HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT - Science for Agriculture and Rural Development in Low-income Countries - page 23

Ecosystem Assessment (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005) concluded that
the degradation of ecosystem services could grow significantly worse during the
first half of this century and is a barrier to achieving the Millennium Development
Goals. For example, observed recent changes in climate, especially higher regional
temperatures, have already had significant impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems,
especially in dryland environments such as the African Sahel (Dietz et al. 2004).
Degradation of ecosystem services is exacerbating the problems of poverty and food
insecurity in the developing world, particularly in the poorest countries. Global
climate change is taking place against a natural environment that is already stressed
by resource degradation as a result of various factors, including certain forms of
agricultural technology and input use. Agricultural activities occupy and influence
vast landscapes. Farmers, ranchers, and agro-foresters manage, work and live in
watersheds, grasslands, hillsides, coastal plains, forests, and river deltas. These
various agro-ecosystems provide a wide range of local, national and global benefits
and services in the form of positive externalities and public goods. The precise
impacts of climate change on agriculture and food production are difficult to gauge.
But two basic messages seem to emerge from the various assessments that have
been undertaken so far. For the world as a whole, climate change is unlikely to alter
the overall production potential. The benefits of warmer climates for some areas
may just be offsetting the problems arising in other areas. In some of the adversely
affected areas, however, climate change could jeopardize the livelihoods of millions,
particularly where the impacts of climate change are compounded by other factors or
where existing poverty and hunger makes it extra difficult to cope with its impacts.
Such areas of multiple stresses are expected to emerge primarily in the poorest
developing countries, but also some of the emerging Asian economies could well be
affected. Because many ecosystem services are not traded in markets, markets fail to
provide appropriate signals that might otherwise contribute to the efficient allocation
and sustainable use of the services. The Millennium Assessment suggests a wide
range of economic and financial instruments for influencing individual behaviour
with respect to the use of ecosystem services. These include elimination of subsidies
that promote excessive use of ecosystem services and promotion of market-based
approaches, including user fees and payments for environmental and ecosystem
services. In addition to market instruments, strengthening institutional and environ-
mental governance mechanisms, including the empowerment of local communities,
is crucial for the effective management of environmental resources.
Harnessing the best of scientific knowledge and technological breakthroughs is
crucial as we attempt to 'retool' agriculture to face the challenges of an increasingly
commercialized and globalized agriculture sector. Modern science and technology
can also help provide new impetus for addressing the age-old problems of
production variability and food insecurity of rural populations living in marginal
production environments. In a similar vein, science and technology both enable and
drive the creation of increasingly sophisticated food chains that can deliver fresh and
minimally processed food to demanding consumers. Whilst the real and potential
gains from science and technology are apparent, it is also necessary to take into
consideration the fact that research and technology development are more and more
in the private domain: biotechnology is a prime example. Biotechnology holds great