Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 8
Alternative Paths to
Food Security
Norman Uphoff
Introduction
Ever since the successes of the Green Revolution in Asia in the 1970s and 1980s, the pri-
mary strategy for raising agricultural production has been what is commonly referred
to as “modern agriculture.” This is based upon (i) (i) making varietal improvements in
targeted crops, achieved through either conventional plant breeding or, more recently,
through genetic engineering (GE), together with (ii) increased utilization of pur-
chased inputs, such as inorganic fertilizers, agrochemical crop protection, and usually
petroleum-derived energy to support larger-scale production with extensive mecha-
nization. Also part of the “modern agriculture” package has been increased irrigation
which provides more applications of water than previously. This “seeds-and-fertilizer”
strategy has shaped most research and extension programs for promoting food produc-
tion, and, not surprisingly, it has become buttressed over time by significant commercial
and political interests.
In this chapter an approach to agricultural development is considered that depends
neither on making changes in crop varieties nor on greater expenditure on external
inputs. While the focus here is on plant crops, we note that the same agroecological prin-
ciples are being used to improve livestock production (Savory and Butterfield 1999). As
seen below, it is possible to increase the productivity of currently available crop varieties
very substantially just by modifying the management of plants, soil, water, and nutrients
in certain ways that improve their environment for growth. There is no requirement
of new seeds, although new varieties can be used beneficially with improved practices.
An added benefit is that altered management results in crops that are more robust and
better able to resist threats to crop production that are now increasing as a consequence
of climate change, particularly losses due to pests and diseases, as well as stresses from
extremes in rainfall (drought or flooding) and in temperature. Alternative management
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