Land For Life: Organic, Regenerative Agroforestry for 100% Food Security with the Inga Tree Model

Mike Hands
Publié: 30 juillet 2021
Dernière modification: 30 juillet 2021
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Résumé

Since 2012, the Inga Foundation’s simple agroforestry system of Inga Alley Cropping has empowered 300+ families who have planted over 4 million trees dramatically transforming their lives.The ability of the resilient Inga tree to anchor, enrich, and regenerate depleted soil provides food security with 100% success for families with 2 year-old alleys. These fast-growing native Inga species which fix nitrogen in the soil  provide organic cash crops as well as significantly reduce global carbon emissions, protect wildlife and marine habitats, preserve water sources and yield a year’s worth of firewood. The basic grains/cash crops are grown without herbicides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or heavy equipment.  Inga seedlings are planted in rows on steep, degraded slopes and require no technology or heavy equipment.  The Model positively addressing 11 of the 17 United Nations SDGs with NO NEGATIVE IMPACT whatsoever on the remaining 6.

Classifications

Région
Amérique centrale
Ampleur de la mise en œuvre
Local
Ecosystème
Agroforesterie
Écosystème agricole
Thème
Accès et partage des avantages
Acteurs locaux
Adaptation au changement climatique
Agriculture
Atténuation du changement climatique
Connaissances traditionnelles
Connectivité / conservation transfrontières
Fragmentation et la dégradtion de l'habitat
Gestion des ressources forestières
Indigènes
L'intégration de la biodiversité
L'intégration du genre
Pollution
Prévention de l'érosion
Restauration
Réduction des risques de catastrophes
Autre thème
Co2 sequestration/avoidance
Families not forced to become climate refugees
Défis
Sécheresse
Précipitations erratiques
Chaleurs extrêmes
Inondations
Dégradation des terres et des forêts
Perte de l'écosystème
Pollution (y compris eutrophisation et déchets)
Développement d’infrastructure
Manque d'accès au financement à long terme
Manque de sensibilisation du public et des décideurs
Chômage / pauvreté
Objectifs de développement durable
ODD 1 - Pas de pauvreté
ODD 2 - Faim "zéro"
ODD 3 - Bonne santé et bien-être
ODD 4 - Éducation de qualité
ODD 5 - Égalité entre les sexes
ODD 7 - Énergie propre et d'un coût abordable
ODD 8 - Travail décent er croissance économique
ODD 11 - Villes et communautés durables
ODD 12 - Consommation et production responsables
ODD 13 - Mesures relatives à la lutte contre les changements climatiques
ODD 15 - Vie terrestre
Objectifs d’Aichi
Objectif 1: Sensibilisation accrue de la biodiversité
Objectif 2: Valeurs de la biodiversité intégrées
Objectif 4: Production et consommation durables
Objectif 5: Perte d'habitat réduite de moitié ou diminuée
Objectif 7: Agriculture, aquaculture et sylviculture durable
Objectif 8: Pollution réduite
Objectif 11: Aires protégées et conservées
Objectif 12: Réduction du risque d'extinction
Objectif 13: Sauvegarde de la diversité génétique
Objectif 14: Services des écosystèmes
Objectif 15: Restauration et la résilience des écosystèmes
Objectif 17: Stratégies de la biodiversité et des plans d'action
Objectif 18: Connaissances traditionnelles
Objectif 20: Mobiliser toutes les ressources disponibles
Cadre de Sendai
2: Réduire nettement, d’ici à 2030, le nombre de personnes touchées par des catastrophes.
3: Réduire, d’ici à 2030, les pertes économiques directes dues aux catastrophes en proportion du produit intérieur brut (PIB).
4: Réduire nettement, d’ici à 2030, la perturbation des services de base et les dommages causés par les catastrophes aux infrastructures essentielles, y compris les établissements de santé ou d’enseignement, notamment en renforçant leur résilience.
5: Augmenter nettement, d’ici à 2020, le nombre de pays dotés de stratégies nationales et locales de réduction des risques de catastrophe.
6: Améliorer nettement, d’ici à 2030, la coopération internationale avec les pays en développement en leur fournissant un appui approprié et continu afin de compléter l’action qu’ils mènent à l’échelle nationale pour mettre en œuvre le présent Cadre.

Emplacement

Atlántida, Honduras

Défis

FINANCIAL-Nature-based solutions face the reality that less than 3% of public investors support agroecology.
WEATHER-The Inga alleys have survived back-to-back hurricanes with no damage, 8 inches of rain falling in 18 hours, and 7 months of drought. The trees and thick mulch stop all erosion and mudslides and several dozen springs have appeared in established alleys.

COVID-19-Training is entirely outdoors with an entire family participating so the foresters/field technicians are able to wear masks and train/plant seedlings with the family at their plot. With military lockdown, we are fortunate there is only a delay in training new families at the farm.

Bénéficiaires

Rural, subsistence farming families achieve true sustainability-eliminating their dependence on slash-and-burn and they are not forced to become climate refugees.

 

Comment les blocs constitutifs interagissent-ils entre eux dans la solution?

The Wikipedia entry on Land Degradation says: 

"It is estimated that up to 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded." 

Small-scale farmers in developing countries are already bearing the brunt of the climate crisis, yet they have received little of the promised funding to help them adapt to degraded land, drought, flooding, and heat.
Now in year 10, the resilient Inga Tree Model, with its integrated benefits, fulfills the primary needs of subsistence farmers by providing sustainable agriculture with no barriers. No group has ever been turned down to receive instruction. The grassroots program provides training and planting assistance as an alternative to slash-and-burn without debt, and families who see the program are eager to participate, learn from each other, and pay it forward--giving farmers the power to regenerate historically degraded soil on long-deforested hillslopes with a multiplier effect, spreading agroecology knowledge and experiences with full participation for women and young people.

Impacts

Inga Alley Cropping- model of sustainable best practice in rural livelihoods

  • Environmental--stopping slash-and-burn agriculture in the humid tropics (practiced by 200 million smallholders) with a proven alternative (Inga Alley Cropping) which promotes local practices, native seed, organic food sources, and knowledge while adapting to climate crisis conditions; sequestering and avoiding massive amounts ofCO2; regenerating steep, highly degraded land; stopping all erosion and mudslides, eliminating all agrochemical inputs; watershed protection; The Inga tree alleys were unscathed from the Nov. 2020 back-to-back hurricanes with no damage at all to the 300+ tree alllleys and farmers were able to plant on schedule
  • Social-100% food security for farmers; annual, renewable firewood so forest trees are not cut, protect habitats and increase biodiversity; livelihood improvement from sale of cash crops. Large savings on labor for weed control (reported by farmers to save 60 days/year). The family is trained together and work close to home. Families are not forced to become climate refugees
  • Economic-livelihood improvement from sale of cash crops; farmers have no debt, loans or microloans; firewood produced from annual pruning may be sold or traded.

Histoire

Mike Hands

When he could find work-- Damas Nunez could earn $2 a day. He reached a point of desperation and decided his only option was to flee north as an undocumented worker. But a visit to a friend in the Cuero Valley who had implemented Inga Alley Cropping astounded Dumas, who subsequently received training/seeds from Inga’s team, showing him how to regenerate his degraded plot. Damas now has food security for his family and cash crops to sell.
The cycle of poverty/food security & increasing climate shocks force continued slash and burn agriculture and there is no technology/infrastructure for most remote smallholders. But low-cost, regenerative agroforestry with Inga alleys provides options, opportunities,& promotes land stewardship- true and sustainable "Land For Life."

Contribué par

Portrait de ingatrees_36024

Lorraine Potter the Inga Foundation

Autres contributeurs

Royal Botanic Garden, Kew