agrochemical inputs

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through changes in management to assure adequate plant nutrition and plant protection through organic
nutrient sources and integrated pest management, respectively.

The science of agro ecology, which 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. The idea of agro 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.

1.3.1. Principles of Agro Ecology

1. Enhance recycling of biomass and optimizing nutrient availability and balancing nutrient flow.
2. Securing favorable soil conditions for plant growth, particularly by managing organic matter and
enhancing soil biotic activity.
3. Minimizing losses due to flows of solar radiation, air and water by way of microclimate
management, water harvesting and soil management through increased soil cover.
4. Species and genetic diversification of the agro ecosystem in time and space.
5. Enhance beneficial biological interactions and synergisms among agro biodiversity components
thus resulting in the promotion of key ecological processes and services.

These principles can be applied by way of various techniques and strategies. Each of these will have
different effects on productivity, stability and resiliency within the farm system, depending on the local
opportunities, resource constraints and, in most cases, on the market. The ultimate goal of agro
ecological design or principles is to integrate components so that overall biological efficiency is
improved, biodiversity is preserved, and the agro ecosystem productivity and its self-sustaining capacity
are maintained.

1.3.2. An additional Principles, Strategies and Approaches Designing for Sustainable Farming
Systems

Use Renewable Resources

 Use renewable sources of energy instead of non-renewable sources.

 Use biological nitrogen fixation.

 Use naturally-occurring materials instead of synthetic, manufactured inputs.

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  Use 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 agroecosystems with nutrients.

Conserve Resources
Conserve Soil
 Sustain soil nutrient and organic matter stocks.

 Minimize erosion.

1. Use perennials

2. Use no-till or reduced tillage methods.

3. Mulch.

Conserve Water
 Dry farm.

 Use efficient irrigation systems.

Conserve Energy
 Use energy efficient technologies.

Conserve genetic resources

 Save seed.

 Maintain local landraces.

 Use heirloom varieties.

Conserve Capital
 Keep bank debt to a minimum.

 Reduce expenditures.

Manage Ecological Relationships

 Reestablish ecological relationships that can occur naturally on the farm instead of reducing and
simplifying them.

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  Manage pests, diseases, and weeds instead of “controlling” them.

 Use intercropping and cover cropping

 Integrate Livestock

 Enhance beneficial biota

1. In soils

o mycorrhizae

o Rhizobia

o free-living nitrogen fixers

2. Beneficial insects

o Provide refugia for beneficials.

o Enhance benefial populations by breed and release programs.

 Recycle Nutrients

2. Shift from throughflow nutrient management to recycling of nutrients.

3. Return crop residues and manures to soils.

4. When outside inputs are necessary, sustain their benefits by recycling them.

 Minimize Disturbance

2. Use reduced tillage or no-till methods.

3. Use mulches.

4. Use perennials

Adjust to Local Environments

 Match cropping patterns to the productive potential and physical limitations of the farm
landscape.

 Adapt Biota

1. 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

1. Maintain undisturbed areas as buffer zones.

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 2. Use contour and strip tillage.

3. Maintain riparian buffer zones.

4. Use rotational grazing.

 Biota

1. Intercrop.

2. Rotate crops.

3. Use polyculture.

4. Integrate animals in system.

5. Use multiple species of crops and animals on farm.

6. Use multiple varieties and landraces of crops and animals on farm.

 Economics

1. Avoid dependence on single crops/products.

2. Use alternative markets.

3. Organic markets.

4. Community Supported Agriculture

5. "Pick your own" marketing.

6. Add value to agricultural products.

7. Process foods before selling them.

8. Find alternative incomes.

9. Agrotourism

10. Avoid dependence on external subsidies.

11. 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.

1. Teach experts and farmers to share knowledge, not "impose" it.

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  Engage in people-centric development.

 Increase farmer participation.

1. Link farmers with consumers

 Strengthen communities.

1. Encourage local partnerships between people and development groups. Ensure

intergenerational fairness.

 Guarantee agricultural labor.

1. Ensure equitable labor relations for farm workers.

 Teach principles of agro ecology & sustainability.

Manage Whole Systems

 Use planning processes that recognize the different scales of agroecosystems.

1. Landscapes

2. Households

3. Farms

4. Communities

5. Bioregions

6. 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.

1. 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.

1. Build soil organic matter.

Value Health
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  Human Health

 Cultural Health

 Environmental Health

1. Value most highly the overall health of agro ecosystems rather than the outcome of a
particular crop system or season.

2. Eliminate environmental pollution by toxics and surplus nutrients.

 Animal Health and Plant Health

1.4. Bio-Diversification of Agro Ecosystems

From a management perspective, the agro ecological objective is to provide a balanced environment,
sustained yields, biologically mediated soil fertility and natural pest regulation through the design of
diversified agro ecosystems and the use of low-input technologies. 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:

1. 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.
2. Polycultures. 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
3. 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.
4. 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 orchard microclimate
5. 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:

A. 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.
B. Provide a regular supply of organic matter through the addition of organic matter (manure,
compost, and promotion of soil biotic activity).

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 C. Enhance nutrient recycling mechanisms through the use of livestock systems based on legumes,
etc.
D. Promote pest regulation through enhanced activity of biological control agents achieved by
introducing and/or conserving natural enemies and antagonists.

Diversity is of value in agro ecosystems for a variety of reasons:

 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.

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 CHAPTER TWO

CONCEPTUAL DEFINITION OF FARMING SYSTEM

2.1. Introduction

A Farming system can be defined by:

Boundaries: What belongs to the farm, what is the environment in which it operates?
Components: Crops or cropping systems, livestock system, trees, buildings etc.
Interactions: The relationships between the components.
Inputs: Materials, information and energy originating outside the system but utilised within.
Internal Resources: Materials, information and energy originating within the system.
Products and By-Products

“Farming System is a complex inter-related matrix of soil, plants, animals, implements, power, labor,
capital and other inputs controlled in parts by farming families and influenced to varying degrees by
political, economic, institutional and social forces that operate at many levels”. The term "farming
system" refers to a particular arrangement of farming enterprises that are managed in response to
physical, biological and socio-economic environment and in accordance with farmer’s goals, preferences
and resources. “The household, its resources and the resource flows and interactions at the individual
farm levels are together referred to as a farm system”. “Systems” could be defined as an organized
unitary whole composed of two or more inter dependant and interacting parts, components or
subsystems delineated by identifiable boundary or its environmental super system. It is a set of
interrelated elements each of which is associated directly or indirectly with other elements and no subset
is under-related to any other subsets.

The farming systems can be described and understood as by its structure and functioning. The structure
in its wider sense includes among others, the land use pattern, production relations, land tenures, size of
holding and their distribution, irrigation, marketing including transport and storage, credit institutions
and financial markets and research and education. Thus, the “farming system” is the result of a complex
interaction among a number of interdependent components. The Farming System, as a concept, takes
into account the components of soil, water, crops, livestock, labor, capital, energy and other resources
with the farm family at the centre managing agricultural and related activities. Farming system focuses
on:

 The interdependencies between components under the control of household and,

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  How these components interact with the physical, biological and socio-economic factors, which
is not under the control of household.
 Farm household is the basic unit of farming system and interdependent farming enterprises
carried out on the farm.
 Farmers are subjected to many socio-economic, bio-physical, institutional, administrative and
technological constraints.
 The operator of the farming system is farmer or the farming family.

The primary inter-relationships at the farming system level are illustrated in Figure 2.1. This highly
simplified model puts the farmer the decision maker, at the center. Decisions are influenced by the
priorities of the household, farmer’s knowledge and experiences, and resource at his command. External
factors - natural, economic and socio-cultural, also plays significant roles.

Fig.2.1: Farming System Model showing interrelationships at the farming system level

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2.2. Development of farming systems and reduction of hunger and poverty

In broad terms, there are five main farm household strategies to improve livelihoods. These can be
summarized as:

 Intensification of existing production patterns;

 Diversification of production and processing;
 Expanded farm or herd size;
 Increased off-farm income, both agricultural and non-agricultural; and
 A complete exit from the agricultural sector within a particular farming system.

These strategic options are not mutually exclusive, even at the individual household level; any particular
household will often pursue a mixed set of strategies.

Intensification is increased physical or financial productivity of existing patterns of production;

including food and cash crops, livestock and other productive activities. Although intensification is
frequently associated with increased yields as a result of greater use of external inputs, it may also arise
from improved varieties and breeds, utilization of unused resources, improved labor productivity, and
better farm management for example improved irrigation practices or better pest control.

Diversification is defined as an adjustment to the farm enterprise pattern in order to increase farm
income, or to reduce income variability. It exploits new market opportunities or existing market niches.
Diversification may take the form of completely new enterprises, or may simply involve the expansion
of existing, high value, enterprises. The addition or expansion of enterprises refers not only to
production, but also to on-farm processing and other farm-based, income generating activity.

Some households escape poverty by:

a) Expanding farm size:

In this context size refers to managed rather than to owned resources. Increased farm size may also arise
through incursion into previously non-agricultural areas, such as forest often termed expansion of the
agricultural frontier. Although this option is not available within many systems, it is of relevance
particularly in parts of Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. Increasingly, however, such ‘new’ lands
are marginal for agricultural purposes, and may not offer sustainable pathways to poverty reduction.

b) Off-farm income

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Off-farm income represents an important source of livelihood for many poor farmers. Seasonal
migration has been one traditional household strategy for escaping poverty and remittances are often
invested in land or livestock purchases. In locations where there is a vigorous off-farm economy, many
poor households augment their incomes with part-time or full-time off-farm employment. Where
opportunities for improved livelihoods are perceived, a proportion of farm households will abandon their
land altogether, and move into other farming systems, or into off-farm occupations in rural or urban
locations.

2.3 Factors Controlling Farming System

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Natural resources and climate

The interaction of natural resources, climate and population determines the physical basis for farming
systems. During the early stages of development, increased population generally leads to an expansion
in cultivated area and, in many cases, conflict between the different users of land and water resources.
Once most good quality land is already exploited, further population increases tend to lead to the
intensification of farming systems. As forests and woodlands come under greater pressure, biodiversity
is threatened and there may be growing tension between development and conservation goals. Over the
past four decades the amount of land under cultivation, including permanent crops, has increased by
more than one quarter to just over one billion ha. However, the rapid growth of population in recent
years has meant that the area of cultivated land per capita in developing countries has declined by almost
half since the 1960s. Since the 1960s, pasture and grazing land has expanded by a total of 15 percent in
developing regions, to around 2.2 billion ha in 1994. Much of this expansion was achieved at the
expense of forest and woodland, which declined to about 2.3 billion ha over the same period. Annual
growth rates in cultivated area vary considerably between the regions.

Science and technology

Investments in agricultural science and technology have expanded rapidly during the last four decades.
During this period, major technical and institutional reforms occurred, which shaped the pattern of
technology development and dissemination. In the early 1970s, the Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research (CGIAR) was established and National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS)
were greatly strengthened. During the 1980s and 1990s partnerships among CGIAR centers and NARS
were established, including the eco-regional consortia. During the past decade, however, many NARS
have been under budget pressure as macro-economic reforms were implemented. Growing investments
in biotechnology are likely to increase agricultural research productivity and have the potential to
revolutionize production practices through the generation of customized crop varieties.

Trade liberalization and market development

Of the broad and all-encompassing processes included under the term globalization, the emphasis in this
section is placed on economic reform and trade liberalization. By the end of the 1970s, the economies of
many developing countries had become highly distorted as a result of excessive government intervention
and control. Most were in serious economic difficulties, with high inflation, unmanageable balance of
payments and fiscal deficits, high external debt ratios and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rates
that were negative or failing to match the rate of population increase. To address these problems, the

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International Monetary Fund (IMF), and subsequently the World Bank and other international
institutions and bilateral donors, initiated lending programmes under which balance of payments support
was provided to a range of developing countries conditional upon the adoption of programmes of
structural reform. These Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) have resulted in liberalized trade
and exchange rate regimes and radically reduced subsidies in many developing countries. Structural
adjustment, however, has not eliminated the urban bias in policies. Many SAPs have embodied reforms
specific to the agricultural sector. These include measures to:

(i) End marketing monopolies;

(ii) Reduce parastatal involvement in the supply of inputs, marketing and processing;
(iii) Reduce or remove subsidies, price controls and impediments to private sector activities;
(iv) Remove restraints on foreign trade; and
(v) Promote the private sector. Small-scale activities, requiring limited management, technical
knowledge and with limited capital requirements, have been rapidly adopted. The most
notable is grain milling.

Policies, Institutions and Public goods

The development of dynamic farming systems requires a conducive policy environment. Moreover, the
establishment of the farm-rural-urban linkages requires effective demand. The greatest change in this
environment during the past 30 years has been structural adjustment, the widespread introduction of
which marked another step in a key policy trend that can be discerned over the last few decades; the
decline of national food self sufficiency as a dominant element in the shaping of policies for rural areas.
In the 1960s, the perceived need to ensure national food security was paramount for many governments
and was used to justify direct intervention in agricultural marketing, storage, import licensing, input
subsidies and other areas. Although national food self-sufficiency is no longer an overriding policy aim,
food security remains a key policy issue for developing countries and indeed for the whole world. This
was emphasized in the FAO-sponsored World Food Summit of 1996 and the follow-up development
activities.

As structural adjustment programmes have progressed, policy makers have increasingly shifted their
attention to the potential to increase the efficiency of service delivery through the restructuring of
institutions. This has led to several results with enormous long-term impact: the shift of many
traditionally public sector roles to civil society and the private sector; the decentralization of remaining
government services; and an increasing reduction of government investment in the provision of public
services.
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Information and human capital

The evolution of farming systems based upon increasing specialization (e.g. large-scale broiler units) or
integrated intensification (e.g. rice-fish-ducks) has required extra knowledge on the part of farm
operators. The need for better information and enhanced human capital has also increased, as production
systems have become more integrated with regional, national and international market systems. Many
farmers in developed countries now have a much better understanding of the nature of the demand that
they are responding to in terms of its implications for varieties, timing, packaging, and permitted
chemicals. As a result, they have progressively modified their production practices and their portfolio of
products in response to changing patterns of demand. This knowledge-based approach has not yet been
adopted widely in developing countries, beyond a relatively small group of educated commercial
producers.

However, the experiences of some small producers have shown that this approach is possible, even
among producers facing severe poverty. Depending on the speed and form of evolution of farming
systems, knowledge-based adjustments are likely to intensify during the coming 30 years. Lack of
education, information and training is frequently a key limiting factor to smallholder development.
Many observers anticipate an information revolution that will provide large volumes of technological,
market and institutional information to these farmers.

One of the major achievements in many developing countries during the past three decades has been the
extension of literacy training and primary education to the majority of the rural population. Given the
high returns to primary education that have been repeatedly demonstrated, it is considered likely that
rural education will expand considerably in those countries where gender discrimination is minimal,
civil conflict is absent and economic stability can be maintained. This development may leave the next
generation better equipped to participate in knowledge-based agriculture and to utilize the expanding
information base.

1.4. Determinants of Farming Systems

The key categories of determinants influencing farming system are as follows:

A. Natural Resources and Climate:

The most determinant of natural resources are the following:

 Physical Factors Farming Systems

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Among the environmental factors affecting Farming Systems productivity, climate, soils and relief are
the most important.

 Temperature dictates the growing season as determined by the

number of frost free days. Temperature is very important for plant growth because each plant or
crop type requires a minimum growing temperature season.

What is a minimum growing season?

The growing season is defined as the number of days between the last sever frost of spring and the first
of autumn. It is therefore equivalent to the number of frost free-days. It can also define as the average
number of days per year with temperatures above the threshold level (above 6 o c). Wheat and cotton, for
example, requires 90 and 200 frost free days respectively. Within the tropics there is a continuous
growing season, provided moisture is available. Temperature and the length of the growing season both
decrease with height above sea level which produces a succession of natural vegetation types according
to altitude.

 Precipitation - determines the water supply, in its widest sense.

The mean annual rainfall in an area determines whether its farming is likely to be based upon tree crops,
grass or cereals or irrigation. The relevance and effectiveness of this annual total depends on
temperatures and the rate of evapo-transpiration. Only few crops can grow in temperate latitude if
temperate annual rainfall is less than 250mm, the equivalent figure for the tropics is 500 mm.

Besides mean annual total rainfall, the type of precipitation is also important in affecting agriculture.
Long - steady periods of rain allow water to infiltrate into the soil making the moisture available for
plant use. Short heavy periods of rain can lead to surface run - off and soil erosion and so are less
effective for plants.

 Wind - restricts cultivation of grain crops. Strong winds increase an evapo-transpiration rate
which means the soil dries out and becomes vulnerable to erosion. They also cause physical
damage to matured cereal crops; hurricanes, typhoons and tornadoes can all destroy crops by
their sheer strength. On the other hand, there are winds which are beneficial to agriculture: the
fohn and Chinook melt snows in the Alps and on the Prairies respectively, so increasing the
length of the growing season.
 Topography (Relief) – include altitude, gradient (slope) and aspect,
 Altitude (height) _ the growth of various crops is controlled by the decrease in temperature with
increasing height. As height increases, so too does exposure to wind and the amounts of cloud ,
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 snow and rain while the length of the growing season decreases, soils take longer to develop as
there are fewer mixing agents , humus takes longer to break down and leaching is more likely to
occur. Those high altitude areas which do have developed soils are prone to erosion. As a result,
a high altitude area of the world restricts the number and type of agricultural activities
undertaken.
 Slope (gradient) – It affects the depth of soil, its moisture, its moisture contents, its PH (acidity)
and therefore the type of crop, which can be grown on it. It also affects the type of agricultural
activities carried on and methods of farming. For instance, very steep slope areas make the use of
machinery impracticable and it is often necessary to resort to hand tillage.
 Aspect _ it refers to the orientation of the slope. Aspect is a part of the micro- climate. Different
phases (slopes) of the same land form may receive different amount of solar energy. In the
northern hemisphere, South facing slopes (adret slopes) receive appreciably higher temperatures
than their north facing (Ubac slopes) counter parts. Crops and trees both grow to a higher altitude
on the adret slopes.
 Soils ( Edaphic factors )- Different soil types may not have the same characteristics. They differ
in their depth, texture, stoniness, water retention capacity, aeration, structure, Ph etc .As a result,
different soils are used for different agricultural activities. The following examples help to show
the extent of the soils influence on farming.
 Heavy wet clays are not suitable to arable farming because they are difficult to plough and often
acidic, and thus they are commonly left for pastoral farming.
 Lighter sandy soils are usually used to cultivate vegetables and fruits for they are less acidic, well
drained and warmer.
 Lime soils (chalk) are light in texture, alkaline, dry and give high cereal yields.
B. Science and Technology
C. Trade Liberalization and Market Development
D. Policies, Institutions and Public goods
E. Information and Human Capital
F. Indigenous Technological Knowledge

Indigenous technical knowledge is the knowledge that people in a given community has developed over
times, and continues to develop. It is based on experience, often tested over long period of use, adapted
to local culture and environment, dynamic and changing, and lays emphasis on minimizing risks rather
than maximizing profits. The ITK covers a wide spectrum – soil water and nutrient management; pasture
and fodder management; crop cultivation; plant protection; farm equipment, farm power, post-harvest

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preservation and management; agro-forestry; bio-diversity conservation and also exploitation; animal
rearing and health care; animal products preservation and management; fisheries and fish preservation;
and ethnic foods and homestead management. Thus, the ITK of a farmer has a great influence in
managing the farm and farming system.

G. Biological Factors

The major biological factors that affect the development and distribution of agricultural activities are
plant diseases. Wheat rust, Sigatoka (affect banana), swollen shoot diseases (affects cocoa tree) and
pests such as locusts, tsetse fly, the Colorado beetle and etc can be mentioned as the common biological
factors affecting agriculture.

H. Cultural (Human) Factors Affecting Agriculture

The major cultural (human) factors affecting agriculture include the following:

1) Methods of cultivation _ methods and techniques of cultivation vary widely throughout the
world based on the following major points:
Crop rotation systems
Application of manures and fertilizers
Degree of mechanization
Use of irrigation and selective breeding of animals

Finally, methods and techniques of cultivation range from primitive shifting to highly capital intensive
scientific techniques; modernized farming techniques generate maximum yield compared to the
primitive shifting cultivation.

2) Labor Organization - It refers the manner in which the land is held and the way in which the
available labor supplies is organized. Farmers may be owners, tenants, land less laborers or state
employees on the land which they farm.

In the case of individually owned land (free hold ownership) the land belongs to the farmer, so that, the
farmer is encouraged to maintain the fertility of soil and will also invest capital to maximize the yield.
Another landholding system where a farmer rents certain place of land for certain periods of time is
known as Tenancy.

3) Inheritance laws and Fragmentation of Holdings

In several countries of the world, the death of the farmer has led to the sub division of farms into
numerous scattered and small fields which make mechanized agriculture impracticable.
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Inheritance laws thus will tend to reduce the size of individual farms and often they can operate only at
subsistence level which intern limited in the types of production. In South East Asia and Latin America
due to the rapid expansion of population, farms are already small in size and become too small for
mechanization. Besides, much time is wasted in movement between fields, and property disputes are
common.

I. Economic Factors Affecting Agriculture

The major economic factors that affect agriculture include transport, market, capital, technology and
government actions.

 Transport – The effects of transport on farming may be expressed in terms of the types of
transport available, the time taken and the cost of moving raw materials to the farm and produce
to the market. Perishable commodities like milk and fruits need for speedy transport to the
market. On the other hand, bulky goods such as potatoes and timber must be grown near the
market to reduce the cost of transportation required.
 Markets - The role of market is closely linked with transport. Perishable goods need to reach
the market as quickly as possible. A market demand depends upon the size and affluence of the
market population, its religious and cultural beliefs (e.g. fish consumed in catholic countries,
abstinence from pork by Jews), its preferred diet, changes in taste and fashion over time (e.g.
increased popularity of vegetarianism).
 Capital - Most developed countries that have large reserves of readily available finance are able
to build capital – intensive types of farming such as dairying, market gardening and mechanized
cereal growing. On the other hand , farmers in countries where there is lack of support from
financial institutions, and where there is high interest rate and that have limited capital resources
of their own have to be involved in labor – intensive methods of farming.
 Technology - Technological developments such as new strains of seed, cross- breeding of
animals, improved machinery and irrigation may extend the area of optimal conditions and the
limits of production. Due to lack of capital and expertise, developing countries are rarely able to
take advantage of these advances and so the gap between them and the economically developed
world continues to increase.
 Government- Government has also a critical role in agricultural activities. For instance, in
centrally planned economies it is the state and not the individual which makes the major farming
decision. In some countries farmers have been helped by government subsides, grants, loans and

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 tax allowances etc. Governments are also responsible for agricultural training schemes and on
giving advice on new methods.

CHAPTER THREE

THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

3.1. Agriculture and economic growth

Agriculture constitutes the main source of employment of the majority of the world’s poor. In total, the
share of agriculture in total employment in developing countries constitutes 53% of the total workforce
in 2004. In Sub-Saharan Africa 60% of the economically active population works in the agricultural
sector. When we measure agricultural growth, in terms of value added annual in % growth, Sub-
Saharan Africa has performed better than East-Asia and the Pacific in the past 10 years. Agriculture is
the mainstay of the Ethiopian economy since more than 80% of the country’s labor forces are farmers,
90% of the exports are agricultural commodities and one half of the GDP is generated from this sector.
In the development field, Ethiopia has adopted a policy known as ADLI, which stands for Agricultural
Development Led Industrialization. It gives heavy emphasis to sustainable agricultural development,
food security and the improvement of life in the rural areas. The policy recognizes that sustainable
agricultural production depends on appropriate natural resource management, and support for peasant
agriculture is taken as the center price of this policy.

3.2. Economic development and pro-poor growth

“What makes some countries rich and other poor? Economists have asked this question since the days of
Adam Smith.

What is economic growth?

What determines economic development, how agriculture features in this and whether economic growth
(i.e. through agricultural development) contributes to poverty reduction?

First, the accumulation of physical (machines, equipment, and structures) and human capital (education
and training embodied in the labour force) are important explanatory factors for economic growth.

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Technological and institutional factors influence the rate of accumulation of capital and therefore they
are more fundamental explanations for growth.

Second, total factor productivity (TFP) is an important element in explaining economic growth.
Improving the quality of inputs (e.g. labor through education, physical inputs through technological
innovation) as well as improving the organization of production and distribution increases productivity
to a large extent and thus are an important determinant of grow.

Third, capital, knowledge and innovation flows between countries are important. Foreign trade and
investments affect the incentives to innovate, imitate and use new technologies and thus countries’
income levels are interdependent. Free trade is a politically sensitive issue. On the one hand, trade
enables a country to make use of innovations abroad, import products and to export its produce; on the
other hand, it faces competition of other countries.

Finally, a (recent) the effects of economic and political institutions on economic growth and has shown
the importance of these for economic growth. North especially, has been instrumental in showing how
institutional innovation have contributed to economic development, as well as how institutional failures
have contributed to economic deterioration of societies.

3.3. Linkages between agricultural and non-agricultural sector

“The rural non-farm sector is a poorly understood component of the rural economy of developing
countries and we know relatively little about its role in the broader development process”.

The policy implications of linkages between the agricultural and non-agricultural sector are particularly
important. Rural development programmes have traditionally tended to increase agricultural production
but have often neglected (rural) non-farm activities such as the processing of raw agricultural materials
and the manufacturing of agricultural equipment, tools and inputs, and this has resulted in the
marginalization of some groups in rural areas. Moving away from the traditional paradigm that rural and
agriculture are the same has proven difficult, both conceptually and operationally. Many rural
development policies often continue to ignore or fail to put sufficient emphasis on the role of the rural
non-farm sector, and its synergies with agriculture. There are several factors for this apparent neglect.

First, empirical evidence on the processes and distributional implications of participation in certain
types of non-farm activities remain ambiguous.

Secondly, it is unclear where rural non-farm activities are located. Whether they tend to cluster in
certain areas or whether specific types of activities tend to cluster thereby creating agglomeration
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economies. The spatial relationship between rural non-farm activities and different types of agricultural
activities are not well understood and are potentially important.

Third, with respect to development policy, the separated focus of agriculture (under the Ministry of
Agriculture) and rural non-farm activities (under the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism) has
not lead to an integration of the two in development policies and programmes.

3.4. Backward and forward linkages

The forward and backward linkages operating through both production and consumption include:

Providing food for domestic consumption,

Releasing labor for industrial employment,
Enlarging the market for domestic industrial output,
Increasing the supply of domestic savings,
Earning foreign exchange.
3.5. Factor markets: land, labor and capital

Agriculture is a source of both labor and capital for non-agricultural production. Factor markets are the
markets where factors of production (labor, land or capital) are traded and the equilibrium price of the
factor is determined. Factor markets are often missing or incomplete in rural areas. A land market may
not be functioning because farmers do not have the right to sell their land, or incomplete because selling
and buying of land is hardly taking place. Factor markets for labor are also often incomplete, for
instance in peak periods (such as during weeding or harvesting), labor is scarce and cannot be hired in or
out.

Land

Land often becomes a scarce and valuable resource in peri-urban areas, with competing claims from the
non-agricultural sector (e.g. construction of housing or industry), and the agricultural sector. On the one
hand, peri-urban agriculture can benefit by being close to urban centers, especially when they have a
comparative advantage over more remote regions in having access to a large consumer market, saving
on transport costs and the ability to provide perishable products quickly to markets. The location of
agro-industrial systems in rural areas may also increase the value of land as well as cropping patterns, as
it has, for example in horticultural areas of Chile, Peru and Bolivia.

Labor: Non-farm employment

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For a long time it was assumed that opportunities outside the agricultural sector were limited and
therefore the labor market was incomplete. But increasing evidence is being brought forward that
farmers do not live by farming alone. It is estimated that rural non-farm income presents on average
42% of rural income in Africa, 32% in Asia and 40% in Latin America1. Even in areas with
predominantly subsistence agriculture, such as many regions in Africa, off-farm employment can
constitute as high as 40% of rural household income.

Capital

In rural areas, capital markets are often incomplete, with virtually no possibilities to save money with
interest and borrowing money usually comes at a high cost, this limiting the opportunity of rural
households to borrow money for investments. Non-farm cash income can bridge this gap. In times of
crop failure, non-farm income can fill the food deficit. Other mechanisms are contract farming whereby
the buyer of produce will pre-finance inputs such as fertilizer.

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 CHAPTER FOUR

CLASSIFICATION OF FARMING AND CROPPING SYSTEMS

4.1. Classification of farming system

Farming system can be classified based on different criteria

1. Classification of Farming Systems- According to Production of Land

A. Intensive Cultivation:

In the case of intensive cultivation more labor and capital are used in the same piece of land. In other
words land remains fixed in quantity while other factors are increased. If the same land is rare due to
population pressure, while labor and capital are comparatively cheap, intensive cultivation is preferred
than extensive cultivation. The application of intensive cultivation method depends mainly upon-
Increasing population and Technical improvement. . In Poorer nations this has traditionally been Labor
Intensive, where huge amounts of man power are put into the system to maximize output. In richer
nations this tends to be Capital Intensive, where huge amounts of money for resources and technology
are put into the systems to maximize outputs.

B. Extensive Cultivation:

When more area is brought under cultivation to increases the output it is termed as extensive cultivation.
In extensive cultivation land is chiefly available but availability of other factors increases less
proportionately. A cultivator wishing to increases his output may follow either intensive method or
extensive method but the selection of these two methods is based on cost. If following extensive
cultivation than by following intensive cultivation can raise the additional output more cheaply,
extensive method of cultivation will be useful. If on the other hand intensive cultivation seems to be the
cheaper method he will naturally adopt it. If land is cheaper and it can be had at a normal cost while
labour and capital are comparatively costlier, extensive cultivation will be cheaper method of obtaining
increased output. In early times when land was plentiful extensive cultivation was followed. The
extensive and intensive cultivation go side by side in a country for a certain period of time and
afterwards intensive cultivation may become more important method. In most of the countries extensive
and intensive methods of cultivation generally go hand in hand.

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 2. Classification of Farming System-According to Water Supply

A. Rain fed farming.

B. Irrigated farming.

Rain Fed Farming: Agriculture mainly depends on the rainfall in most part of the country. 80% of the
total cultivated arable land is rain fed. Rain fed farming is very risky system of farming where the
success of the crop depends on the cycle of the season. Timely rainfall is the pre-requisite of this
farming. The uneven rainfall is quite detrimental to crop production.

Principles of relevant components of environmentally sustainable farming systems should include.

 Reduce soil erosion and improving soil conservations.

 Inclusion of legumes and cover crops in crop rotations.

 Agro-forestry as an alternate land use system and

 Judicious use of organic waste.

Irrigated Farming: Crop can be grown throughout the year; in this case moisture is not limited factor.
In the case of irrigated farming system:

1. The round the year cropping pattern becomes possible.

2. Intensive cropping is possible.

3. Production can be increased by proper utilization of productive resources

4. Crop rotation can be executed properly due to adequate irrigation facility

5. Manuring is safely done in irrigated crop.

6. The field experiment is possible, because of timely irrigation facility.

3. Classification According to Degree of Commercialization

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Depending Upon the Produce Sold in the Market for Earning Money:

a) Commercialized farming.

b) Partly commercialized farming &

c) Subsistence farming.

Commercialized Farming: More than 50% of the produce is for sale.

Partly Commercialized Farming: More than 50% of the value of produce is for home consumption.

Subsistence Farming: Virtually there is no sale of crop and animal products, but used for home
consumption. Subsistence farming is a type of farming where the farmers of our country cultivate the
crop in their land for the livings.

Advantages:

 Utilizing productive resources profitably.

 Farmers with their family members engaged though the year as they rearing cattle, poultry etc.

 Farmer meet their demand from the income from cattle, poultry etc.

 By product used properly.

Disadvantages:

 Fails to adopt improved crop cultivation technique do to small holding.

 Cultivation mainly depends on monsoon rain.

 Procurement of seed, fertilizer as and when required is difficult.

 Income of this farm is very low.

4. Classification of Farming System according to Intensity of the Rotation:

a) Shifting cultivation.
b) Lay or fallow farming.
c) Permanent cultivation.
d) Multiple cropping.

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 5. Classification of Farming System according to Intensity of the Rotation Classification
According to Degree of Nomadic:
a) Total nomadic.
b) Partial nomadic.
c) Transhumant.
d) Stationary animal husbandry.

a) Total nomadic: In this system, the animal owners do not have permanent place of residence. They do
not practice regular cultivation. Their families move with the herds.

b) Transhumant: Means seasonal migration of livestock to suitable grazing ground or it is the situation
in which farmer with a permanent residence sends their herd with herdsman for long period of time to
distant grazing areas.

c) Partial nomadic: Farmer has permanent residence and who have herds at their disposal, which
remains in the vicinity.

d) Stationary animal husbandry: Occurs where the animals remain on the holding Or in the village
throughout the entire year.

6. Classification of Farming System according to Implements Used for Cultivation:

a) Spade farming.

b) Hoe farming.

c) Mechanized or tractor farming.

a) Spade farming: manual labor is used.

b) Moe farming or hoe farming: Bullock power to use for cultivation.

c) Mechanized or tractor farming: Power operated implements are used for cultivation.
E.g. plough, tractor.

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 4.2. Classifications of Cropping System:

Depending on the resources and technology available, different types of cropping systems are adopted
on farms.

A. Mono-cropping or single Cropping: Mono-cropping refers to growing only one crop on a

particular land year after year. Or Practice of growing only one crop in a piece of land year after
year e.g. growing only rabbi crops in dry lands or only said crops in diary lands (Lands situated
in river basins which often remain flooded during rainy season). This is due to climatologically
and socio economic conditions or due to specialization of a farmer in growing a particular crop.
Groundnut or cotton or sorghum is grown year due to limitation of rainfall. Flue-cured tobacco is
grown in Günter (A.P.) due to specialization of a farmer in growing a particular crop. Rice crop
is grown, as it is not possible to grow any other crops, in canal irrigated areas, and under water
logged conditions.

B. Sole Cropping: One crop variety grown alone in pure stand at normal density.

C. Multiple Cropping or Poly-cropping: It is a cropping system where two or three crops are
gown annually on the same piece of land using high input without affecting basic fertility of the
soil. Growing two or more crops on the same piece of land in one calendar year known as
multiple cropping. It is the intensification of cropping in time and space dimensions i.e. more
number of crops within a year and more number of crops on the same piece of land at any given
period. It includes inter-cropping, mixed cropping and sequence cropping.

Advantages:

 Minimum tillage is needed for relay cropping and primary cost of cultivation is less.

 Weed infestation is less, as land is engaged with crops year round.

 Crop residues are added in the soil and thus more organic matter.

 Residual fertilizer of previous crops benefits succeeding crops

4.3. Agro Climatic Zones

Ethiopians since antiquity have broadly divided their climate into five zones based on elevation. Each
zone has its own pattern rainfall pattern and agricultural production system. In general, the highland
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zones (Dega and Wiena Dega zones) contain most of the agricultural areas, while the semi-arid and arid
lowlands zones (Kolla and Behera) are dominated by livestock in agro-pastoral and pastoral production
systems.

Each agro-climatic zone is described below.

 Wurch (Cold highlands): Areas above 3000 meters and annual rainfall is above 2200-mm.
Barley is the dominate crop and light frost often forms at night.
 Dega (Cool, humid, highlands): Areas from 2500-3000 meters where annual rainfall ranges
from 1200 to 2200-mm. Barley and wheat are the dominate crops.
 Weina Dega (Temperate, cool sub-humid, highlands): Areas between 1500 to 2500 meters,
where annual rainfall ranges from 800-1200-mm. This is where most of the population lives and
all regional types of crops are grown, especially teff.
 Kolla (Warm, semi-arid lowlands): Areas below 1500 meters with annual rainfall ranges from
200-800 mm. Sorghum and corn are grown, with teff grown in the better areas. The kolla is
warm year round and temperatures range from 27 to 50 degrees Celsius.
 Bereha (Hot and hyper-arid): General term that refers to the extreme form of kolla, where
annual rainfall is less than 200-mm. The bereha has desert type vegetation where pastoralism is
the main economic activity. This area encompasses the Denakil Depression, the Eritrean
lowlands, the eastern Ogaden, the deep tropical valleys of the Blue Nile and Tekezé rivers, and
the peripheral areas along the Sudanese and Kenyan borders.

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Figure 4.1. Agro-climatic Zones of Ethiopia

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 CHAPTER FIVE

THE ECOLOGICAL ROLE AND ENHANCEMENT OF BIODIVERSITY IN AGRICULTURE

5.1. Introduction

Biodiversity in agriculture, or agro biodiversity, refers to all crops and animal breeds, their wild
relatives, and other species (e.g. pollinators, symbionts, pests, parasites, predators, decomposers, and
competitors) that co-exist and interact within crop lands and/or their surrounding environments. It
includes populations of variable and adaptable landraces, as well as wild and weedy relatives, from
which the entire range of domestic crops is derived.

Components of agro-biodiversity include genes, populations, species, communities, and ecosystems, as

well as the landscapes in which agro-ecosystems are embedded. Most components of agro-biodiversity
perform ecological functions and deliver services that sustain ecosystem processes and the natural
resource base upon which agriculture depends.

Biodiversity simplification in agriculture results in an artificial ecosystem that requires constant human
intervention. While, in natural ecosystems, the internal regulation of function is a product of plant
biodiversity through flows of energy and nutrients, under agricultural intensification this form of control
is progressively lost. Thus commercial seedbed preparation and mechanized planting replace natural
methods of seed dispersal; chemical pesticides replace natural controls on populations of weeds, insects,
and pathogens; and genetic manipulation replaces natural processes of plant evolution and selection.
Even decomposition is altered since plant growth is harvested and soil fertility maintained, not through
nutrient recycling, but with fertilizers.

5.2. Modern Agriculture and Biodiversity

Modern agriculture has led to the simplification of environmental structure over vast areas, replacing
nature’s diversity with a small number of cultivated plants and domesticated animals.

Modern agriculturalists have selected crops for high yields and high profitability, sacrificing natural
resistance to pests and disease for productivity. While significant amounts of toxic secondary
compounds remain in many edible crops, the general trend has been the gradual reduction of the
chemical and morphological (physical) features that protect plants.

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Modern agricultural practices such as pesticide application also negatively affect natural enemies
(predators and parasites) and key soil biota components, which do not thrive well in toxic environments.
Further, a new wave of environmental effects may be associated with the massive deployment of
transgenic crops whose effects are not limited to pest resistance and the creation of new weeds or virus
strains. Transgenic crops can produce environmental toxins with potential to move through the food
chain and precipitate a series of unintended consequences for key ecological processes. These toxins
may negatively affect bio-control agents such as invertebrate populations which, in turn, can affect
nutrient cycling. These toxins can also persist in the soil profile by binding to colloids. It is not yet
possible to determine the specific long-term impacts of transgenic crops on agro-biodiversity and the
ecological processes it mediates. However, as long as monocultures remain the structural foundation of
modern agricultural systems, agro-ecological research suggests that pest problems will persist (Figure
5.1).

Figure 5.1. Classification of dominant agricultural agro-ecosystems on a gradient of diversity and

vulnerability to pest outbreak

5.3. Biodiversity in Traditional Farming Systems

Traditional farming systems are the degree of plant diversity in the form of poly-cultures and/or agro-
forestry patterns. Traditional cropping systems are also genetically diverse, containing numerous
varieties of domesticated crop species as well as their wild relatives.

Interactions between crops, animals and trees result in beneficial synergisms that allow bio-diverse agro-
ecosystems to sponsor their own soil fertility, pest control and productivity, such as:

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  Inter-planting crops that enrich the soil with organic matter counteracts the tendency of certain
crops to deplete the soil;
 Intercropping diverse plant species provides habitat for the natural enemies of insect pests as
well as alternative host plants for pests;
 Mixing different crop species or varieties can delay the onset of diseases, reduce the spread of
disease-carrying spores and modify environmental conditions such as humidity, light,
temperature and air movement, so that they are less favorable to the spread of certain diseases;
and
 Many intercropping systems prevent competition from weeds by creating complex canopies that
block sunlight from reaching sensitive weed species, or by allelopathic inhibition of germination
and growth of weeds.

The sustainability of intercropping, agro-forestry, shifting cultivation and other traditional farming
methods derives, in part, from their mimicry of natural ecological processes.

5.4. Organic Agriculture and Biodiversity

Most practitioners and supporters of organic agriculture believe that organic farms have positive impacts
on biodiversity, and that farmland under organic agriculture does not exhibit the same dramatic decline
in biodiversity that occurs in conventional agricultural farmland. These biodiversity benefits are likely to
derive from the specific environmental features and management practices employed within organic
systems, which are either absent or rarely utilized in the majority of conventional systems. The use of
biological and management practices by organic farmers to manage fertility and pests, such as green
manuring, composting, intercropping, and rotation, encourage habitat heterogeneity and floral diversity.

The biodiversity benefits of organic management are likely to accrue through the provision of a greater
quantity and quality of both crop and non-crop habitat than on conventional farms. Three broad organic
management options seem to be particularly beneficial to farmland biodiversity:

1. Prohibition/reduced use of chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers;

2. Sympathetic management of non-crop habitats and field margins; and
3. Preservation of mixed farming. While these three biodiversity friendly management options are
characteristic of most organic farming operations they are certainly not ubiquitous or unique.
5.5. Managing Planned and Associated Biodiversity

Two distinct components of biodiversity can be recognized in agro-ecosystems.

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The first, planned biodiversity includes the crops and livestock purposely included in an agro-
ecosystem.

The second component, associated biodiversity, includes all the soil flora and fauna, herbivores,
carnivores, decomposers etc that colonize the agro-ecosystem from surrounding environments. The
functional relationship between these components and the ecosystems of which they are a part is
illustrated in Figure 5.2. Both planned and associated biodiversity have direct functions in the provision
of ecosystem services as illustrated by the bold arrows. However, planned biodiversity also has an
indirect function, illustrated by the dotted arrow in the figure, which is realized through its influence on
associated biodiversity.

Figure
5.2. The relationship between planned and associated biodiversity in promotion of ecosystem function

Complementary interactions between the various biotic components of agro-ecosystems can be of a

multiple nature. Some of these interactions can be used to induce positive and direct synergisms and
effects on the biological control of specific crop pests and plant diseases, soil fertility regeneration and
soil conservation. The exploitation of these interactions in real situations involves agro-ecosystem
design and management and requires an understanding of the numerous relationships between soils,
microorganisms, plants, insect herbivores, and natural enemies. According to agro-ecological theory, the
optimal behavior of agro-ecosystems depends on the level of interaction between the various biotic and
abiotic components.

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 5.6. Agro-Ecosystem Biodiversity Components and their Ecological Function

Beneficial insects: predators and parasitoids

Increasing the richness of a particular guild of predators or parasitoids, or both, can reduce the density of
a widespread group of herbivorous pests and, in turn, increase the yield of economically important
crops. Experience with biological control suggests that when enemy species act together, the population
density of specific pests is suppressed more than could be predicted from the summed impact of each
enemy species alone. The nature and dynamics of the relationships between plants and herbivores and
between herbivores and their natural enemies in diversified agro-ecosystems are as follow:

Crop–weed–insect interaction studies: evidence indicates that weeds influence the diversity and
abundance of insect herbivores and associated natural enemies in crop systems. Certain weeds
(mostly Umbelliferae, Leguminosae and Compositae) harbour beneficial arthropods that
suppress pest populations.
Insect dynamics in annual poly-cultures: overwhelming evidence suggests that poly-cultures
support a lower herbivore load than do monocultures. Relatively more stable natural enemy
populations persist in poly-cultures due to the more continuous availability of food sources and
micro-habitats, while specialized herbivores are more likely to find and remain on pure crop
stands that provide concentrated resources and monotonous physical conditions.
Herbivores in complex perennial crop systems: orchards with rich floral undergrowth exhibit a
lower incidence of insect pests than clean cultivated orchards due to the increased abundance and
efficiency of predators and parasitoids. In some cases, ground cover directly affects herbivore
species, which discriminate between trees with and without cover beneath.
Pest management in agro-forestry systems: like other poly-cultures, insect populations are more
stable in complex agro-forestry systems because a diverse and more permanent habitat can
maintain an adequate population of the pest and its enemies at critical times.
The effects of adjacent vegetation: one way to re-introduce biodiversity into large-scale
monocultures is by establishing diverse vegetation along field margins and/or hedgerows which
may serve as biological corridors allowing the movement and distribution of useful arthropod
biodiversity within agro-ecosystems.

Vegetation management strategies must include knowledge and consideration of:

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 1. Crop arrangement in time and space;
2. The composition and abundance of non-crop vegetation within and around fields;
3. The soil type;
4. The surrounding environment; and
5. The type and intensity of management.

The response of insect populations to environmental manipulations depends upon their degree of
association with one or more of the vegetational components of the system. Extension of the cropping
period or planning temporal or spatial cropping sequences may allow naturally occurring biological
control agents to sustain higher population levels on alternate hosts or prey and to persist in the
agricultural environment throughout the year.

Beneficial insects: pollinators

Pollination is critical to the overall maintenance of biodiversity, as over 200,000 flowering plant species
depend on pollination. In agro-ecosystems, pollinators are essential for orchard, horticultural and forage
production, as well as the production of seed for many root and fibre crops. Data from 200 countries
revealed that fruit, vegetable or seed production from 87 of the leading global food crops is dependent
upon animal pollination.

As farm fields have become larger, and the use of agricultural chemicals has increased, mounting
evidence points to a potentially serious decline in populations of pollinators. In agro-ecosystems,
pollinator diversity and abundance is critically dependent on the availability of natural habitat in
proximity to the farm site. Farm management may also influence the diversity and abundance of native
bees found on farms. On organic farms near natural habitat, native bee communities were found to be
capable of providing full pollination services even for crops with heavy pollination requirements (e.g.
watermelon, Citrullus lanatus), without the intervention of managed honeybees. Conventional farms
experienced greatly reduced diversity and abundance of native bees, resulting in insufficient pollination
services from native bees alone.

Agricultural intensification simultaneously reduces the richness, abundance and biomass of bees, and
promotes local extinction of the most efficient bee pollinators. Pollinator populations have been
adversely affected by increased pesticide use and much of their natural habitats, which include
hedgerows, dead trees and old fence posts; have been destroyed to make room for more farmland. There
is ample evidence to suggest that pollinator populations are in decline and that such declines are

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affecting agricultural productivity. A global shortage of bees and other insect pollinators is reducing
crop yields around the world and could lead to far higher prices for fruits and vegetables.

Soil biota

Soil provides habitat for a diverse array of organism’s microbes (fungi, bacteria and actinomycetes) and
animals such as nematodes, mites, collembola, diplopoda, earthworms and arthropods, which contribute
to the maintenance and productivity of agro-ecosystems. The rhizosphere, which is the interface between
plant roots and the soil environment, is the location of much soil biological activity and plant-microbe
interactions including symbioses, pathogenic infection, and competition. A square meter of an organic
temperate agricultural soil may contain 1000 species of organisms with population densities in the order
of 106 per square meter for nematodes, 105 per square meter for micro arthropods, and 104 per square
meter for other invertebrate groups.

Energy, carbon, nitrogen and other nutrient fluxes through the soil’s decomposing subsystem are
dominated by fungi and bacteria, although invertebrates play a certain role in nitrogen flux. The types of
species present and their level of activity depends on micro-environmental conditions including
temperature, moisture, aeration, pH, pore size, and types of food sources.

The community of soil organisms incorporates plant and animal residues and wastes into the soil and
digests them, creating soil humus, which is a vital constituent for good physical and chemical soil
conditions, and the recycling of carbon and mineral nutrients. This decomposition process includes the
release of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere where it can be recycled through higher plants, and the
release of essential plant nutrients in inorganic forms that can be absorbed by plants. Also, since the
microbial biomass itself is a relatively labile fraction of the soil organic matter, nutrients in the biomass
become available as live microbes digest dead microbial cells.

soil organisms perform a number of vital functions in support of soil physical structure and chemical
fertility including:

Decomposition of plant residues, manures, and organic wastes;

Humus synthesis;
Improvement of soil structure;
Mineralization of organic N, S, and P;
Increase in the availability of plant nutrients; for example, P, Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu;

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 Biological nitrogen fixation;
Plant growth promotion: growth hormones, changes in seed germination, floral development,
root and shoot biomass;
Altering soil structure and aggregation;
Suppressing pathogenic organisms;
Breakdown of toxic compounds;
Biological control of weeds for example, biological herbicides; and
Enhanced drought tolerance of plants

Given the ecological services provided by soil biodiversity, soil organisms are crucial for the
sustainability of agro-ecosystems. Therefore, it is important to define and encourage agricultural
practices that increase the abundance and diversity of soil organisms by enhancing habitat conditions,
soil organic matter content and resource availability, and to avoid practices that reduce soil biodiversity.
Sustained agricultural productivity may depend on the selection of management practices that enhance
soil biological function in the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, recycling of carbon and nutrients, and
suppression of soil pathogens.

The types of agricultural management practices that influence soil biological activity are those that
enhance nutrient cycling, add carbon and nitrogen inputs, improve the soil physical environment, and
avoid synthetic chemicals that can harm soil microbial and faunal activity. Such practices include the
use of cover crops and/or green manures, inclusion of a high-residue crop or perennial sod, applications
of manure or compost, and reduced tillage and lower use of nitrogen fertilizers.

Reduced tillage (with surface placement of residues) creates a relatively more stable environment and
encourages development of more diverse decomposer communities and slower nutrient turnover.
Residue has an important effect on organic substrate availability and soil microclimatic characteristics.
Soils with residues chopped and left as mulch generally support higher populations of surface feeding
earthworms. Soil unprotected by surface mulch will freeze much faster than mulched soil and earthworm
mortality increases in the absence of a gradual period of adjustment to decreasing temperatures.

Soil biotic populations can also be increased through direct introduction of organisms. Earthworms have
been commonly introduced in a number of instances for soil conditioning and enhanced soil structure
and fertility. Inoculation of seeds or roots with rhizobia, mycorrhizae, and Trichoderma are examples of
direct manipulations of micro flora to enhance plant performance. A major problem to overcome in the
use of inoculations and introductions is ensuring the establishment of the introduced organisms.

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Competition from a diverse indigenous soil biota may overwhelm introduced organisms. Additionally,
limited availability of food resources may result in extinction or emigration.

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