Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
terms of water and air pollution, knowledge transfer from the research community to
practitioners became less effective in the developed world, the more so as extension
services were privatized in many countries. Now we see that farmers everywhere
become more knowledgeable, certainly as the information revolution proceeds. Also,
researchers realize the advantages of involving farmers in a joint learning approach
(e.g., Ncube et al. 2007; Adjei-Nsiah et al. 2008; Sonneveld et al. 2008; Bouma et al.
2008, 2011; Rusinamhodzi et al. 2013). This results in a fundamentally different rela-
tionship between scientists and users of their information (as will be illustrated in the
Northern Frisian Woods [NFW] case study) and this will most likely increasingly
apply to developing countries as well, requiring not only an interdisciplinary but
also a transdisciplinary research approach (e.g., Bouma et al. 2011). The soil science
profession is not quite prepared yet to face this challenge. When describing interdis-
ciplinarity in the
Handbook of Soil Science
(e.g., Levy 2012), attention is focused on
technical aspects of soils, ignoring the social sciences while transdisciplinarity is not
being covered at all.
An innovative approach to achieving progress in development is being followed in
the so-called Millennium Villages by supplying large quantities of improved seeds
and fertilizers to allow a “jump-start” of the agricultural production system (
www
.millenniumvillages.com).
Denning et al. (2009) and Dorward and Chirwa (2011)
report positive results for Malawi, illustrating that direct assistance to farmers works
better than top-down national programs, although long-duration strategic and insti-
tutional support at national policy level is crucial.
2.2.2.3 Risk of Gloom
Barriers, as cited above, to raising smallholder agriculture to sustainable levels pro-
viding a stable range of ecosystem services are severe. Rather than trying to solve all
problems at once, every scientific discipline would be well advised to first explore
the potential of its possible contributions to solving the immense problems at hand.
As stated, we will therefore first focus on soil-related ecosystem services, expecting
that they are quite relevant in an essential broader analysis at a later date, including
socioeconomic, institutional, and ethical aspects and consideration of the planetary
boundaries of Rockstrom et al. (2009).
Also, rather than being discouraged about all barriers, there are also favorable
and encouraging developments that deserve to be recognized as “lighthouses” form-
ing a source of inspiration (IFAD 2012). Worldwide, farmers are demonstrating the
benefits of managing natural assets sustainably and in harmony with local ecosys-
tems. They, and their farmers' organizations, developed succesful enterprises in
areas where common wisdom considered this to be impossible. The research com-
munity would be well advised to be more on the lookout for such succes stories rather
than being restricted by classical experimentation. For example, IFAD (2012) reports
research on rice intensification undertaken by >100 farmers in Cambodia, resulting
in yields increasing by 60% while use of inorganic fertilizers decreased by >70%. In
India, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act guarantees
100 days of work creating durable assets to help farmers improve productivity more
sustainably, such as water harvesting structures. On a broader scale, Brazilian farm-
ers have implemented minimum-till agriculture on 60% of the country's cultivable
