Assessing the Impact of the Adoption of Agroecological Practices on Biodiversity
Wild biodiversity plays a critical role in agriculture. Pollinators like bees are vital for thriving crops, while pests can lead to their total failure. Pest prevalence encourages the purchase of pesticides with negative effects on human bodies and the environment, while natural predators provide biocontrol services that may reduce the need for these inputs.
How does the adoption of agroecological farming techniques impact wild biodiversity? With funding from Future Earth, SFHC and Friends of SFHC is bringing together an interdisciplinary team of researchers to examine wild biodiversity in Malawi, and understand how (and at what scale) the use of agroecological farming practices impacts biodiversity. Farmer-Led Agroecological Research in Malawi (FARM) for Biodiversity will follow SFHC’s model of farmer-led, participatory education, training Malawian farmers in species identification and collecting feedback from farmers on their perceptions of wild biodiversity through surveys and participatory methods like photo voice. The study will take place in the Mzimba District, drawing on the experiences of members of the MAFFA project.
Our research objectives are as follows:
Objective 1: Determine the primary pests of three important crops and the natural enemies of those pests by interviewing farming households.
Assess the primary pests in three important crops : maize, pigeonpea, and pumpkins
Determine the known natural enemies of these pests
Conduct field observations and rear field-collected individuals of the pests in the laboratory
Utilize results to inform surveys for later objectives
Objective 2: Determine the impacts of agroecological practices on on-farm pest-abundance and the biodiversity of bees, natural enemies, and birds.
Sample 100 farms (10 villages, 10 farms, 5 of which were MAFFA participants and 5 controls) in pairs to control for social and environmental variation
Survey bees and natural enemies responsible for pollination and biocontrol
Assess bee abundance three times/year
Determine extent of pest damage at crop maturity
Evaluate bird diversity through point counts three times/year
Objective 3: Determine tipping points at which the collective adoption of agroecological practices across a landscape impacts regional biodiversity.
Sample farms from areas with different proportions of households adopting agroecological practices
Compare biodiversity across landscapes to determine scale of adoption necessary to impact wild biodiversity
This 1-year project led to FARMS for Biodiversity. We are working on the analysis and publications and will share them in 2020.
In March 2018, SFHC was pleased to host a visit from the Seed and Knowledge Initiative (SKI)’s Community of Practice. These experienced and dedicated activists, farmers, and community leaders joined us for several days to exchange knowledge, share… Read More
What is agroecology? How is it related to biodiversity and conservation? What is participatory research, and what does it mean to share different types of knowledge? How can you map knowledge sharing across a landscape? If you’ve ever… Read More
Wooohooo! We are finally solar powered! For years, it has been part of our dream to build solar panels onto the roof of our Farmer Research and Training Center, in order to run on renewable energy. In the… Read More
FARM for Biodiversity
Assessing the Impact of the Adoption of Agroecological Practices on Biodiversity
Wild biodiversity plays a critical role in agriculture. Pollinators like bees are vital for thriving crops, while pests can lead to their total failure. Pest prevalence encourages the purchase of pesticides with negative effects on human bodies and the environment, while natural predators provide biocontrol services that may reduce the need for these inputs.
How does the adoption of agroecological farming techniques impact wild biodiversity? With funding from Future Earth, SFHC and Friends of SFHC is bringing together an interdisciplinary team of researchers to examine wild biodiversity in Malawi, and understand how (and at what scale) the use of agroecological farming practices impacts biodiversity. Farmer-Led Agroecological Research in Malawi (FARM) for Biodiversity will follow SFHC’s model of farmer-led, participatory education, training Malawian farmers in species identification and collecting feedback from farmers on their perceptions of wild biodiversity through surveys and participatory methods like photo voice. The study will take place in the Mzimba District, drawing on the experiences of members of the MAFFA project.
Our research objectives are as follows:
Objective 1: Determine the primary pests of three important crops and the natural enemies of those pests by interviewing farming households.
Objective 2: Determine the impacts of agroecological practices on on-farm pest-abundance and the biodiversity of bees, natural enemies, and birds.
Objective 3: Determine tipping points at which the collective adoption of agroecological practices across a landscape impacts regional biodiversity.
This 1-year project led to FARMS for Biodiversity. We are working on the analysis and publications and will share them in 2020.
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