This 9th learning event at the ARDD showcased the value wise crop choices for more nutritious food as well as the value of nutrient cycling in crop production. Using case studies from Niger and the Philippines the ‘case to scale’ effect different parts of the loop were demonstrated.
Chair: Thomas Rosswall – SIANI Professor Thomas Rosswall is Chair of CCAFS. Professor Rosswall is a microbial ecologist and ecosystem scientist with extensive research experience in agriculture and climate change. He has had substantial experience in launching and leading many complex, collaborative international research endeavours.
Rapporteur: Matthew Fielding Matthew Fielding is the SIANI programme manager with extensive agricultural and development experience from Amazonian Peru. He has a background in soil sciences and rural development, specifically on the links between soil health and husbandry in rural areas. He is also a project manager at the Stockholm Environment Institute working with ICT and agricultural development.
Key messages
The relative importance of local nutrient management role in supporting livelihoods, contributing to food security, improvement of crop quantity, minimize resource use and reduce pollution for smallholder farmers and peri-urban dwellers.
Human urine contains the majority of fertilizer leaving the human body and is easy to collect and could be coupled with composting for rapid up-scaling using farmer field schools concept for rapid diffusion in rural Africa and through training institutes in South East Asia.
Proper sanitary conditions are a prerequisite to gain full advantage of nutritious food, as nutrient uptake is commonly inhibited in the intestines of a person who is continuously exposed to fecal pathogens (tropical enteropathy).