The current definition of food security explains the concept as, the availability of food to individuals within national boundaries. That definition in some way, mandates governments to encourage individuals, and by extension, communities to engage in farming practices that will ensure their food security. What this means is, that rather than focus investment in commercial large scale farming, governments should search out ways of supporting local efforts at food security.

Tassa

At the core of agricultural efforts at the local and community level, is traditional farming techniques. Traditional or indigenous knowledge based agricultural practices, are easily accessible and inexpensive, and governments that have supported citizens to build-on or scale-up traditional farming practices, have recorded successes. An example that will be explored here, is the predominantly Muslim nation of Niger in West Africa, which has, by scaling-up a traditional irrigation technique known as Tassa, proven that food security at the community level need not be founded on expensive and difficult-to-sustain, imported western technology.

Niger is, by land mass, the largest nation in African South Sahara, with a 94 percent Muslim population. 80 percent of Niger’s land area of 1,270,000 km, is covered by the Sahara desert, making the arid nation much insecure in the area of food cultivation. Niger’s food insecurity situation, is reflected in its ranking consistently at the bottom in the United Nation’s Human Development Index (HDI) – 186th out of 186 countries ranked in 2012. Niger’s land locked position and the low level of education, has led to very poor quality of life for the country’s populace, reflected in the dearth of infrastructure, poor healthcare quality and environmental degradation.

Several failed attempts were made by the World Bank and other agricultural funding agencies, to commercially irrigate large areas of the patchy terrains of Niger . Through that process, the Government of Niger has incurred tremendous amount of debt, in efforts to apply western irrigation technology, in pushing back desertification, and to improve soil quality towards increased agricultural output. However, a simple, inexpensive and sustainable Nigerien traditional farming technique, known as Tassa, has succeeded tremendously in boosting household food security and holds substantial promises, if adequate investment is made, of mitigating agricultural risks.

Origin of Tassa

Tassa is a traditional practice in the Sahel, that is located in the use of planting pits to reclaim land lost, or about to be lost, to degradation. The modern and improved practice of Tassa in Niger, can be traced to the predominantly Muslim Yatenga province of Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso, it can be said, learnt the hard way: earlier on than Niger; in the 1960s and 1970s, international donors and multi-lateral institutions invested heavily in two unsuccessful major projects in the Yatenga province of Burkina Faso, aimed at reduction of soil erosion over thousands of hectares. The project was single handedly formulated and implemented by donors. Indigenous farming knowledge and practices of the Burkinabes, was considered of little or no use in policy action. The dismal failure of both projects, brought the Yatenga province back to a worsened state of soil erosion, across previously farmed spaces . Local farmers, left with no other alternative, resorted to the traditional practice of planting pits to check against soil erosion. Burkina Faso calls its planting pit Zai, and the successes experienced by farmers who utilized this age-long practice, include rehabilitation of tens of thousands of hectares of land and up to 94 per cent of cultivated land in the several villages, which adopted the practice.

Tassa in Niger

Thirteen local Nigerien farmers from Tahoua, went on a study tour of the Zai practice in Burkina Faso, in 1988. The farmers realized, that what they were learning, was a more developed variation of their own rarely used traditional land rehabilitation technique of planting pits. The farmers returned home and most decided, to revive their own traditional planting pit technique known as Tassa. With four hectares of land, which included a display field close to a major road, the farmers began a pilot Tassa project, that rapidly expanded to 70 hectares in that year alone . The farmers who cultivated using the Tassa technique, ended with a reasonably higher harvest than their peers, notwithstanding that it was a drought year. Tassa has been credited with the rehabilitation of thousands of hectares of land in Niger, and by 2008, had become “an integral part of the local farming scene and is still spreading at a rate of about two to three hectares per year.”

How Tassa Works

Tassa aims to fully rehabilitate severely degraded farmland, that is impenetrable by water. By digging a grid of planting pits on very hard – rock textured – soil. Nigerien farmers were innovative in their approach, by increasing the depth and diameter of the pits, and adding “organic matter, such as manure, to the bottom of the basins.” The planting pits are able to hold water for unusually extended periods of time, which then allow crops in the farmland to survive drought. Since farmers are able to dig the pits during dry season, the land is ready and waiting for cultivation, by the time rainy season approaches, cutting out several months of wait time. In addition to its previously enumerated benefits, Tassa has enabled Nigerien farmers to “effectively raise their yields from virtually nothing, to 300 to 400 kilograms per hectare in a year of low rainfall, and up to 1,500 kilograms or more per hectare in a good year.”

Conclusion

• Scaling-up traditional knowledge: Tassa has shown that communities, before seeking expensive and sometimes unsuitable foreign solutions to food security challenges, might do well to explore traditional knowledge based practices, that might have been forgotten or are rarely used.

• Independence from donors: Following successive failed efforts at an outside-in, and overly dependent approach to solving the problem of soil erosion and desertification, Nigerien farmers displayed a high level of single mindedness and independence, by searching out and reintroducing a hitherto ignored farming practice.

• Cooperation/interdependence among Muslim communities: By borrowing from another Muslim community in Burkina Faso, Nigerien farmers have leveraged on the social capital provided by religion, to tap into the indigenous resources of their Burkina Faso neighbors.

Chika Ezeanya Ph.D. is an Africa focused researcher, writer and public intellectual. Chika emphasizes indigenous knowledge and home-grown solutions in her writings on Africa, some of which can be read on her blog – www.chikaforafrica.com.

References:

1. Reij, C., G. Tappan, and M. Smale. 2009. Agroenvironmental Transformation in the Sahel: Another Kind of “Green Revolution.” IFPRI Discussion Paper. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute.

2. Belemvire, A.,A. Maiga, H. Sawadogo, M.Savadogo, and S. Oudrago. 2008. Evaluation des impacts biophysiques et socio-economiques des investissements dans les actions digestion des ressourves naturelles au Nord du Plateau Central du Burkina Faso. Rapport de synthese Etude Sahel Burkina Faso. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: Comite Permanenet Inter Etats pour la Lutte contre la Secheresse au Sahel.

3. IFAD. (1998). The Niger Special Country Programme – Phase 2 (PSN-11). Rome: IFAD.

5. IFAD. (2008). Tassa and Soil Fertility in Niger. Rome: IFAD.

6. Kabore, P.D., and C. Reij (2004). The Emergence and Spreading of an Improved Traditional Soil and Water Conservation Practice in Burkina Faso. Environment and Production Technology Division Discussion Paper No. 114. Washington, DC. International Food Policy Research Institute.

Humankind is facing big challenges in the form of Energy, water, poverty, education etc. The first millennium development goal (MDGs) as identified by the UN , was eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. To eradicate hunger, we need to achieve sustainable food security. According to Rio+20 – UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Food Security is defined as “when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food, to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” . Some people see genetically modified crops, as playing a big role, in helping to reach this goal.

What is GMO

Genetic modification is the technology, that employs genetic material from unrelated organisms and injects them into another organism (plant or animal), to confer the recipient organism new and desirable features i.e. higher yield, pest resistance, drought tolerance etc.

According to the ISAAA report , developing countries are at the top of the GMO production scale, with USA ranked number 1 in the production of genetically modified organisms, while Brazil is ranked second and Argentina is ranked 3rd. In the case of the Muslim world, only two countries are among the international GMOs producers: Pakistan, ranked 8th globally and Egypt ranked 24th.

At the moment, there are around 160 million hectares around the world cultivated with GMOs. Out of these, more than 30 million hectares are in Brazil and around 24 million hectares are in Argentina. The production is focused on Maize, soya beans and cottons. The Brazilian case, in particular, can be inspiring for many countries in the developing world. They started to use GM crops in the early 1990s and now Brazil has become the engine of GMOs growth around the world. Currently, Brazil cultivates around 50% of its lands with GM crops. They can now develop, deliver and approve a new state of the art biotech crop, with their own indigenous resources.

Lack of GMO’s in the Islamic World

The world is divided into two parties: one party is against the extensive use of GMOs, which is lead by the EU. They prefer organic matter and perceive it to be healthier. They are of the belief, that GMO’s do more harm than good. The second party, headed by the US, is supportive in using GMOs widely. They argue that GMO’s have no proven risks and hence, there is no harm in using them. A food security expert at a leading university in the US, Dr. David Comell, is of the opinion that “The GMO movement must continue. The worlds hunger is getting ridiculous. In such a case, the only solution is GMOs, GMOs and more GMOs.”

Positive outcomes of producing GMOs are the expected high yield, resistance to pests and drought tolerance. But those who are against GMOs think, that GMOs can introduce allergens and toxins into food, GMOs may lead to developing antimicrobial resistance, constitute risk to biodiversity, may lead to creation of superweeds (if the resistance genes transferred to weeds) and other environmental risks and it may cause adverse changes in the nutrient contents of crops.

Right or wrong?

In addition to the previous general concerns about GMOs in the Islamic world, another debate bordering on religious dogma, has surfaced in the Muslim world. This debate revolves around whether GMOs are religiously acceptable (‘halal’) for the Muslim community to consume. This is where opinions differ. Food policy professor Dr. Adan Saleh believes that, “We are losing a great chance by consuming ourselves in this haram-halal debate. While other countries are progressing by employing this innovative technology, we are again left with mere issues. There is nothing religiously ‘unacceptable’ in my opinion. It is simple science and nothing else.”

However, there are others who differ in opinion, such as agricultural researcher Adeeba Khairun, who has spent the last few years researching on GMO and feels that “there are some aspects to GMO that require more research, only after which it can be deemed appropriate or inappropriate.” Several Islamic countries have sufficient resources and expertise, that can enable them to lead the scene in this field and set the ground.

If we look at the different concerns around GMOs, are they really valid? To date, there does not seem to be any substantial evidence of GMO crops that caused weed growth, as cross-pollination rates are very low. Similarly, there is no evidence of a large-scale increase in pesticide resistance in insects or antibiotic resistance due to GMOs. GMOs have been used in USA since two decades and none of the previous anti-GMO claims has been recorded.

One ironic question arises here, is that while the Muslim countries might not be indigenously producing any GMO’s, yet are they still not consuming such products through imports? GMOs exist in more than 80% of food packaged in USA and whats more is, that USA and Canada have no restrictions on labeling GM food . When we are consuming GMOs already, then why not produce it internally as well? This will enable the Muslim countries to not only become self-sufficient and rely less on imports but, also set their own rules and regulations so as to ensure that GMOs will be appropriate to consume.

One Major risk of using GMOs seeds is the monopoly of large companies, but this can be regulated through tough monitoring and fair legislation, which ensure rights of small farmers as well as big companies.

The way forward

GMOs is not the only way to achieve food security but, it is one option that should be explored carefully. In a world of increasing hunger facing drastic climate changes, once cannot afford to ignore GMOs as a possible option for improving food security. Moreover, if the Muslim countries come together in developing this field within the Muslim regions, then it can not only aid food security but, also work towards the unison of the Muslim world.

The Author is an Associate professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Head of center for scientific excellence “Helwan Structural Biology Research” (HSBR) and Co-chair of the Global Young Academy (GYA), Helwan University, Egypt.

References:

http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

http://www.uncsd2012.org/index.php?page=view&type=400&nr=227&menu=45

http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/43/executivesummary/

http://healthresearchfunding.org/pros-cons-genetically-modified-foods/

It may look harmless – pretty even – but in the wheat belt that stretches from Morocco to Turkey, it’s a sign of ruined crops and dashed hopes. It’s known as yellow rust, but to farmers in the Muslim world, its presence means just one thing: hunger.

Food for All

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), food security “exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs … for an active and healthy life.” Sadly, such conditions are becoming increasingly rare.

This year, the population of our planet reached seven billion – and it’s still rising. As our resources are stretched to their limit, many nations are already going hungry. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimated, that nearly 870 million – that’s one in eight people worldwide – were chronically undernourished in 2010-2012.

This situation is expected to be exacerbated by droughts, floods, storms, rising sea levels, and failing crops: the real world effects of what many people still consider to be ‘hypothetical’ climate change.

While it’s known that in some instances, the Greenhouse Gases that cause climate change can encourage crops to grow faster using less water (a process called carbon dioxide fertilization), the long-term prognosis for world food security is poor. In some wheat-growing regions, production is projected to decline by as much as 47 percent as these new, extreme climatic conditions hit home. Nations such as Algeria, Morocco, Pakistan and the Sudan, are among a dozen identified as being most at risk.

Wheat Rust

Wheat is the most important food crop in the world, after rice. Every year, wheat feeds about 2.5 billion people in 90 developing nations. When it comes to food security, though, the world is currently in a state of red alert and much of that alert is focused on wheat crops.

In addition to the threats posed by climate change, crop disease is a significant constraint on food production, and wheat rust is one of the most aggressive diseases to blight agriculture in North Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Wheat rust (Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici), is a parasitic fungus, that kills or stunts bread and durum wheat crops. There are three basic types: stem (black) rust, leaf (brown) rust and yellow (stripe) rust, which leaves characteristic yellow spore lines along the plant’s leaf. The fungus has been known and feared, since human records began. In fact the Romans called it ‘numen’, meaning divine power – and no wonder .

Historically, wheat rust was believed to be a problem that mainly affected crops in cooler, Northern climates, but it’s an adaptable and tenacious beast. It loves the sort of humid conditions that climate change brings and outbreaks, such as the one that devastated crops in Ethiopia in 2010, have shown that new strains of the fungus are perfectly at home, even in equatorial climates. So, in addition to regions like North America, today’s wheat rust hot spots also include Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, Syria, and Yemen. Further more, plant pathology experts at the International Wheat Stripe Rust Symposium, have reported, that under the right conditions, a rust infection could be carried by the wind from one crop to another, in just 24 hours.

Combining Forces

Given the adaptability and wide geographical spread of the wheat rust fungus, a global pandemic isn’t merely possible; it’s probable.

In any given year, farmers worldwide can expect to lose around two percent of their crop to wheat rust. Yet, when the right conditions occur, as they did in Pakistan in 1977-1978, losses rose to 30 percent in the Punjab.   In 2010, the disease inflicted up to 80 percent losses across the Middle East, where wheat provides 40 percent of an average daily calorie intake. In 2013 it struck again, affecting 40 percent of the crops in Morocco. It’s easy to imagine the human cost behind such startling statistics. Fortunately all is not gloom and doom.

Back in the 1970s, the problem faced by farmers in Pakistan was, that they didn’t have any resistant seed – varieties of wheat that had been bred to withstand rust attack. Small landholders had been reluctant to invest in the expensive new seeds, when they’d been getting good crop yields, from tried and tested wheat stocks for decades.

The government stepped in, importing resistant seed stocks from both Mexico and India. They also established an Agricultural Research Council, to coordinate research efforts and share their experiences with their neighbours.

Saved by Science?

There’s no doubt, that science is a crucial ally in the battle against wheat rust, whether it’s fungicides to fight the rust when it attacks, or new, resistant seed stocks to stop the fungus in its tracks. Emergency disease control plans, need to be drawn up to cover all crucial crops and – vitally – countries need to educate and encourage new generations of agricultural specialists, plant pathologists and agronomists.

At the forefront of the fight, are organizations such as the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), whose work on yellow rust started in 1977. Their ‘Stripe Rust Network’ now stretches from the highlands of Ethiopia, to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The Network has already done invaluable work identifying dominant rust strains, developing and deploying resistant seed varieties, establishing physical spore traps and monitoring and sharing information throughout the Network.

Speaking during the 2nd International Wheat Stripe Rust Symposium, Dr. Mahmoud Solh, Director General of ICARDA, reinforced the message, however, that science is no lone saviour. As Pakistan discovered during its own rust crisis in the 1970s,  international co-operation is vital when dealing with an enemy that has no respect for international borders. “We have to focus on partnership and networking, strengthening science and policy dialogue between researchers and national governments, to control stripe rust at both the regional and global level,” he said.

The father of the Green Revolution and Nobel Laureate Dr Norman Borlaug, commented in his seminal article for the New York Times that, “Rust Never Sleeps” . It’s an ever mutating disease and while those in the poorer, developing world may well bear the brunt of future outbreaks, the problem of safeguarding food security is a global one which must be shared by all of mankind.

Paula Hammond is a professional author of over 35 non-fiction books, including popular science volumes on fossils, dinosaurs and endangered animals. She has a passion for learning and the wonders of the natural world

References:

1. World Food Summit Plan of Action, “Rome Declaration on World Food Security”, Nov. 1996. http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/w3613e/w3613e00.htm

2. World Population Clock see: http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

3. FAO Report, “The State of Food Security in the World”, Rome 2012. http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/i3027e/i3027e00.htm

4. World Bank Report April 2008, “Adaptation and Development”. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTCC/Resources/BaliBreakfast13april.pdf

5. FAO study quoted by the World Watch Institute. http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6271

6. World Bank Report April 2008, “Adaptation and Development”. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTCC/Resources/BaliBreakfast13april.pdf

7. ICARDA. http://www.icarda.org/striperust2014/challenges/

8. International Food Policy Research Institute, Nov. 2009, “Combating Stem and Leaf Rust of Wheat”. http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/ifpridp00910.pdf

9. Dr. Mahmoud Solh, Director General of ICARDIA. See: http://www.icarda.org/blog-content/%5Bnode%3ABlog%20type%5Dqa-dr-mahmoud-solh-mobilizing-international-efforts-defeat-stripe-rust

10. http://www.icarda.org/blog-content/%5Bnode%3ABlog%20type%5Dqa-dr-mahmoud-solh-mobilizing-international-efforts-defeat-stripe-rust

11. New York Times, “Stem Rust Never Sleeps”, 26th April 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/opinion/26borlaug.html?_r=0