FOOD SUSTAINABILITY: Part 5 - Agroecological innovations for sustainable intensification

Food Sustainability: 

Box 3: Agroecological innovations for sustainable intensification

Agroforestry: Agroforestry incorporates trees or shrubs into cropping systems, offering a range of benefits such as replenishing soil fertility and providing food, fodder, timber and fuelwood — and so helping produce greater value than single crops. [19] The system's potential is most powerfully demonstrated in the Sahel, where agroforestry supported by soil and water conservation has 're-greened' the desert. In Niger, for example, five million hectares have been rehabilitated, benefitting some 2.5 million people. [20] Agroforestry can also increase yields substantially. In Burkina Faso, for example, planting trees and shrubs on farms across 200,000–300,000 hectares of farmland has boosted food production by some 80,000 tonnes a year. In Cameroon, maize yields have increased by 70 per cent on average, where leguminous trees and shrubs were planted on croplands. [21] Across Africa, using 'fertiliser tree' systems has increase the yields of food crops such as maize while reducing the use of expensive inorganic fertiliser. [22] Integrated Pest Management (IPM):  IPM combines targeted use of agrochemicals with growing practices and biological techniques to control pests. Assessments of IPM show that it is possible to improve crop yields while reducing overall pesticide use. An assessment of 62 IPM initiatives in 26 countries revealed a 35 per cent increase in yields of various crops, alongside a 72 per cent decrease in pesticide use. [23] An innovative new IPM system, called 'push-pull technology' has been developed by Kenyan scientists in collaboration with UK researchers to control pests (notably stem-borers and Strigaweed). It attracts pests to nearby plants (pull) while driving them away from the field using a repellent crop grown among the farmers' main crop (push). This system is now widely deployed across Africa — an estimated 30,000 smallholders in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania use it. In a recent assessment of push-pull IPM, researchers report 3–4-fold increases in maize, 2-fold increases in sorghum, improved soil health and increased farm biodiversity. [24] Conservation agriculture (CA) and the System of Rice Intensification (SRI): CA consists of three interlinked principles: minimal soil tilling, maintaining permanent organic soil cover, and cultivating diverse crop species. CA was first developed in Latin America, and is now practiced on around 106 million hectares of arable and permanent crops. SRI, based on principles such as minimal use of water and transplanting of young seedlings, is widely used across Asia, Latin America and Africa, and has resulted in substantial yield increases while improving water-use efficiency. SRI benefits include 20-100 per cent or more increased yields, up to 90 per cent reduction in required seed, and up to 50 per cent water savings. [25] Both of these management systems may contradict conventional advice from agricultural research institutes and the agriculture service, and often clash with what farmers think works best. [26] For example, cultivating SRI rice involves an unconventional irrigation schedule where fields are periodically drained rather than perpetually saturated. However, applying them while involving farmers as co-creators at every stage can help both farmers and research and extension agents to engage in creative and transformative change, rethinking established practices and exploring new ideas. [26]

Participation is key

It is clear that innovation by itself is not enough to ensure increased food production, resource conservation or social-ecological well-being. Farmers, rural workers, local groups and community leaders need to participate in innovation, rather than being treated as passive recipients of new technologies. Participatory models work — a recent analysis of 40 cases of sustainable intensification of agriculture in Africa shows the ways in which farmers, public and private-sector partners have developed, adapted and disseminated agroecological systems that have increased yields while delivering environmental and social benefits. [15] All the cases highlight the importance of farmer engagement, peer-to-peer learning, and of developing and using local institutions.

Professor Tim Benton on building links between researchers in the global north and south

There is no single technical or managerial fix to the interlinked problems of global hunger, poverty and environmental degradation. The role of S&T will be one of developing a diverse menu of options which farmers can use, share and tailor, providing a range of social, economic and ecological benefits over and above increased productivity.  

Zareen Pervez Bharucha is post-doctoral research officer for the Ecocultures consortium at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, United Kingdom. She is also editorial assistant for the International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. She can be reached at zpbhar@essex.ac.uk. 

The author thanks professor Jules Pretty for comments on an earlier version of this article.

Definitions
Agrifood systems	The network of agricultural and food systems. Itincludes the distribution and governance ofresources such as land, seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and credit, and the mechanisms by which food products are processed, sold and transported.
Agroecology	The science and practice of managing agricultural ecosystems as a whole, rather than focusing solely on their individual elements such as plants and soil.
Agronomy	The science of plant-based agriculture. It includestopics such as plant genetics, plant physiology and soil science.
Biotechnology	The science and practice of using living cells or organisms to produce new and useful products such as foods, fuels or medicines.
Bt cotton	One of the best known and most widely used forms of transgenic crop (see below). This varietyof cotton has been developed using genetic material from the bacterium Bacillusthuringiensis, allowing the plant to produce an insecticide that harms certain cotton pests.
Carbon sequestration	The conversion and storage of atmospheric carbon into non-atmospheric 'sinks' such as biological matter — plants and animals take in and store, or sequester, carbon as they grow. Sequestration of carbon in biological matter is also called biosequestration.
Drylands	Regions of the world where a lack of water is the chief constraint on plant growth.
Inorganic orsynthetic inputs	Farming resources that are produced by inanimate processes, for example by industrial methods, as opposed to animate or natural processes such as decay and decomposition. Such resources, which include chemical fertilisers and pesticides, are used to raise yields by increasing soil nutrients and controlling pests.
Input-intensive model	Agricultural production that uses large amounts of inputs such as seeds, energy, fertilisers and pesticides to boost crop yields.
Integrated nutrient management (INM)	An approach to sustainably ensuring optimal nutrition for plant growth by providing a balanced supply of synthetic and naturally produced fertiliser, and recycling nutrients where possible.
Leguminous	Types of plant that can convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form that they and other plants can absorb through their roots and use for growth. This process, called nitrogen-fixing,occurs in special nodules on the plants' roots. These contain bacteria that can convert gaseous nitrogen in air pockets between soil particles into ammonia, which plants then use to produce proteins and grow. This ability effectively meansthat leguminous species produce nitrogen'fertiliser' for the field in which they are grown.
Malnutrition	The condition of having inadequate or improper nutrition over time. Malnutrition is a broad term that can encompass undernourishment (seebelow), overnutrition, which is the excessive consumption of calories, and micronutrient malnutrition, which is the inadequate consumption of nutrients such as vitamins and minerals that are required in small amounts.
Molecular genetics	The study of genes at a molecular level to understand how they work and how to manipulate them to produce desirable characteristics in living organisms.
Participatory orinclusive innovations	Innovations developed through mechanisms that give all stakeholders, especially end users, a say during their development. Participatory innovations in agriculture involve farmers in a project's design, development and dissemination stages, in the hope that their involvement will result in innovations that are targeted at farmers'real needs and are widely adopted.
Rainfed farming	Crop cultivation that primarily depends on precipitation rather than irrigation.
Seed systems	A network of factors that influence the quality, diversity and availability of seeds in a given region. These factors are diverse and could include the availability of credit so that farmers can buy seeds, and the quality of roads, which affects how seeds can be transported.
Staples	Crops that dominate the diet of a particular population in terms of quantity and contribution to total dietary energy. Globally, most dietary energy is now provided by just three grain crops: rice, wheat and maize.
Transgenic crops	Crops that have been engineered to contain genes from different species so they express desirabletraits. Transgenic crops may contain genes from completely unrelated organisms that have been inserted by genetic manipulation in a laboratory —Bt cotton (see above), for example, contains genes from a species of bacteria. This contrasts withcrops produced by hybridisation, the process of combining different varieties. Hybrid crops are produced by sexual reproduction between two closely related species or varieties.
Undernourishment	The inadequate intake of protein and energy in the diet, resulting in poor health including reduced mental and physical capacity and lowered resistance to disease. Often used synonymously with 'hunger'.

This article is part of the Spotlight on Producing food sustainably.

References

[1] FAO. The State of the World’s Land and Water Resources For Food and Agriculture: managing systems at risk. (FAO, Rome and Earthscan, London.  2011)
[2] von Grebmer, K et al. Global Hunger Index: the challenge of hunger. Ensuring sustainable food security under land, water and energy stress.(IFPRI, Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe 2012)
[3] Chaudhury, S. How to feed a billion. And why it pays.  (Tehelka, 2013)
[4] UNEP Global Drylands: A United Nations system-wide response. (UNEP EMG Secretariat, Geneva 2011)
[5] Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Ecosystems and Human Wellbeing – Desertification Synthesis (World Resources Institute, Washington D.C. 2005)
[6] FAO Global NPP Loss in the Degrading Areas (1981-2003). (FAO GeoNetwork 2008)
[7] Smit A.L. et al. Phosphorus in agriculture: global resources,  trends and developments. (Plant Research International B.V., Wageningen, 2009)
[8] Phil Trans. Roy. Soc. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0123 (2010)
[9] Agarwal A. and Narain S. Dying Wisdom: The Rise, Fall and Potential of India’s Traditional Water Harvesting Systems (Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, India 1997)
[10] Pingali P. and Raney T. From the Green Revolution to the Gene Revolution: How will the Poor Fare? (ESA, Working Paper No. 05-09. November 2005)
[11] Thompson J., et al. Agri-Food System Dynamics: pathways to sustainability in an era of uncertainty. (STEPS Centre, Working Paper 4, Brighton, UK. 2011)
[12] Pingali P.L. Green Revolution: Impacts, limits and the path ahead.Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, USA. 109: 12302 (2012).
[13] Agron Sustain Dev doi: 10.1007/s13593-013-0138-9 (2013)
[14] Glover D. Undying Promise: Agricultural Biotechnology’s Pro-poor Narrative, Ten Years on. (Working Paper 15, STEPS Centre, Brighton UK 2009)
[15]  Int J Agr Sustain doi: 10.3763/ijas.2010.0583 (2011)
[16] Int J Agr Sustain doi: 10.3763/ijas.2010.0545. (2011)
[17] Environ Sci Tech doi: 10.1021/es051670d (2006)
[18] IAASTD. Agriculture at a Crossroads. (Island Press: Washington D.C. 2009)
[19] Food Security  doi: 10.1007/s12571-010-0070-7 (2010)
[20] UNEP. Africa: Atlas of our Changing Environment (UNEP 2008)
[21] Int J Agr Sustain doi: 10.3763/ijas.2010.0553 (2011)
[22] Int J Agr Sustain doi: 10.3763/ijas.2010.0554 (2011)
[23] Pretty J. and Waibel H. Paying the price: the full cost of pesticides. In Pretty J. The Pesticide Detox: Towards a More Sustainable Agriculture.Earthscan: London 2005.
[24]  Int J Agr Sustain doi: 10.3763/ijas.2010.0558  (2011) 
[25] System of Rice Intensification. SRI Concepts and Methods Applied to Other Crops.  (SRI-Rice Online, 2012)
[26]  Int J Agr Sustain doi: 10.3763/ijas.2010.0549 (2011)    

[27] Environ Sci Tech doi: 10.1021/es062097g (2007)

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