AGRICULTURE IN A DYNAMIC WORLD - Science for Agriculture and Rural Development in Low-income Countries - page 3

countries. We identify three areas where agriculture can make a critical contribution:
alleviating poverty, protecting natural resources and increasing food security. These
areas are directly related to two Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 :
eradicating extreme poverty and hunger (MDG 1) and ensuring environmental
sustainability (MDG 7).
Major successes of the DLO-IC research programme include scientific work that
has resulted in innovative methods to quantify nutrient flows and balances in agro-
ecosystems. This work has created scientific and public awareness of the importance
of nutrient depletion and has triggered policy reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa
(Smaling 1998; Heerink 2005; Koning and Smaling 2005; Gachimbi et al. 2005; De
Jager et al. 2005; La Rovere et al. 2005; Giller et al. 2006). Another research line
with a significant impact on research capacity building and agro-technology design
in Asia resulted in state-of-the-art methods for quantitative assessment of crop yield
gaps and resource constraints and for identification of improved natural resource
management options at field, farm and regional scales (e.g., in rice-based eco-
systems of South and South-east Asia) (Ten Berge et al. 1997; Kropff et al. 1997;
Teng et al. 1997; Dobermann et al. 2000; Van Ittersum et al. 2003; Hazell et al.
2005). A third line of work, focusing on integration of biophysical and socio-
economic aspects for land use policy analysis, through bio-economic modelling, is
having impact on policy formulation at (sub-)national level in the different
continents of the South (Kuyvenhoven et al. 1998; Bouman et al. 2000; Aggarwal
et al. 2001; Stoorvogel and Antle 2001; Struif Bontkes and Van Keulen 2003; Van
Ittersum et al. 2004; Ruben et al. 2004; Roetter et al. 2005, 2007; Bouma et al.
2007).
The quality of the scientific work, combined with considerable investments in
capacity building of National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in low-income
countries in applying the new concepts and techniques, resulted in wide diffusion of
knowledge and skills (e.g., in well-known research programmes and/or in form of
models such as SARP, NUTMON, DSSAT, REPOSA, SYSNET) (ISNAR 2004).
Applications of acquired knowledge, insights and techniques and dissemination of
results have, among others, created awareness, fed public debates and triggered
policy analyses on issues such as: soil nutrient mining in Africa, causes of and
strategies to overcome stagnating or declining yields, effects of emissions from
intensive cropping on the environment in Asia, and stakeholder involvement in
research processes addressing the various sustainability dimensions in agricultural
development and resource use.
A key factor for success has been the intimate collaboration of the various
science groups at Wageningen UR and their partners in the South. In that
collaborative mode, it was possible to support shaping of policies on agricultural
development and environmental issues and identifying successful interventions from
local (e.g., provincial and district rural development plans) to international level
(e.g., in the framework of IPCC Assessments; InterAcademy Council 2004;
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005; UN Millennium Project, Task force
4 www.un.org/millenniumgoals