A study has recommended measures to reduce greenhouse gases emitted from agriculture that are causing climate change and also increase investments to support the agriculture sector’s adaptation to climate change effects.
The recommendations are based on the critical analysis of Rwanda agriculture policy to identify mismatch and gaps in relation to environment and climate change and formulate recommendations toward better harmonization and integration.
According to the study by Rwanda Climate Change and Development Network (RCCDN), there are some incoherence and gaps between the two policies.
"While the policy for environment and climate change promotes and emphasizes the need to increase tree cover on farmlands, the agriculture policy framework promotes and encourages livestock-farmers to clear trees on rangeland to encourage pasture/grass growth,” the study reveals.
It noted that the environment friendly policies do not promote the use of chemical pesticides whereas the agriculture policy does while some strategic and protected wetlands are being used for agriculture in growing rice which is against the environment policy guidelines.
The analysis also found that agriculture policy does not provide any policy action to sustainably cater for agricultural practice in wetlands.
The greenhouse emissions generated from the fertilizer imports are estimated to have cumulatively reached 2.67 million tonnes of carbon dioxide by the end of the 2013 farming seasons alone.
According to the third National Communication report on climate change by Rwanda Environment Management Authority, Agriculture produces most emissions of greenhouse gases in Rwanda with the sector accounting for 70.4 per cent of the total national emissions up to 2015.
In the face of such a situation, it is expected that both policies talk to this challenge and neither policy does, experts say.
"There is a clear gap in both policies for their failure to give direction on the use of inorganic and chemical fertilizers and pesticides,” the report says.
According to observations, it clarifies that the National Agriculture Policy was developed and adopted a year before the Environmental and Climate Policy, which is most likely the reason why some Environment and climate change policy actions are not mainstreamed in the agriculture policy.
Risks from the gaps
The analysis shows that increased chemical fertilizer use is linked to soil degradation, leaching, chemical runoff, water contamination and greenhouse gas emissions, although such environmental impacts have received little empirical attention to researchers in Rwanda to date.
"Resorting to the use of wetlands promotes escalation of the climate change and pressure on wetlands which compromise their productive and regulatory role in ecosystems, recharging and purifying water and protection of some endangered species,” it says adding that the excessive use of chemical pesticides could as well be one aspect of water and food contamination which threatens human health.
The risk associated with insufficient climate change adaptation financing, the report indicates, leads to poor climate change planning and implementation resulting in various negative effects to climate change.
Recommendations
The study recommends a coordination model among policy makers to help harmonize the policies.
It recommends Investments in organic manures, bio-fertilizers and other controlled fertilizers and encourages adoption.
Among the recommendations also include soil and water protection measures including agro ecological farm plans, rehabilitating wetland areas which presents a high potential for climate mitigation, suitable wetland management plans and legislation.
Faustin Vuningoma, the Climate Change and Development Network coordinator said the government and private sector should work together to devise ways to promote the use of organic fertilizers and change the way wetlands are used.
This he said, could be possible, by locally producing organic fertilizers to help reduce quantities of chemical fertilizers.
"On the use of chemical fertilizers we would think that conservation and sustainable agriculture could be used as an option to adaptation and mitigation. It would not be feasible to eliminate chemical fertilizer, there should be a plan of phasing out gradually which requires organic manure manufacturing to be climate friendly,” he said.
According to Rwanda’s 10-year climate plan
Patrick Karera, the Permanent Minister at the ministry of environment said: "Advocating for policy changes will contribute to achieving our country’s commitment to reduce emissions by 38 per cent by 2030. The collaboration is bearing fruits producing policy documents that can inform even interventions in different sectors especially in the agriculture sector. We take recommendations.”
He said that climate change policies should be implemented in all programmes including agriculture.
According to Andre Gatate in charge of environment and climate change in the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI) the recommendations are in line with the ministry’s commitment for sustainable agriculture.
He noted that a research was underway studying how to combine use of both organic and chemical fertilizers.
"We are in line to modernize the crop intensification programme. It was a good policy but needs to be revised and go in line with the climate change issue. We still have a long way to go with wetlands. It is also not possible to phase out chemical fertilizers in one click. It is a long process and the researches are being done to combine the two (organic and chemical fertilizers) as a way of decreasing chemical ones instead of totally eliminating chemical ones,” he said.
He added the agriculture ministry will work with the ministry of environment to harmonize the two policies to be complementary to avoid gaps.
Marleen Masclee, the Country Director Trocaire Rwanda said that considering that 80 percent of Rwanda’s population rely on agriculture and effects of climate change, the efforts by climate change researchers should be strengthened.