A/HRC/16/49 25. Although they can create jobs, agroecological approaches are fully compatible with a gradual mechanization of farming. The need to produce equipment for conservation agricultural techniques such as no-till and direct seeding actually results in more jobs being created in the manufacturing sector. This is true in particular in Africa which still imports most of its equipment, but which increasingly manufactures simple equipment43 Employment could also result from the expansion of agroforestry. In Southern Africa, farmers produce trees as a business, supported by a financing facility established by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). During its first year, the Malawi Agroforestry Food Security Programme distributed tree seeds, setting up 17 nurseries that raised 2,180,000 seedlings and establishing 345 farmer groups.44 C. Adequacy: agroecology contributes to improving nutrition 26. In the past, Green Revolution approaches have focused primarily on boosting cereal crops. However, rice, wheat and maize are mainly sources of carbohydrates: they contain relatively little protein, and few of the other nutrients essential for adequate diets. The shift from diversified cropping systems to simplified cereal-based systems thus contributed to micronutrient malnutrition in many developing countries.45 Indeed, of the over 80,000 plant species available to humans, rice, wheat and maize supply the bulk of our protein and energy needs.46 Nutritionists now increasingly insist on the need for more diverse agroecosystems, in order to ensure a more diversified nutrient output of the farming systems.47 27. The diversity of species on farms managed following agroecological principles, as well as in urban or peri-urban agriculture, is an important asset in this regard. For example, it has been estimated that indigenous fruits contribute on average about 42 per cent of the natural food-basket that rural households rely on in southern Africa.48 This is not only an important source of vitamins and other micronutrients, but it also may be critical for sustenance during lean seasons. Nutritional diversity, enabled by increased diversity in the field, is of particular importance to children and women. D. Sustainability: agroecology contributes to adapting to climate change 28. Agroecology improves resilience to climate change. Climate change means more extreme weather-related events. The use of agroecological techniques can significantly cushion the negative impacts of such events, for resilience is strengthened by the use and 43 44 45 46 47 48 12 In East Africa, this development was facilitated by the exchange of technology from Brazilian manufacturers to their counterparts in East Africa: see Brian Sims et al., “Agroforestry and Conservation Agriculture: Complementary practices for sustainable development,” 2nd World Congress of Agroforestry, Nairobi, Kenya, 23-28 August 2009. C. Pye-Smith, Farming Trees, Banishing Hunger: How an agroforestry programme is helping smallholders in Malawi to grow more food and improve their livelihoods, Nairobi, World Agroforestry Centre, 2008, p. 10. M.W. Demment et al., “Providing micronutrients through food based solutions: a key to human and national development,” Journal of Nutrition, 133, 2003, pp. 3879-3885. E. Frison et al., “Agricultural biodiversity, nutrition and health: making a difference to hunger and nutrition in the developing world,” Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 27:2, 2006, pp. 167-179. See B.J. Alloway (ed.), Micronutrient deficiencies in global crop production, Springer Verlag, 2008, 354 pp.; and F.A.J. DeClerck et al., “Ecological Approaches to Human Nutrition,” Food and Nutrition Bulletin, forthcoming in 2011. B. Campbell et al., “Local level valuation of Savannah resources: A case study from Zimbabwe,” Economic Botany, 51, 1997, pp. 57–77.