This publication, Organic Agriculture: African Experiences in Resilience and Sustainability, demonstrates that organic management can benefit people, the economy and ecosystems and that this can be achieved in Africa, where hunger and degradation stubbornly persist, despite decades of development efforts.The work presented in this volume stems from the conference on Mainstreaming Organic Agriculture in the African Development Agenda, held in Lusaka, Zambia, from 2 to 4 May 2012. Participants of this Conference shared research results confirming that organic agricultural practices “increase yields, improve livelihoods and food security, conserve indigenous knowledge, plant varieties and animal breeds, as well as sociocultural development, and provide much greater resilience in times of climate extremes, such as drought and heavy rains.”This publication expands on selected research presented during the Lusaka Conference. The different chapters document sustainability experiences, including: mainstreaming organic agriculture into African development approaches; community-based livestock systems combining holistic range management; indigenous ethno-veterinary practices and new understanding of customary systems of resource management; ecofunctional intensification through management of legumes, systems of rice intensification and integrated farming; and smallholders’ knowledge harnessed through family farmers learning groups and customized information and communication technologies.The studies from different Sub-Saharan countries demonstrate that successful organic farming is about whole farm management, where feeding the soil feeds the plant, where optimal nutrient cycling is achieved through plant and animals management in time (i.e. rotations) and space (i.e. associations) and where quality production goes hand-in-hand with market linkages. Sound agronomy is a recipe that needs to be owned by farmers who have specific cultures and by pastoralists who have specific environments: traditional knowledge and flexible management strategies are therefore key for successful outcomes. The experiences featured in this publication show that the complexity of plant and animal interactions with the environment can be managed for improved productivity and resilience, and that farming requires enhancing natural processes,
rather than substituting them with external inputs. Managing rangelands and croplands through controlled use of local resources starts with social capital, that
is by building on traditional community knowledge. Furthermore, the most efficient productivity “tools” for pastoralists and farmers are local deep-rooted perennial
grasses and adapted indigenous livestock and diverse crop varieties, as these are readily available, time-tested and suitable to socio-economic realities and
environmental conditions. More often than not, smallholders’ capacity to utilize natural resources appropriately is limited, especially in settings where knowledge sharing is challenged by modern lifestyles. By building trust and social relations, organic farms extend beyond the land boundary, both socially and environmentally. So far, people’s interest and enthusiasm have developed organic agriculture through trial and error. Especially in poorly endowed areas, organic management has proved its potential to deliver social, economic and environmental sustainability. Despite continued success stories, organic agriculture has still not entered into formal curricula and extension services. It is hoped that the experiences featured here will encourage government institutions to support organic agriculture, as knowledge is a crucial factor for empowering resource-poor farmers and pastoralists.