Farmers like Abebe Moliso, whose family land in the Ethiopian highlands became severely degraded from years of monocropping, overgrazing, and slashing the forests in the pursuit of new productive fields, all of which radically changed the local climate. The more he and his neighbors farmed, the less they grew. As the rains vanished and temperatures soared, the topsoil hardened like pavement. They eventually had no option but to stop farming and let the land heal. Supported by a food-for-work strategy developed by the World Food Program and the Ethiopian government, Abebe and his neighbors began terracing their gently sloping land and digging shallow water pans to collect rainwater whenever it came. They nurtured the growth of natural grasses to reinvigorate the soil and planted trees that would provide shade and falling leaves to cover and protect the ground, absorb carbon from the atmosphere, and stir the precipitation cycle. They also embraced crop diversity by adopting traditional crops, including hardier, more nutritious varieties that had been orphaned by modern agriculture demands.

After nearly a decade of healing, the natural allies were resurrected – springs and ponds reappeared, pollinators returned, insects and microorganisms multiplied to nourish the soils. His farming operation benefited too, with a diverse array of vegetables, fruits, and grains now flourishing in his fields.

With Agriculture Facing a ‘Great Collision,’ More Farmers Seek to Nourish and Heal (The Daily Yonder)