Changing the Role of Agriculture: Moving Beyond Production in the 21st Century
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This is a keynote presentation that outlines the environmental consequences of production oriented agriculture in the 20th century and defines three critical roles for agriculture in the 21st century; as a supporter of ecosystems, a foundation for locally-led development, and as a partner in sustainable city-region development. The talk highlights key examples of where agriculture is currently serving these roles. Finally, the presentation concludes with recommendations to the food and agriculture community that are necessary in order to facilitate scaling the lessons from the highlighted examples to a global scale. These actions include; integrating sustainable agriculture into all of the sustainable development goals, building cross sector coalitions at all levels, developing supportive financing frameworks, and mobilizing new research and education around sustainable agriculture. Presented by EcoAgriculture Partners' President Sara Scherr at the 2nd Global Food Security Conference in Ithaca, NY.
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Changing the Role of Agriculture: Moving Beyond Production in the 21st Century
- 1. Changing the Role of Agriculture Moving Beyond Production in the 21st Century Sara J. Scherr President, EcoAgriculture Partners Carasso Symposium 2nd Global Food Security Conference Ithaca, New York
- 3. 20th Century Perspective Agriculture = Scale Production
- 5. Photo: Berta Martin Lopez How Can We Sustain a Bountiful Future?
- 6. New Roles for Agriculture in the 21st Century Sustaining ecosystems Foundation for locally-led development Partner for sustainable city-regions
- 8. Why This is Critical Agriculture land area Agriculture in 40 percent of land area
- 9. Agroecological Practices Photo: World Agroforestry Centre
- 10. Photo: John Picken Integrated Landscape Management
- 12. Agricultural Watersheds Restored in Tigray, Ethiopia
- 13. 2. Agriculture as the Foundation for Locally-Led Development
- 14. Why This is Critical Growing local control of development processes
- 15. ECADERT: Local Food Security in Danlí, Honduras
- 16. 3. Agriculture: Partner in Sustainable City-Regions Photo: City of Curitiba (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity)
- 17. Photo: Neil Palmer Why This is Critical By 2050, 2/3 of population projected to be in cities photo Nelson Kon, courtesy Urban Age, London School of Economics
- 18. Natural Infrastructure for Cities Managed riparian ecosystems Biodiverse and economically active coastal areas Fresh, local food sources Healthy forests for recreation and water retention Peri-urban areas are biodiverse, mixed- use food corridors
- 21. Action Steps Towards a Sustainable Food System
- 22. 1) Integrate Sustainable Agriculture into All the sustainable Development Goals
- 23. 2) Build Cross Sector Coalitions at All Levels
- 25. 4) Mobilize New Research and Education
- 26. New Paradigm of Inclusive Agriculture Green Growth
- 27. Photo: INBAR China Thank you! www.ecoagriculture.org sscherr@ecoagriculture.org
Editor's Notes
- Good afternoon, everyone. PAUSE I came to graduate school at Cornell in 1975. At that time the global population was 4.1 billion and questions about sustainable food systems was just emerging. It is a different world today. 40 years later, and the global population is 7.1 billion and on its way to 9 billion people in 2030 and the roles of agriculture are changing.
- We can all agree, regardless our background, that feeding everyone, including those who today are hungry, is a desirable goal But how?
- When I came to graduate school, the main role for agriculture was to achieve production, and to do so at scale. Our strategy was to maximize productivity by focusing industrial inputs on just a few crops—corn, wheat and rice, to simplify farm fields and landscapes. This was through large scale farming—as in this photo—and through smallholder versions that were also about intensification of simple systems. And indeed, sine 1975 the area under production worldwide expanded sharply, as did the yield of grain yields.
- But these simplified systems were not sustainable: FIRST Agriculture threatens water supplies, which in turn threatens agricultural production: with over-extraction of groundwater for irrigation depleting aquifers, salinization from poor drainage; bare degraded soils keeping rainfall from recharging our aquifers; and pollution from agrochemicals and animal wastes polluting water sources. SECOND The diversity needed for resilience has been lost: 90% of our food energy and protein comes from only 15 plant and 8 animal species; wheat, rice and maize alone provide more than 50% of the global plant-based energy intake; about three-quarters of the genetic diversity in agricultural crops has been lost over the last century THIRD Agriculture is a major source of GHG emissions: Crops produces between 13-15 percent of global GHG emissions and the food system as a whole produces between 19 and 29 percent of anthropogenic GHG emissions from extensive soil degradation, deforestation, methane, (United Nations Environment Program, 2013), And most farmers are still poor—the benefits of productivity growth have not accrued to them. Market power has become highly concentrated: . By 2009, according to the United Stated Department of Agriculture, the top four firms in each input sector – crop seed and biotechnology, agricultural chemicals, farm machinery, animal health, and animal genetics – controlled at least 50 percent of market sales
- We can build a Bountiful and sustainable food system - How do we get there?
- TAKE TIME These are the building blocks for a new framework for thinking and acting about agriculture – in addition to volume of production 1 2 3 [this is the teaching moment]
- The first new role of ecoagriculture is sustaining ecosystems Making the shift from being a source of degradation to a driver of restoration and ecosystem health
- This is critical because today about 40% of all livable land area in the world is dominated by crop agriculture In the brown area, more than 60% of area is under ag, dark orange has 40-60%, light orange has 30-40% If we include grasslands used for ranching and pastoralism, agriculture dominates 80-90% of livable land area. Far more wild species depend on agricultural landscapes than are present in Protected Areas. If they are not managed to support plant and animal diversity, many species will not survive. Most of the world’s most important watersheds are largely under agricultural land use. If they are not managed to produce ample, clean water then water, then it won’t be available for people, industry, agriculture or nature. Shifting ag’l landscapes from being a net source to a net sink of greenhouse gases has to be a principal strategy to slow climate change Yes, we CAN DO THIS.
- The past four decades has developed numerous agroecological practices that achieve “intensification without simplification,” that work with natural systems. Let’s consider three examples I find especially cool: Picture: EverGreen Agriculture grain crops in drylands grown under Faidherbia albida tree cover increases productivity, improves soil quality, holds more water in the soil, sequesters carbon System of Rice Intensification – by changing planting density and management, uses far less water and agrochemicals, with higher yields * Intensive rotational grazing systems that can double the size of the herd and greatly increase below and above ground biomass in grasslands by timing grazing systems in response to grass condition NUMEROUS OTHERS: Integrated pest management (IPM), management of native vegetation to filter nutrient wastes, organic systems that match or exceed conventional agriculture, exceed them during droughts, while using 45% less energy and 40% lower gHg emissions
- Sustaining ecosystems calls for more than action at the plot and farm scale. We need to expand our frame to look at whole landscapes, and how the soil, water and vegetation resources being used by the many different land managers can be managed in a more coordinated way. Because of pressures on our resources, efforts to organize such integrated landscape initiatives are proliferating around the world. EcoAgriculture Partners and partners at CATIE, ICRAF, Bioversity and the European HERCULES project have documented more than 450 such initiatives in Africa, Latin America, south and southeast Asia and Europe that jointly pursue sustainable agriculture, healthy ecosystems and improved livelihoods. They typically involve 5-6 sectors and 9-11 different stakeholder groups. INCREASINGLY PRIVATE SECTOR COMPANIES AND LINK TO S CHAIN. They not only promote farm and field practices at scale, but also community scale rainwater harvesting, improved drainage systems, wildlife habitat corridors and other landscape-level interventions. They find solutions to trade-offs between different users, such as upstream-downstream water management. They establish platforms for stakeholders to jointly understand landscape dynamics, negotiate and develop landscape goals and plans.
- Scientific advances are exploding the potential for new agricultural systems and agroecological management at landscape scales. We are at the dawn of new era of scientific innovation for agricultural systems. More sophisticated studies of the root biome of crops and grasses are showing new ways to manage rhizobium and catalyze rapid plant growth, and suppress pests and diseases New methods for tracking movement of specific molecules through the watershed is enabling targeted management of agricultural wastes Improved understanding of plant physiology and plant-ecosystem interactions is accelerating domestication and yield improvement of new shrub and tree species that could be incorporated into farming systems. There are numerous other innovations emerging to make more biodiversity-, water- and climate-friendly agricultural systems.
- Let’s look at just one story of how all 3 elements came together for landscape-scale transformation - in Tigray highlands of Ethiopia: an area in which 90% of farmers relied on food aid in drought years, low productivity, water scarcity, poverty and malnutrition Beginning in 2002, the govt of Ethiopia, WFP and local NGOs began working in a coordinated way with communitiees to resotre sub-watershed. They used over 48 activities to reduce erosion, rehabilitate degraded soils, and develop local resilience. Impacts: Within a decade, 400,000 hectares of degraded land were rehabilitated in 451 sub-watersheds 125,000 people have directly benefitted, of whom 40% were female Crop production increased 200-400% due to improved irrigation and soil organic matter households dependent on food aid during droughts was reduced from 90% to 10% two-thirds of chronically food insecure households involved in the programme reported a significant increase of income due largely to increased agricultural production and productivity from improved land management (2012 study) Improved groundwater resources, water available for farm activates, and healthy streams, Improved wild biodiversity climate change mitigation due to tree planting and soil rehabilitation
- PAUSE For more than 50 years, the major directions for agricultural development have been set in national ministries of capital cities and in the board rooms of major food industry and agribusiness companies. In this century, we must see a move towards designing agriculture as a foundation for locally-led development—context-specific and local stakeholder led.
- This is critical for us to note because there is growing demand to shape agricultural development in a more democratic way, to fit local priorities on land use, use of agricultural inputs, priority crops and ecosystem management. States and local municipalities, and community-farmer based organizations are making greater claims to shape their own development process. Farmer resistance to external control in value chains. They want to ensure their own food security before exporting products, to protect their own resources. This is changing decision-making. According to a 2002 WRI report, over 60 nations have instituted some kind of decentralization. The 2010 Kenyan Constitution devolves many elements of natural resource management to Counties and to communities. And these constituencies are taking control over key elements of agricultural policy. Policymakers not treat them as ‘beneficiaries’ or targets, but support them to take action to achieve scale of impact.
- 3 examples In 8 countries ECADERT - Estrategia Centroamericana de Desarrollo Rural Territorial (Central American strategy for rural territorial development) Started in 2010 supporting rural development through coordinated participatory local action and policy.. Tangible Impacts: Involving 76 municipalities and over 40 local organizations are mobilizing technical assistance, public investment and new partnerships to benefit 185,000 people Pu’er Tea standards: the Puer local government enforces agricultural standards and invests in agroforestry tea gardens, to take full advantage of the high health and quality reputation of their tea with consumers and associated high price, while also protecting the ecosystem. Ca Mau Province, Vietnam is promoting an ‘organic coast’ through diverse policies to protect the reputation of its shrimp product, restore its mangrove protection and improve water quality.
- PAUSE Strong local leadership is not just emerging in rural regions. Cities are becoming key catalysts for change in agriculture.
- Photo: Sao Paulo This is critical--the growth of cities projected to reach 2/3 of the global population by 2050—though still large rural populations esp in Africa. City leaders are realizing they cannot fully rely only on commercial actors to feed their inhabitants. In Addis Abab and South Delhi, over ¾ of households are food insecure. Distant markets are regularly disrupted, and there is growing interest to access local sources for at least a strategic chare of food supply So rather than just seeing farming regions as anonymous suppliers of food, there is a growing understanding of their “mutual dependence” with rural regions.
- . Moreover, cities are recognizing their responsibility to support biodiversity conservation and address climate change, as well as seeking resilient sources of water, and ways to reduce threats of flooding, and managing wastes. Thus recognizing their socio-ecological interactions with surrounding peri-urban and rural areas
- They are coming up with new and innovative relationships with farmers n farming regions. Examples from all over the world ,and recognized in the new Milan PACT. More than 4000 community-supported agriculture systems in the U.S. now (one of the first here in Ithaca) New York City: payment for ecosystem services to rural landholders to protect the watershed saving approximately $4.5 billion over 9 years on water filtration Curritiba, Brazil – ‘Green city’ restoring biodiversity, reducing greenhouse emissions, sustsainable food sources
- Calgary EATS program: Calgary, Canada – Calgary EATS program, from 2012 Based on 6 principles of sustainable food systems (and associated targets): by 2036 30% of the City’s food comes from city/regional food sources Target 100% environmentally sustainable sources by 2036 100% of citizens have access to healthy food sources by 2010 Supporting actions: Partnering with local universities/research institutions to understand urban food systems Exploring the use of unused industrial space for agriculture and production Facilitating “food hubs” (Producer marketing networks) to connect farmers to processers in the city
- What does this mean for all of us in this room—the current and future leaders in global food security? I propose that we focus on FOUR concrete actions
- We know agriculture plays key and direct role in achieving SDG #2 on Food Security. But we need to make sure agriculture is central also in strategies to address SDGs on: Poverty, Water, Terrestrial Ecosystem, Sustainable Cities, Sustainable Energy, Marine ecosystems and Climate Change
- All of you need to engage other leaders across all sectors to mobilize sustainable food systems [Eleni’s example for coordination of markets] Int’l – UN agencies Nat’l – inter-agency coordination Local - Build and strengthen large landscape initiatives with multi-stakeholders, linking with private sector supply chain
- Those in the finance community – public, private and philanthropic—need to Establish financial mechanisms to fund agricultural investments that sustain ecosystems, support integrate local investment programs, and finance rural-urban partnerships, and fund integrated landscape management * New criteria, new fund structures, new coordinating bodies within landscapes, new roles for national finance ministries
- You who are researchers and research funders—this a truly exciting time. The challenge of sustainable food systems is for the 21st century what the moon shot and computers were for the 20th. We are entering a new era of science that will help shift agriculture from net emissions to net sink, from major energy user to energy provider, from major threat to biodiversity to major habitat for biodiversity . We need new knowledge and education systems that link specialists together effectively to understand and impact complex biological systems, and stakeholder-engaged socioeconomic systems.
- If we do these four things—incorporate ag into most of the SDGs, build coalitions, advance or financial systems and advance research & education-- we will realize a new paradigm of inclusive agriculture green growth. I am optimistic that we can not only feed the 9 billion amply, but do so in ways that sustain our ecosystems, empower local communities and make more resilient cities. Indeed, we must. I expect that over the next two days, your discussions will generate many concrete steps to achieve this.