A/HRC/16/49 22. Agroforestry or comparable techniques such as the use of leguminous-cover crops to fix nitrogen also have a huge potential.37 This matters particularly to the poorest farmers, who are least likely to be able to afford to buy inorganic fertilizers, and whom fertilizer distribution systems often do not reach, particularly since the private sector is unlikely to invest into the most remote areas where communication routes are poor and few economies of scale can be achieved. But it is also of great importance to low-income countries, which import to meet their inorganic fertilizer needs. In sub-Saharan Africa, part of the reason why the use of fertilizers is very low (average 13 kilograms (kg) of fertilizer nutrients per hectare)38 is because of the considerable fiscal costs involved in the import and distribution of fertilizers. Multiplier effects for rural development: job creation, increased incomes 23. Agroecological approaches can be labour-intensive during their launching period, due to the complexity of the tasks of managing different plants and animals on the farm, and recycling the waste produced. However, research shows that the higher labour-intensity of agroecology is a reality particularly in the short term.39 In addition, while labour-saving policies have generally been prioritized by governments, creation of employment in rural areas in developing countries, where underemployment is currently massive, and demographic growth remains high, may constitute an advantage rather than a liability and may slow down rural-urban migration. Moreover, the cost of creating jobs in agriculture is often significantly lower than in other sectors: in Brazil, data from INCRA, the agency responsible for land reform, showed that each job generated in a settlement costs the government 3.640 USD, while the cost would be 128 per cent more expensive in industry, 190 per cent more in trade, and 240 per cent more in services.40 According to peasant organizations, agroecology is also more attractive to farmers, because it procures pleasant features for those working the land for long hours, such as shade from trees or the absence of smell and toxicity from chemicals.41 24. In Burkina Faso, rather than migrating, work groups of young men specialized in land rehabilitation techniques, such as tassas and zai planting pits, go from village to village to satisfy farmers’ growing interest in improving their own lands. Farmers are now buying degraded land for improvement and paying these labourers to dig zai pits and construct the rock walls and half-moon structures which can transform yields.42 This is one of the reasons why more than 3 million hectares of land in Burkina Faso are now rehabilitated and productive. 37 38 39 40 41 42 On a global scale, leguminous cover crops could fix enough nitrogen to replace the amount of synthetic fertilizer currently in use: see C. Badgley et al., “Organic agriculture and the global food supply,” Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 22, 2007 pp. 86-108. Nicholas Minot and Todd Benson, Fertilizer subsidies in Africa: Are vouchers the answer? IFPRI Issue Brief 60, July 2009. See O.C. Ajayi et al., “Labour inputs and financial profitability of conventional and agroforestrybased soil fertility management practices in Zambia,” Agrekon, 48, 2009, pp. 246–292: research on agroforestry in Zambia does not support “the popular notion that agroforestry practices are more labour intensive.” (p. 279). Miguel Carter (org.), Combatendo a desigualdade social: O MST e a reforma agrária no Brasil, São Paulo, Editora Unesp, Centre for Brazilian Studies, Universidade de Oxford, NEAD, MDA, 2010, p. 69. P. Rosset et al. Revolución agroecológica: El Movimiento de Campesino a Campesino de la ANAP en Cuba, Havana, La Via Campesina and ANAP, 2010. J. Pretty et al., “Sustainable intensification in African agriculture,” International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 9:1, forthcoming in 2011. 11