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Context for Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture
C H A P T E R
10
Context for Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently launched a new vision and approach for promoting sustainable food and agriculture (SFA) that addresses the challenges of transition and defining sustainability as a process rather than as an end point (FAO, 2014a). The SFA approach requires explicit consideration of crosssectoral (e.g., crops, livestock, fishery, forestry) and multiobjective (e.g., economic, social, and environmental) policy objectives, identifying possible synergies between them, as well as balancing trade-offs. The approach builds on efforts to identify transition pathways adapted to specific agroecological, political, and socioeconomic conditions. Accordingly, the aim is to build the enabling conditions for sustainability, tailored to fit the dimensions of location-specific sustainability processes. Building on the concepts and practice of sustainable intensification of agricultural systems, the core of the SFA approach is comprised of five supporting principles: (1) improved efficiency of the resources used in food and agriculture; (2) direct action to conserve, protect, and enhance natural resources; (3) protection and improvement of rural livelihoods, equity, and social well-being; (4) enhanced resilience of people, communities, and ecosystems; and (5) responsible and effective governance mechanisms. Since the launch of the SFA approach in 2014, sustainability of food and agriculture has received greater attention at the global level. In 2015, world leaders adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030, wherein SFA is key to SDG 2 and plays a contributing role in most of the remaining SDGs. Despite significant recent progress, total food production will need to grow again before the world population stabilizes. The desire for agriculture to produce more food without causing environmental harm, and even making positive contributions to natural and social capital, has been reflected in calls for a wide range of different types of more sustainable agriculture: for a doubly green revolution, alternative agriculture, an evergreen revolution, agroecological intensification, green food systems, greener revolutions, agriculture durable, and EverGreen Agriculture.
Sustainable Food and Agriculture DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-812134-4.00010-8
171
Copyright © 2019 The Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations (FAO) Co Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
172
10. CONTEXT FOR SUSTAINABLE INTENSIFICATION OF AGRICULTURE
The concept of sustainable intensification is an attempt to explicitly unify the interlinked goals of agricultural productivity and social-ecological well-being. “Intensification” has largely been synonymous with a type of agriculture characterized as causing harm while simultaneously producing food. At the same time, the term “sustainable” was often used to describe all that could be good about agricultural processes. In combination, the terms attempt to indicate that desirable ends (more food, better environment) could be achieved by a variety of means. Sustainable intensification is defined as a process or system where yields are increased without either adverse environmental impact or the cultivation of more land. The concept is thus relatively open, in that it does not articulate or privilege any particular vision of agricultural production. It emphasizes ends rather than means, and does not predetermine technologies, species mix, or particular design components. Sustainable intensification can be distinguished from earlier conceptions of intensification because of its explicit emphasis on a wider set of environmental and social outcomes than solely productivity enhancement. Since many pathways toward agricultural sustainability exist, no single configuration of technologies, inputs, and ecological management is more likely to be widely applicable than another. Agricultural systems with high levels of social and human assets are able to innovate in the face of uncertainty, and farmer-to-farmer learning has been shown to be particularly important in implementing the context-specific, knowledge-intensive, and regenerative practices of sustainable intensification. In general, pathways toward sustainability in agroecosystems combine technical interventions, investments, and enabling policies and instruments, and involve a variety of actors, operating at different scales. Successful transitions need to be specific both to national and local contexts and particular scales and time periods. Tracing pathways to intensified practice among rural smallholders in particular shows that households develop an array of different strategies. Thus, even within small communities, there is no “one size fits all.” Diversification both within and beyond cropping systems is a common theme, but actual levels and types of intensification vary greatly. A vital need persists for coherence and integration among agriculture, economic, nutrition, education, and health policies at the national level, and for the improvement of international coordination across these sectors. Pathways can be grounded on very different narratives, each of which drives a selection of options.
II. CURRENT APPROACHES TO SUSTAINABLE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
10
Context for Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently launched a new vision and approach for promoting sustainable food and agriculture (SFA) that addresses the challenges of transition and defining sustainability as a process rather than as an end point (FAO, 2014a). The SFA approach requires explicit consideration of crosssectoral (e.g., crops, livestock, fishery, forestry) and multiobjective (e.g., economic, social, and environmental) policy objectives, identifying possible synergies between them, as well as balancing trade-offs. The approach builds on efforts to identify transition pathways adapted to specific agroecological, political, and socioeconomic conditions. Accordingly, the aim is to build the enabling conditions for sustainability, tailored to fit the dimensions of location-specific sustainability processes. Building on the concepts and practice of sustainable intensification of agricultural systems, the core of the SFA approach is comprised of five supporting principles: (1) improved efficiency of the resources used in food and agriculture; (2) direct action to conserve, protect, and enhance natural resources; (3) protection and improvement of rural livelihoods, equity, and social well-being; (4) enhanced resilience of people, communities, and ecosystems; and (5) responsible and effective governance mechanisms. Since the launch of the SFA approach in 2014, sustainability of food and agriculture has received greater attention at the global level. In 2015, world leaders adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030, wherein SFA is key to SDG 2 and plays a contributing role in most of the remaining SDGs. Despite significant recent progress, total food production will need to grow again before the world population stabilizes. The desire for agriculture to produce more food without causing environmental harm, and even making positive contributions to natural and social capital, has been reflected in calls for a wide range of different types of more sustainable agriculture: for a doubly green revolution, alternative agriculture, an evergreen revolution, agroecological intensification, green food systems, greener revolutions, agriculture durable, and EverGreen Agriculture.
Sustainable Food and Agriculture DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-812134-4.00010-8
171
Copyright © 2019 The Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations (FAO) Co Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
172
10. CONTEXT FOR SUSTAINABLE INTENSIFICATION OF AGRICULTURE
The concept of sustainable intensification is an attempt to explicitly unify the interlinked goals of agricultural productivity and social-ecological well-being. “Intensification” has largely been synonymous with a type of agriculture characterized as causing harm while simultaneously producing food. At the same time, the term “sustainable” was often used to describe all that could be good about agricultural processes. In combination, the terms attempt to indicate that desirable ends (more food, better environment) could be achieved by a variety of means. Sustainable intensification is defined as a process or system where yields are increased without either adverse environmental impact or the cultivation of more land. The concept is thus relatively open, in that it does not articulate or privilege any particular vision of agricultural production. It emphasizes ends rather than means, and does not predetermine technologies, species mix, or particular design components. Sustainable intensification can be distinguished from earlier conceptions of intensification because of its explicit emphasis on a wider set of environmental and social outcomes than solely productivity enhancement. Since many pathways toward agricultural sustainability exist, no single configuration of technologies, inputs, and ecological management is more likely to be widely applicable than another. Agricultural systems with high levels of social and human assets are able to innovate in the face of uncertainty, and farmer-to-farmer learning has been shown to be particularly important in implementing the context-specific, knowledge-intensive, and regenerative practices of sustainable intensification. In general, pathways toward sustainability in agroecosystems combine technical interventions, investments, and enabling policies and instruments, and involve a variety of actors, operating at different scales. Successful transitions need to be specific both to national and local contexts and particular scales and time periods. Tracing pathways to intensified practice among rural smallholders in particular shows that households develop an array of different strategies. Thus, even within small communities, there is no “one size fits all.” Diversification both within and beyond cropping systems is a common theme, but actual levels and types of intensification vary greatly. A vital need persists for coherence and integration among agriculture, economic, nutrition, education, and health policies at the national level, and for the improvement of international coordination across these sectors. Pathways can be grounded on very different narratives, each of which drives a selection of options.
II. CURRENT APPROACHES TO SUSTAINABLE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE