Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
12.4.2 Disadvantages
reduce poverty and malnutrition and strengthen
environmental sustainability (IFAD
2009
).
As climate changes, the resilience and adap-
tive capacity of agricultural production systems
and agricultural landscapes will become more
important. To become more resilient and better
able to adapt to changing conditions, crop pro-
duction systems will need to rely more on eco-
logical processes that produce positive feedbacks
on sustainability and production and ensure
improved provision of all ecosystem services
(FAO-PAR
2011
). Progress in this area could be
made by adopting existing agricultural practices
that have already been proven to have multiple
benefi ts for food security and environmental
health.
Agro-forestry systems require substantial man-
agement. Incorporating trees and crops into one
system can create competition for space, light,
water, and nutrients and can impede the mechani-
zation of agricultural production. Management is
necessary to reduce the competition for resources
and maximize the ecological and productive
benefi ts. Yields of cultivated crops can also be
smaller than in alternative production system;
however, agro-forestry can reduce the risk of
harvest failure.
12.4.3 Integrated Crop-Livestock
Systems
12.5
Ecological Pest Management
The annual crops may be rotated with pasture
without the destructive intervention of soil tillage
(FAO
2011
). Practical innovations have har-
nessed synergies between crop, livestock, and
agro-forestry production to improve the eco-
nomic and ecological sustainability of agricul-
tural systems and at the same time provide a fl ow
of valued ecosystem services. Through increased
biological diversity, effi cient nutrient recycling,
improved soil health, and forest conservation,
integrated systems increase environmental resil-
ience and contribute to climate change adaptation
and mitigation. They also enhance livelihood
diversifi cation and effi ciency by optimizing pro-
duction inputs, including labor. In this way, inte-
grated systems also increase producers' resilience
to economic stresses (FAO
2011
).
Integrated crop-livestock systems imply a
diverse range of integrated ecological, biophysi-
cal, and socioeconomic conditions (FAO
2010
).
They aim to increase profi ts and sustain produc-
tion levels while minimizing the negative effects
of intensifi cation and preserving natural resources
(IFAD
2009
). They also have environmental,
social, and economic benefi ts. These systems,
which enhance the natural biological processes
above and below the ground, represent a syner-
gistic combination that (a) reduces erosion; (b)
increases crop yields, soil biological activity, and
nutrient recycling; (c) intensifi es land use and
12.5.1 Key Issues
Effi cient, safe, and environmentally sound
methods of pest management
Incentivizing research, commercial produc-
tion, and marketing of biopesticides
Developing insect forecasting models
Decision and information support systems for
pest and disease surveillance
Institutional mechanism for quick response in
case of disaster
Ecological Pest Management (EPM) is an
approach to increasing the strengths of natural
systems to reinforce the natural processes of pest
regulation and improve agricultural production.
Also known as Integrated Pest Management
(IPM), this practice can be
defi ned as the use of multiple tactics in a compati-
ble manner to maintain pest populations at levels
below those causing economic injury while pro-
viding protection against hazards to humans, ani-
mals, plants and the environment. IPM is thus
ecologically-based pest management that makes
full use of natural and cultural processes and meth-
ods, including host resistance and biological con-
trol. IPM emphasizes the growth of a healthy crop
with the least possible disruption of agro-
ecosystems, thereby encouraging natural pest con-
trol mechanisms. Chemical pesticides are used
only where and when these natural methods fail to
keep pests below damaging levels.
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