Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
2012). Increasing food production therefore does not only present major technical
but also socioeconomic challenges. The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach, inspired
by the economist Amartya Sen, reverses the usual reasoning by starting with a basic
human right to be fed, followed by exploring various means to realize this right in
practice (e.g., Morse et al. 2009). When focusing on the role of soils in smallholder
agriculture, the broader socioeconomic and ethical context of the problem should
never be ignored. However, to assess the role of soils within this broad context is
still relevant because soils are a key resource for farmers everywhere. This broader
context is also expressed by the nine planetary boundaries, defining a “safe operat-
ing space for humanity” (Rockstrom et al. 2009). One important boundary defines
land use, and the authors conclude that resource-poor smallholder agriculture will
never be able to feed the demanding inhabitants of the urbanized world of the future
where the majority of the 9 billion people in 2050 will live in megacities. Nor can
smallholder agriculture provide an adequate income, except, perhaps, when specific
“niches” for the urban market can be explored. Upscaling of agricultural enterprises
to large, technologically advanced but still sustainable production entities is taking
place in many developed countries. This development, which is also bound to occur
in developing countries, requires major societal changes if only in terms of providing
sufficient employment for unemployed countryside workers. Substantial transition
periods are needed, and in the meantime, current conditions need to be improved as
much as possible. However, the degree of necessary upscaling is still the object of
debate. Recognizing the call for larger, more efficient agricultural production enti-
ties, a plea will be made later in this chapter to also consider enterprises of interme-
diate size, where farming families can still make a living and where the potential
for providing a wide range of ecosystem services (thereby increasing soil security)
may be larger than in highly industrialized megaproduction facilities that are discon-
nected from the ecosystems in which they occur.
2.1.2 r ole of S oilS
The role of soil is not covered specifically in current policy reports on smallholder
agriculture, except indirectly when mentioning the importance of conservation agri-
culture, use of fertilizers, and irrigation, where soils are acknowledged to play a
key role (e.g., IFAD 2012). The soil fertility literature is quite extensive but often
only considers static chemical data from the topsoil, ignoring the dynamic physical
behavior of the entire soil (as described in pedology), which is important in under-
standing plant growth. Soils will not be considered here as an object, as such, but in
terms of soil security, which is defined as “the maintenance or improvement of the
world's soil resource so it can provide sufficient food and fiber, fresh water, contrib-
ute to energy sustainability and climate stability, maintain biodiversity and overall
environmental protection and ecosystem services” (Soil Carbon Initiative 2011, p. 4).
As most of the mentioned aspects are covered by the concept of ecosystem services
(Millennium Ecosystem Assessment [MA] 2005), the definition can be simplified
to “the maintenance or improvement of the world's soil resource so it can continue
to contribute to important ecosystem services.” Ecosystem services are defined as
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