FOOD SECURITY - Science for Agriculture and Rural Development in Low-income Countries - page 50

practices - as developed during many decades of research. Disappointing results in
the field are, in the first place, the result of poor planning of these measures, rather
than unwilling farmers or other resource managers (Bouma et al. 2007). In recent years,
the so-called 'catchment approach' that takes into account an entire geographic area,
draining its precipitation to a single outlet and involving farmers and other stakeholders
in a participatory manner has been applied to develop appropriate measures and
improve soil and water conservation planning - as done in the EROAHI project in
the East African Highlands (see De Jager et al. 2007).
Since it is very likely that agricultural systems and management practices need to
be adjusted or re-designed to become less vulnerable to climate change and reduce
their greenhouse gas emissions, the above-mentioned efficiency gains in nutrient and
water use will have to be achieved under management conditions that are changed
accordingly.

CHALLENGES AND FUTURE OPTIONS

Interlinkages between food security and other development issues

In general, the total demand for food worldwide is expected to double in the next 50
years, with the highest increase coming from developing countries (Falcon and
Naylor 2005). In addition, changes are taking place, both, in the pattern of demand
and the type of food - increasing for meat, dairy products and fish - being consumed.
Increasingly, this food needs to be produced in an environmentally and socially sus-
tainable manner in order to comply with higher food safety standards, environmental
regulations and consumer preferences. As competition for scarce natural resources
intensifies, agriculture has to find ways of making more efficient use of productive
resources, land and water in particular, to provide high quality affordable food. The
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA 2005) concluded that the degradation of

ecosystem services might grow significantly worse during the first half of the 21st

century, and become one of the most severe constraints to achieving the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) (Verhagen et al. 2007). In less-endowed regions,
improved agricultural practices must be tailored to local bio-physical and socio-
economic conditions, to provide a solid base for poor farm households' livelihoods,
if they are to have a positive impact.
Meeting these challenges implies that the agricultural sector must become more
productive (e.g., through improved technologies, improved institutions, etc.). Scientific
research will need to contribute to generating knowledge on how to:

Feed the growing world population, and meet consumer needs;

•

Enhance rural livelihoods (by increasing (stability of) income);

•

Safeguard the environment (maintain resource quality and protect biodiversity). •

Our programme experience clearly supports that scientific and technical solutions
are not 'magic bullets'. In isolation, they cannot resolve the complex problem of
food insecurity which is closely related to poverty. Poor people do not have access
to food and health services, and lack of education, poverty and hunger seriously