Highlights from Learning Event No.6: "Achieving and measuring sustainable intensification: the role of technology, best practices and partnerships" at the 2012 Agriculture and Rural Development Day in Rio de Janiero.

1. Achieving and Measuring Sustainable Intensification:
The Role of Technology,
Best Practices and Partnerships
Rapporteur: Alisa Schackmann

2. Key messages
• Please give up to three bullets on key messages
from your Learning Event
1. Current and future challenges must be addressed by a mosaic
of solutions which place farmers at the center of policy-making
and are founded on a science-based and knowledge-centered
approach to agriculture.
2. To increase productivity sustainably, existing technologies and
best practices need to be diffused, scaled up and adapted to
local conditions through improved farmer extension and
feedback loops.
3. Innovative methods and partnerships must be created to
measure progress and build consensus on priority areas for
action.

3. Evidence of impact
• Please give up to three bullets on evidence of
the impact of your case example – ideally this
should be quantitative data
1. An increase in global average feed-to-food conversion
efficiency from 5.1% (reference case) to 6.2% (improved
productivity scenario) would correspond to a reduction in land
use of 510 million hectares (or 13%) by 2030 and a 20%
reduction in global feed use.
2. After IPM growing methods training in South Asia, eggplant
yields increased by 185% and onions by 198%. East African
farmers can improve yields of sorghum by 83% by using IPM
practices to fight striga.
3. In the US, 50,000 fewer gallons of water are needed to grow an
irrigated acre of corn today, compared to 20 years ago.

4. Going to scale
• Please give up to three bullets on messages on what is needed to
take your case to scale e.g. What policy change is required ? –
What investment is needed ?– and who needs to take action?
• Public investment in agriculture has declined dramatically in the
past 30 years. The trend needs to be reversed to enable farmers
and other actors in the supply chain to have the tools,
technologies and knowledge necessary to improve yields
sustainably.
• Policies must be science-based and adapted to reflect
local/national/regional needs. Better communication across all
these levels will be needed to ensure best practices are replicated
and continually improved.
• All the relevant actors , especially farmers, must be engaged, and
research, deployment and measurement systems must be
improved.