Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
A high priority must be given to improving knowledge about the soil-related con-
straints to adopting sustainable intensification. Site-specific and credible research
information is needed for the critical limits of key soil properties, technological
options for climate-strategic practices, options of improving the green water sup-
ply in the root zone and reducing risks of drought, techniques to restore soil quality
and improve fertility, and tools and practices that reduce drudgery and enhance the
respectability of the farming profession (Figure 16.3). The scientific data must be
translated into practical tools that farmers can use and policy makers can understand.
Outreach and economic development are closely interlinked. A high priority must
be given to reaching out to the underprivileged and poorest among the resource-poor
farmers. Extension centers must be established in the rural communities, and credit
facilities must be made available. It is important to increase interactions among
researchers, extension agents, policy makers, and the farming communities.
Teaching soil science must be integral to curricula in primary and secondary schools
(K to 12). Farmer schools must be established through extension centers for enhanc-
ing awareness about new and emerging technologies. The mindset about traditional
versus new options must be changed through dialogue and demonstration under on-farm
conditions by participatory approaches.
Lack of proper communication with the farming communities in remote areas is
a major constraint to the adoption of BMPs. It is critical to enhance the use of infor-
mation technologies services such as cell phones, TV programs, radio talk shows,
and bulletins or fact sheets. Improving transport that links farmers to market (to pur-
chase seed, fertilizers, pesticides, tools, and sell farm produce) is critical to adoption
of BMPs for sustainable intensification (Figure 16.3).
16.7 CONCLUSIONS
Increasing food production by 70% between 2010 and 2050 to meet the demands of
the expected increase in population from 7.3 billion in 2014 to 9.5 billion by 2050
(UN 2013) is the biggest challenge facing humanity since the dawn of settled agricul-
ture. The challenge is even more daunting because of the warming Earth, dwindling
and polluting water resources, degrading soils, reducing per capita arable land area,
and changing dietary preferences toward animal-based diets.
The strategy is to produce more from less through promoting the adoption of
the BMPs of sustainable intensification. The goal is to minimize expansion of agri-
cultural land area, avoid deforestation of tropical rainforest, reduce use of surface
water and groundwater, minimize the use of fertilizers and pesticides, and recycle
all by-products. Therefore, losses must be reduced and the use efficiency of all inputs
drastically increased.
There exists a large gap between the actual and the attainable crop yield. The
gap can be narrowed or eliminated through adoption of BMPs. Adoption of these
technologies can be promoted through payments to land managers for provisioning
of ecosystem services.
The challenges facing smallholder or any other agriculture are unlike any expe-
rienced by humanity since the dawn of settled agriculture. Thus, addressing these
challenges necessitates adoption of innovative and revolutionary (rather than gradual
