Eco-regional approaches for sustainable land use and food production
Eco-regional approaches for sustainable land use and food production

Author: Johan Bouma

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2013-10-03

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789401040587

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In the coming decades the world will need to more than double its food and feed production, almost all of the increase being needed in developing countries. This has socioeconomic and biophysical implications. Traditional component and commodity research addresses overly narrow issues at too small a scale. Rural development needs an eco-regional approach that integrates biophysical and socioeconomic work on cropping systems, livestock, the environment, and natural resources. This book contains the papers, response papers and discussion report of a five-day seminar on eco-regional approaches. It assesses the state of the art of systems approaches applied to eco-regional problems, presenting and discussing a number of case studies. Future research needs are discussed, as well as ways to improve collaboration between research institutes. The seminar on which the book is based was organised on behalf of the Directorate General for International Cooperation of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Research Institute for Agrobiology and Soil Fertility (AB-DLO), the Wageningen Agricultural University (WAU), and the International Potato Centre (CIP). It was held at the International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR), and was attended by participants from all CGIAR centres, among others.

Eco-regional approaches for sustainable land use and food production
Eco-regional approaches for sustainable land use and food production

Author: Johan Bouma

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 490

ISBN-13: 9401101213

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In the coming decades the world will need to more than double its food and feed production, almost all of the increase being needed in developing countries. This has socioeconomic and biophysical implications. Traditional component and commodity research addresses overly narrow issues at too small a scale. Rural development needs an eco-regional approach that integrates biophysical and socioeconomic work on cropping systems, livestock, the environment, and natural resources. This book contains the papers, response papers and discussion report of a five-day seminar on eco-regional approaches. It assesses the state of the art of systems approaches applied to eco-regional problems, presenting and discussing a number of case studies. Future research needs are discussed, as well as ways to improve collaboration between research institutes. The seminar on which the book is based was organised on behalf of the Directorate General for International Cooperation of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Research Institute for Agrobiology and Soil Fertility (AB-DLO), the Wageningen Agricultural University (WAU), and the International Potato Centre (CIP). It was held at the International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR), and was attended by participants from all CGIAR centres, among others.

Sustainable Intensification
Sustainable Intensification

Author: Jules N. Pretty

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-06-25

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 1136529276

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Continued population growth, rapidly changing consumption patterns and the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are driving limited resources of food, energy, water and materials towards critical thresholds worldwide. These pressures are likely to be substantial across Africa, where countries will have to find innovative ways to boost crop and livestock production to avoid becoming more reliant on imports and food aid. Sustainable agricultural intensification - producing more output from the same area of land while reducing the negative environmental impacts - represents a solution for millions of African farmers. This volume presents the lessons learned from 40 sustainable agricultural intensification programmes in 20 countries across Africa, commissioned as part of the UK Government's Foresight project. Through detailed case studies, the authors of each chapter examine how to develop productive and sustainable agricultural systems and how to scale up these systems to reach many more millions of people in the future. Themes covered include crop improvements, agroforestry and soil conservation, conservation agriculture, integrated pest management, horticulture, livestock and fodder crops, aquaculture, and novel policies and partnerships.

Economic Policy and Sustainable Land Use
Economic Policy and Sustainable Land Use

Author: Nico Heerink

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 388

ISBN-13: 3642575587

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Since the 1980s many developing countries have implemented macro-economic policy reforms to curb inflation, reduce fiscal deficits and control foreign debt. The policy instruments used, such as exchange rate adjustment, budget cuts, trade policy reforms, public expenditure reviews and privatisation, have different and sometimes opposite consequences for agricultural land use. During the same period awareness was growing that deteriorating soil quality could become a limiting factor to increase or even sustain agricultural production. As a result, food availability and even accessibility for large population groups in developing countries may be jeopardised in the near future. Recently, quantitative models have made useful contributions to understanding the impact of economic policy reforms on the sustainability of land use. They provide a consistent analytical framework to deal with complex issues such as the direct and indirect effects of economic, agricultural, environmental and population policies, the role of market imperfections in transmitting economic policy signals, and the interactions between soil quality, agricultural production and household economic decision making. Different types of models can be distinguished: bio economic models, focussing on the link between farm household decisions and the agricultural resource base, household and village models, examining the impact of the socio-economic environment on farm household decisions, and more aggregate models, analysing interactions between sectors and their implications for sustainable land use.

Agroecological Practices For Sustainable Agriculture: Principles, Applications, And Making The Transition
Agroecological Practices For Sustainable Agriculture: Principles, Applications, And Making The Transition

Author: Alexander Wezel

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2017-06-19

Total Pages: 502

ISBN-13: 178634307X

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Good agroecological practices are indispensable for the development of sustainable agriculture. In this book, principles, diversity and applications of agroecological practices for a range of systems are presented, transforming scientific research and participatory knowledge of production into practical application. It illustrates a broad range of research and teaching being used within the farming community to demonstrate best practice and current state-of-play within the field. Agroecological methods used in crop farming, grass-based livestock farming, fish production, and other complex farming systems are discussed. Conclusions are drawn from studies to provide an outlook on future trends of agroecological practices and on policies supporting implementation.Due to emphasis on real-life application, it is relevant not only to students of the agricultural sciences and public policy, but also to researchers, stakeholders and policy makers involved in the development of sustainable agriculture.