Advancing Sustainable Development Goals through Conservation Agriculture in Ethiopia

Introduction: A Framework for Sustainable Intensification

Conservation agriculture presents a powerful and practical framework for advancing multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in regions with scarce resources. While often debated by proponents of organic agriculture due to its allowance of artificial inputs, its application in Ethiopia demonstrates a pragmatic approach to achieving food security (SDG 2), protecting natural resources (SDG 15), and improving farmer livelihoods (SDG 1). By integrating diverse practices, this model aims for a sustainable intensification of agriculture that balances immediate needs with long-term ecological health.

The SCASI Initiative: A Partnership for the Goals (SDG 17)

The Scaling Conservation Agriculture-Based Sustainable Intensification (SCASI) initiative exemplifies SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) in action. This collaboration between the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and regional partners like the Terepeza Development Association (TDA) has engaged nearly 75,000 farmers in southern Ethiopia. The initiative’s success is rooted in its non-prescriptive, farmer-centric model, which promotes local experimentation and peer-to-peer learning through cluster farming. This approach empowers communities to adopt context-specific solutions, reducing risk and fostering trust, which are critical for transitioning to more sustainable practices.

Core Practices and Contributions to Key SDGs

The SCASI initiative promotes several core conservation agriculture practices, each contributing directly to specific SDGs:

• Diverse Cropping Systems and Intercropping: By moving beyond monocultures, farmers enhance food and nutrition security (SDG 2), create multiple income streams to combat poverty (SDG 1), and increase on-farm biodiversity (SDG 15).
• No-Till Farming and Mulching: These methods improve soil structure, prevent erosion, and enhance water retention. They also sequester carbon in the soil, contributing to climate action (SDG 13) and the protection of terrestrial ecosystems (SDG 15).
• Agroforestry: The integration of trees and shrubs into cropping systems further supports biodiversity, improves soil health, and builds resilience to climate change, directly aligning with SDG 13 and SDG 15.
• Reduced Chemical Inputs: A primary long-term goal is to reduce and eventually eliminate the need for synthetic inputs, which supports responsible consumption and production patterns (SDG 12) and protects soil and water resources.

Navigating the Role of Agrochemicals in Sustainable Transitions

A significant challenge in the transition to sustainable agriculture is the management of agrochemicals, such as the herbicide glyphosate (Roundup). While its use is controversial due to potential health and environmental impacts, it can serve as a transitional tool in specific contexts. The strategic application on severely depleted soils is viewed as a way to achieve two primary objectives:

1. Short-Term Intervention for Food Security (SDG 2): On degraded land where weed pressure is overwhelming, herbicides can enable farmers to produce enough biomass to begin the soil regeneration process, securing a harvest and preventing hunger.
2. Long-Term Goal of Ecological Restoration (SDG 12 & 15): The biomass generated allows for mulching and other regenerative practices. Over time, improved soil health naturally suppresses weeds, reducing and ultimately eliminating the reliance on chemical inputs, thereby achieving more sustainable production systems.

Farmer Empowerment and Resilience: The Foundation for Zero Hunger (SDG 2)

The resilience of Ethiopian farmers is central to achieving Zero Hunger (SDG 2). Their creativity is demonstrated through the cultivation of a wide variety of crops, from staples like maize and taro to high-value products like coffee and turmeric. Critically, indigenous crops such as enset (false banana) provide a vital safety net, ensuring food availability during the “hunger season” between harvests. This agricultural diversity is the cornerstone of resilience, providing a buffer against climate shocks and market volatility. By empowering farmers with the flexibility to choose from a range of tools and practices—from conservation agriculture to agroecology—the system supports their ability to adapt and thrive, not just survive.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger

   • The article’s primary focus is on agricultural practices in Ethiopia aimed at improving food production. It discusses increasing yields, enhancing food and nutrition security, and promoting sustainable agriculture through methods like conservation agriculture and agroecology. The mention of the indigenous crop “enset” helping families through the “hunger season” directly connects to this goal.

2. SDG 1: No Poverty

   • The article highlights the economic benefits for farmers. It states that diversifying crops has “meaning for income” and that reducing the need for expensive chemical inputs like herbicides allows farmers to “save money,” thereby improving their livelihoods and financial stability.

3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

   • The text centers on the debate around agricultural inputs, specifically artificial fertilizers and herbicides like Roundup (glyphosate). It promotes conservation agriculture practices that “reduce or even eliminate the need for those inputs,” aligning with the goal of sustainable management of natural resources and environmentally sound management of chemicals.

4. SDG 15: Life on Land

   • The article addresses the environmental impact of agriculture. It discusses how conservation agriculture can protect natural resources and treat “degraded soils.” It also notes the negative effects of glyphosate, which can “leach into groundwater, affect soil microorganisms, and harm insects and plants it wasn’t meant to target,” connecting directly to the protection of terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity.

5. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

   • The potential health risks associated with chemical use in agriculture are mentioned. The article points out the controversy surrounding glyphosate, citing the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) which classifies it as “probably carcinogenic to humans,” linking the topic to the reduction of illnesses from hazardous chemicals.

6. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • The article explicitly describes a collaborative effort, the “Scaling Conservation Agriculture-Based Sustainable Intensification (SCASI) initiative,” which is a partnership between the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and regional partners like the Terepeza Development Association (TDA). This collaboration to promote sustainable practices among 75,000 farmers is a clear example of a partnership for sustainable development.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger

   • Target 2.3: By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers. The article directly addresses this by discussing the SCASI initiative’s work with 75,000 small-scale farmers in Ethiopia to increase both “yield” and “income” through diverse cropping systems.
   • Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices. The entire article is a discussion of implementing such practices—conservation agriculture, intercropping, no-till, and agroforestry—to make farming more sustainable and resilient, especially on “degraded soils.”

2. SDG 1: No Poverty

   • Target 1.4: By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources. The article emphasizes giving farmers “choices, flexibility, and the power to decide what works best in their fields,” which supports their control over economic resources and production.

3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

   • Target 12.4: By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle…and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil. The debate on whether “to Roundup or not to Roundup” and the goal of moving “away from herbicides altogether” directly relates to managing and reducing the use of hazardous chemicals in agriculture.

4. SDG 15: Life on Land

   • Target 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil. The article mentions that conservation agriculture can help treat “degraded soils that won’t otherwise be productive” and that glyphosate can help produce biomass on “severely depleted soils” as a first step toward regeneration.
   • Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity. The promotion of “more diverse cropping systems” and growing a wide variety of crops (maize, taro, coffee, enset, etc.) is a direct action to increase on-farm biodiversity. The article also notes that glyphosate can “harm insects and plants it wasn’t meant to target,” highlighting a threat to biodiversity.

5. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

   • Target 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination. The article’s reference to the IARC’s classification of glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans” directly connects agricultural practices to potential human health risks from chemical exposure.

6. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • Target 17.16: Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships. The SCASI initiative, a collaboration between CIMMYT (an international center) and TDA (a regional partner), is a textbook example of such a partnership working to achieve development goals.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. For SDG 2 (Zero Hunger)

   • Indicator: Volume of production per labor unit or per hectare (Productivity). The article explicitly mentions “an increase in yield” and that “it’s not the size of the land, but the productivity that matters.”
   • Indicator: Farmer income. The article states that crop diversity “has meaning for income.”
   • Indicator: Number of farmers adopting sustainable agricultural practices. The article quantifies the reach of the SCASI initiative, which “has worked with nearly 75,000 farmers.”

2. For SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production)

   • Indicator: Reduction in the use of hazardous chemicals. The article implies this by discussing how conservation agriculture can “reduce or even eliminate the need” for inputs like herbicides and how reliance on chemicals “can decline over time.”

3. For SDG 15 (Life on Land)

   • Indicator: Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture. The adoption of conservation agriculture, agroforestry, and intercropping by the 75,000 farmers is a measure of this.
   • Indicator: On-farm crop diversity. The article lists the variety of crops farmers are growing (“maize and taro, but also coffee, turmeric, soy, yams, honey, and indigenous crops like enset”) as a sign of resilience and biodiversity.

4. For SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)

   • Indicator: The existence and scale of multi-stakeholder partnerships. The article describes the SCASI initiative, a functioning partnership between CIMMYT and TDA, as a mechanism for achieving the goals.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: foodtank.com