scholarly journals Eco-functional Intensification and Food Security: Synergy or Compromise?

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niels Halberg ◽  
P. Panneerselvam ◽  
Sebastien Treyer
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
External Input ◽  
Conventional Agriculture ◽  
Ecological Methods ◽  
Open Question ◽  
Low External Input

<p>There is an increased understanding that the challenges of producing enough food and biomass while preserving soil, water and biodiversity necessary for ecosystem services can not be solved by prevalent types of conventional agriculture and that agro-ecological approaches and ecological intensification is fundamental for our future food production. FAO has stated that “Ecosystem services sustain agricultural productivity and resilience” and advocates production intensification through ecosystem management. Terminologies such as agro-ecology and ecological/ eco-functional/sustainable intensification are being proposed for agricultural development, which builds on higher input of knowledge, observation skills and management and improved use of agro-ecological methods. Contrary, increased global demand for food, and non-food biomass has increased the pressure for intensifying land use and increasing crop yields based on conventional inputs, while still aiming at reducing environmental impact. There is a battle of discourse between these approaches in competition for – among others – research and development funding. The examples of improved local food security from introducing agro-ecological and low external input agriculture practices among smallholder farmers are many. However, upscaling remains a challenge and the ability of such eco-functional intensification to feed the increased urban populations in emerging economies remains an open question. A broader view of what is organic and conventional farming is necessary and the use of new understandings from ecology and molecular biology will be needed to create and profit from synergies between preserving and building on eco-systems services and providing increased food and biomass.</p>

Agriculture in India

2019 ◽  
pp. 321-350
Author(s):  
S. Mahendra Dev ◽  
Srijit Mishra ◽  
Vijay Laxmi Pandey
Keyword(s):  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
External Input ◽  
Agricultural Prices ◽  
Policy Initiatives ◽  
Export Prices ◽  
Demand Growth ◽  
Indian Agriculture ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Small Holders ◽  
Low External Input

Mahendra Dev, Srijit Mishra, and Vijaylaxmi Pandey contextualize Indian agriculture by an evaluation of its performance, with a focus on the roles, challenges and opportunities for small holders. They observe a turn-around over 2004/5–2010/1 compared to the immediate post-reforms period, which had witnessed stagnation in comparison to the pre-reforms period. Public policy initiatives on investment, research, extension and credit and a set of good monsoons were among the reasons for improvement. But livelihood sustainability of smallholder farmers is a matter of concern. Even so, there are opportunities to reduce costs and risks and use low external input sustainable agriculture without compromising on production. There were sharp peaks in agricultural prices that contributed to inflation. But after prices moderated with export prices, there was severe small farmer distress. The supply response has to keep up with demand growth without excessive inflation even as the population dependent on agriculture shrinks.

scholarly journals Organic farming in Nepal: A viable option for food security and agricultural sustainability

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-230
Author(s):  
Sovit Parajuli ◽  
Jiban Shrestha ◽  
Sabita Ghimire
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Organic Farming ◽  
Organic Agriculture ◽  
External Input ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Agricultural Sustainability ◽  
Market Demand ◽  
Viable Option ◽  
Conventional Agriculture ◽  
The Government

Increasing use of agrochemicals, higher production cost and deterioration of ecosystem health have advocated the need to change the traditional and external input using agriculture towards safe and sustainable organic production. The article reviewed on general overview of organic agriculture in Nepal. The article aims to put light on the current scenario of the dawdling-paced organic agriculture and the options to revive the pesticide dominated conventional agriculture. Promotion of organic agriculture was first appeared as a priority in the10th Five Year Plan of the Government of Nepal. Now it has been embedded in the national agricultural policy. Organic agriculture provides benefits in terms of environmental protection, conservation of nonrenewable resources, improved food quality, improve health status and the reorientation of agriculture towards areas of market demand. Various institutions, individuals and farmers are engaging in organic farming. Nepal is exporting organic products to international markets. The adoption of organic agriculture increases agricultural production and improves soil health and consumer health and seems a better option in countries like ours where fortunately integrated crop-livestock system is still prevalent. It is found to be viable option for better livelihood in the context of Nepal. Because the haphazard pesticide use has marred the conventional agriculture, all these contexts gesture this system to be scrutinize thoroughly and supplanted by organic farming system as a viable option towards food security and agricultural sustainability.

scholarly journals Linking Smallholder Farmers to the Heilongjiang Province Crop Rotation Project: Assessing the Impact on Production and Well-Being

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Zheng Cai ◽  
Shengsheng Li ◽  
Guoming Du ◽  
Ruhao Xue
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Crop Rotation ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Heilongjiang Province ◽  
The Impact

Food security and environmental protection—led by sustainable agricultural development—are key development goals of Heilongjiang Province. One of the main challenges facing the Heilongjiang Province is improving soil and livelihood by integrating smallholder farmers into the pilot crop rotation project. This paper investigates a comprehensive project—the new crop rotation pilot project in Heilongjiang (NCRPPH)—which aims to improve the livelihood of the pilot participants by involving smallholder farmers in the pilot crop rotation program and connecting them with the food industry through farmers’ cooperatives. This paper analyzes the impact of the NCRPPH on farmers’ crop rotation, grain yield, multi-agent cooperation, food security, and education based on data collected in 2019 and other retrospective information. The instrumental variable method and three different estimation strategies are used to solve the endogenous problem. The results show that the project has a vast and positive impact on the gross and net value of grain production per hectare and the share of products sold to food manufacturers through cooperatives. Regardless of the farm size, farmers have equal opportunities from which they can benefit. In addition, our analysis shows that the NCRPPH improves the educational situation and food security without affecting crop rotation practices. Finally, our research proves the effectiveness of this project.

scholarly journals Poverty eradication and food security through agriculture in Africa: Rethinking objectives and entry points

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 309-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Gassner ◽  
D Harris ◽  
K Mausch ◽  
A Terheggen ◽  
C Lopes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Poverty Line ◽  
Investment Incentives ◽  
Farm Productivity ◽  
Entry Points ◽  
African Agriculture ◽  
Food And Nutritional Security ◽  
Dual Objectives

Agriculture in Africa is expected to meet the dual objectives of providing food and helping people to escape poverty. African agriculture is dominated by smallholdings and donors generally target their agricultural support at the smallholder sector. The expectation is that if the gap between actual and potential yields can be closed, smallholders will grow sufficient crops to feed their families, with a surplus to sell, thus meeting food security needs and bringing in an income to move them out of poverty. In practice, this is often not possible. While technologies already exist that can raise smallholder farmers’ yields 3 or 4 times, even under rainfed conditions, the small size of land available to them limits how much can be grown and the per capita income from agriculture is insufficient to allow people to move above the current World Bank-defined poverty line of US$1.90 per day. We link this finding with farmer typologies to further explain that there are large differences between individual farming households themselves in terms of their investment incentives and capability to benefit from field-level technologies that are aimed at increasing farm productivity. We argue for more differentiated policies for agricultural development in Africa and suggest that policymakers should be much more aware of the heterogeneity of farms and target interventions accordingly. It is important to understand where and for whom agriculture will have the main purpose of ensuring food and nutritional security and where and for whom there is the potential for significant increases in incomes and a contribution to wider economic growth. Let us recognize the distinctiveness of these targets and underlying target groups and work towards solutions that address the underlying needs.

Organic farming in conserving bio diversity in India-A review

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (04) ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Kavitha ◽  
K. Chandran
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Organic Farming ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Conventional Agriculture ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Modern Agriculture ◽  
Indian Agriculture ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Soil Microbial Population

The intensification and extension of modern agriculture is amongst the greatest threats to worldwide biodiversity and thereby food security. Promotion of genetic uniformity in the name of agricultural development cannot lead to sustainable agriculture and it has devastating effect on food security of next generation. Monoculture and replacement of traditional varieties by improved or exotic varieties has led to the decline of many traditional varieties in crops such as paddy, wheat, pulses, oil seeds and cotton in India. Thousands of varieties of rice, cotton, minor millets, pulses, and other crops are no longer in use. Besides, to sustain the yield under monocropping system, heavy pesticide applications were given to crops. This in turn affects the soil microbial population and insect diversity and questions the stability and sustainability of Indian agriculture. Sustainable farming systems such as organic farming act as a possible solution to this continued loss of biodiversity. This paper assesses the impacts of organic farming, relative to conventional agriculture on biodiversity, through a review of comparative studies of the two systems.

scholarly journals Multi-agent modelling of climate outlooks and food security on a community garden scheme in Limpopo, South Africa

2005 ◽  
Vol 360 (1463) ◽  
pp. 2183-2194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sukaina Bharwani ◽  
Mike Bithell ◽  
Thomas E Downing ◽  
Mark New ◽  
Richard Washington ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Seasonal Climate

Seasonal climate outlooks provide one tool to help decision-makers allocate resources in anticipation of poor, fair or good seasons. The aim of the ‘Climate Outlooks and Agent-Based Simulation of Adaptation in South Africa’ project has been to investigate whether individuals, who adapt gradually to annual climate variability, are better equipped to respond to longer-term climate variability and change in a sustainable manner. Seasonal climate outlooks provide information on expected annual rainfall and thus can be used to adjust seasonal agricultural strategies to respond to expected climate conditions. A case study of smallholder farmers in a village in Vhembe district, Limpopo Province, South Africa has been used to examine how such climate outlooks might influence agricultural strategies and how this climate information can be improved to be more useful to farmers. Empirical field data has been collected using surveys, participatory approaches and computer-based knowledge elicitation tools to investigate the drivers of decision-making with a focus on the role of climate, market and livelihood needs. This data is used in an agent-based social simulation which incorporates household agents with varying adaptation options which result in differing impacts on crop yields and thus food security, as a result of using or ignoring the seasonal outlook. Key variables are the skill of the forecast, the social communication of the forecast and the range of available household and community-based risk coping strategies. This research provides a novel approach for exploring adaptation within the context of climate change.

scholarly journals Support for smallholder farmers through Islamic instruments

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ishrat Hossain ◽  
Aliyu Dahiru Muhammad ◽  
Binta Tijjani Jibril ◽  
Simeon Kaitibie
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Fair Price ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Income Uncertainty ◽  
Institutional Demand

Purpose In societies with strong presence of Islam, Islamic instruments with more scope for fairness and equity can be innovatively harnessed to play an increasing role in the development process and poverty alleviation schemes. Poor smallholder farmers dominate agricultural production in many developing countries and contribute a significant portion of global food production. This paper aims to develop a scheme to improve poor smallholder farmers’ vulnerable financial situation through the application of Zakah and Salam contract, using Bangladesh as a case study. Secondary goals are to show the effect of the scheme on food security and relevance to Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach The authors explore the existing traditional modes of financing available to poor smallholders, identify their challenges and propose an appropriate Islamic financing scheme. Findings With the Zakah-based Salam forward contract, the proposed scheme would procure food through Institutional Demand to offer interest free financing, fair price and access to new marketing channels and reduce income uncertainty for the rural smallholders. The discussions indicate that the local food security will be enhanced through incentivized farming activities and disbursement of food from the food bank to the Zakah-eligible food insecure local people. Research limitations/implications This proposal brings forth a potentially powerful idea that needs further empirical validation. Originality/value The religion-based Institutional Demand initiative to promote smallholder agricultural development and social protection is a novel one. The attempt to apply the framework to Nigeria context shows the potential of the framework to generalize for other Muslim developing countries with similar characteristics, especially the poorer agriculture-based countries.

scholarly journals Robotics and AI in Food Security and Innovation: Why They Matter and How to Harness Their Power

2021 ◽  
pp. 99-107
Author(s):  
Maximo Torero
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Remote Sensing And Gis ◽  
Service Jobs ◽  
Digital Agriculture

AbstractFrom strawberry-picking robots to satellite remote sensing and GIS techniques that forecast crop yields, the integration of robotics and AI in agriculture will play a key role in sustainably meeting the growing food demand of the future. But it also carries the risk of alienating a certain population, such as smallholder farmers and rural households, as digital technologies tend to be biased toward those with higher-level skills. To ensure that digital technologies are inclusive and become a driver for development, countries should make technology affordable and invest in institutions and human capital, so that everyone can participate in the new digital economy. Digital agriculture also represents an opportunity for young people as agriculture value chains can be developed to create new service jobs in rural areas, making agriculture an attractive sector for youth.

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