1. “Soil Fertility Management and eco-efficiency of small holder agricultural systems” Deborah Bossio Theme Leader ‘Productive Water Use’ International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Presentation to CIAT September 2011

2. Outline My background Global context for soils and land research Creating impact with research TSBF in the new CGIAR

3. Brief Introduction UC Davis - MSc Soil Fertility UC Davis – PhD Soil Microbiology USGS – Soil Microbiologist ICRAF – Soil Ecologist IWMI – Principal Soil Scientist, Theme Leader ‘Productive Water Use’

4. Maintaining soil fertility on-farm in Ecuador

5. Farm management, soil microbial community structure and function, California Sustainable Agriculture Farming Systems Rice Straw Demonstration

6. Land management, degraded soils and giraffe in Kenya Goal: improve our ability to manage soils based on biology as well as chemistry and physical properties ICRAF, TSBF

7. “Every land use decision is a water use decision” Conserving land - protecting water Bossio et al. 2007

10. Soils research and land management on small holder farms at the heart of many pressing global issues: Food and Environmental security Water Scarcity and Eco-efficiency Planetary Boundaries and Climate Change Ecosystem Services and Resilience

11. 1. Food Security We haven’t solved the food problem … Food aide line in Ethiopia during a ‘normal year’

12. The 850 million undernourished. Dependent on Agriculture Vulnerable to loss of access Employment Nutrition, food security, income There are few options outside of agriculture for most rural poor at present Lower Food Prices Source: FAO data, graphic from SEI

13. Into the future Food production needs to double to meet demand by 2050

15. Dietary change

16. Urbanization

17. Globalization

18. Energy/Biofuel production

19. Need to preserve biodiversity and environment

20. Climate change Cars and Carnivores Many actions are outside the food sector but have a profound impact on land, water and agriculture!!

21. We will be able to feed the world, but at what cost?Environmental Security and Social Justice Paradox that successful food production and agricultural livelihoods depend on ecosystem functioning, which is threatened by expansion and intensification of food production The most vulnerable populations are the most closely dependent on ecosystem function, and have least secure access to food Research: How is ‘land grabbing’ impacting on resource access for smallholders, pastoralists and the landless?

22. 2. Water Scarcity and Eco-efficiency 1/3 of the world’s population live in basins that have to deal with water scarcity

23. CA Scenarios to 2050 Today Practices like today CA Scenario CA Scenario: Policies for productivity gains, upgrading rainfed, revitalized irrigation, trade Based on WaterSim analysis for the CA

24. Eco-efficiency ‘Creating more goods and services while using fewer resources and creating less waste and pollution’ (WBCSD) Increasing land and water (and other input) productivity is the only way to achieve positive scenarios Soil and land degradation major impediment to achieving eco-efficiency and sustainable agricultural intensification

25. Cycle of negative soil-water relations must be broken to improve eco-efficiency Loss of soil organic matter Soil quality degradation Soil physical properties degraded Increased crusting and compaction decreased water holding capacity Water cycles altered More and faster runoff, more channelling Accelerated erosion more interrill and gully erosion, more gully formation

26. 4/02/2011 ILRI Campus, ETHIOPIA Water and Agriculture Share Fair Eco-efficiency vision: Improved management of soil and water in landscapes to benefit people

29. ‘Greening’ of upper catchments improves regulating and provisioning ecosystem services

30. Carbon sequestrationRESTORED Evaporation + Infiltration + Transpiration + Runoff

31. Restore (preserving or maintaining) natural ecosystems and livelihood resilience For the landscape: relieving pressure on natural ecosystems, preserves ‘ecosystem insurance capacity’ for communities during hard times Bossio et al. Special Issue: Agricultural Water Management, 2011

32. Aggregate benefit of Resource Conserving Practices in ‘Bright spots’ Organic farming Conservation agriculture Ecoagriculture Agroforestry Integrated pest Management Integrated nutrient management Integrated livestock systems Aquaculture Water harvesting in dryland systems Water saving irrigation, including small scale Bossio et al. 2007, 2010

34. 57 countries

35. 36.9 M ha of land

36. 12.6 M farmsPretty, Noble, Bossio et al., 2006 Env. Sci. Tech.

38. Carbon sequestration potential: 11 Mt C per year carbon potentially sequestered overall

39. Reduced pesticide use: Over 50% decreasewith average yield increase of 35%Research: Eco-efficiency, not so much ‘can we?’ but where and how to create context for adoption and change? (Pretty et al., 2006)

40. 3. Planetary Boundaries Soils and land use central to many of these defined boundaries Research: What is the role of agriculture in crossing critical thresholds? Rockstrom et al. 2009

41. Planetary Boundaries Research: What are the thresholds, and how close are we to them? CC has catapulted Carbon to forefront, but also N cycles

42. 4. Ecosystem Services and Resilience Fig. 1 –Number of papers using the term “ecosystem services” or “ecological services” in an ISI Web of Science search through 2007. Fisher et al. 2009

43. Ecosystem services in wetlands Qualitative approach How important are they? Recent trends? Sensitivity to change in practices

44. Ecosystem Services and Social Ecological Resilience CPWF Nile

45. Soils and land management are integral to multiple Ecosystem Services Meat Fish Crops Fuel Fiber Soil fertility Regulation of water balance Land management Recreation Pest control Climate regulation Nutrient cycling Soil biology Soil formation

46. Ecosystem Services and Multifunctionality Research: Can biodiverse systems be profitable and sustain livelihoods? Are multifunction agricultural systems more resilient?

47. Ecosystem services - valuation, PES, ‘green economy,’ and Rio +20 “More and more agriculture needs to be brought into the ‘green economy’,” said Alain Vidal of the CPWF. “We need to value farming practices that protect our precious water resources in the same way we are beginning to value forest management that helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially because those natural resources support the livelihoods of the most vulnerable.” Research: What is the value of the soil fertility resource to a nation? Can co-benefits of carbon help justify increased supporting investment?

48. Problem identification Strategies for improvement Creating Impact Change Strategy Practices and Interventions Lever of Change Project Outcome

49. Planning for Impact Start with a strategic issue that has large scale importance Choose the right partners Have a strategy – theory of change Develop and link sets of projects along impact pathway….. Pay attention to context, context really matters Get lots of help from corporate comms to design materials for specific audiences…. Feedback and learning cycles

50. ‘New alliance between agriculture and environment groups’ IWMI and UNEP, 2011 Strategic partnerships, local, national, global

51. TSBF in the new CGIAR

53. TSBF ISFM Program well placed to lead in soil fertility management practices, agenda and approach are very much aligned

55. CRP5 responds to a number of scientific challenges in the arena of ecosystems and agricultural development Understanding how human actions affect ecosystems, the provision of ecosystem services, and the value of services (Daily and Matson, 2008) Measuring and monitoring trends and changes in important natural capitals (Sachs et al., 2010) Developing incentives that accurately reflect the social values of ecosystem services to society (Daily and Matson, 2008) Satisfying increasingly diverse expectations through sustainable intensification of agricultural systems (Dore, et al., 2011) Developing and maintaining structure and function in social-ecological systems in the face of shocks, stresses or other disturbance, to reduce the vulnerability of the population (Walker et al, 2010) Maintaining ecosystem functions and connectivity in landscapes under changing land use scenarios (Silvestri and Kershaw, 2010) Understanding dynamics in linked social-ecological systems, to support progress towards long-term sustainability (Ostrom, 2009)

57. ‘Rainfed’ focuses on mixed farming landscapes, including social and biophysical landscape, integrating soil and water management, and developing opportunities at larger scales

58. Opportunities and challenges:

59. Livelihoods and landscapes

60. Engage in scientific challenges related to ecosystems and agriculture