THE FUTURE IS PRODUCTIVE

In its 2017 report, the UN stated that for the first time in years, global hunger is on the rise again. 815 million people, or eleven percent of the global population is chronically undernourished, up from 777 in 2015. Taking into account the food crises of 2007-08, more than ever is productivity a crucial aspect of agriculture and a variable to take into account the viability of agroecology as a production system. 

A report by Pretty, Morrison & Bragg, which surveyed 208 projects on sustainable agriculture in 52 countries, stated that the introduction of sustainable agriculture projects led to a 93% increase in per hectare food production through their so-called mechanism 4, i.e. “improvements in per hectare yields of staple cereals through introduction of new regenerative elements into farm systems, such as legumes and integrated pest management, and new and locally appropriate crop varieties and animal breeds.” – a central aspect of agroecology as a food production paradigm. With overall weighted averages of 37% increase per farm household and 48% increase per farm hectare, the benefits of these projects to productivity are undeniable. 

Another more recent study by the Foresight Global Farm and Futures Project refers to a review of 40 case studies on sustainable agriculture in Africa where crop yields more than doubled on average due to these projects, resulting in an increase of 5.79 million tons per year in food production, equivalent to 557 kg per household. Another study by Christian Aid found that in 95% of sustainable agriculture projects, the cereal yields increase by at least 50%.

These numbers are closely related with and often caused by a concept known as resilience, which characterizes agroecology. As climate shocks will influence food production in the coming years, as documented by the IPCC, it’s of crucial importance to design a food production system that can resist the shocks caused by more extreme weather circumstances. Climate change alone is estimated to increase the number of undernourished people by between 40 and 170 million people. Industrial monoculture is less resilient than agroecological, diversified farming systems as they have less capabilities to deal with extreme shocks.  

Farmers in Cuba witnessed the benefits of an agroecological system in the face of hurricanes. The higher the agroecological integration in their farming system, the less damage was caused. This might partially be a result of the fact that agroecological production systems suffer less from soil erosion and landslides because of greater implementation of soil conservation practices.

Agroecology is rooted in traditional knowledge and this harbours a wealth of information that was forgotten at the introduction of the conventional agricultural paradigm. In transforming systems from a conventional to an agroecological food production system, it is imperative that those elements that make it resilient to shocks, be studied and identified. Many strategies are already known and can be implemented: crop diversification, maintaining local genetic diversity, water conservation and harvesting, soil organic management etc.  How well these techniques and principles are diffused will largely decide whether farmers will be able to adapt to climate change and to what degree this will be possible.

References

[1] Altieri, M. A., Nicholls, C. I., Henao, A., & Lana, M. A. (2015). Agroecology and the design of climate change-resilient farming systems. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 35(3).
[2] Christian Aid. (2011). HEALTHY HARVESTS : The benefits of Sustainable Agriculture in Africa and Asia. Africa, (September). 

[3] FAO. (2017). the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World. 

[4] Funes-Monzote, F. R., Martin, G. J., Suarez, J., Blanco, D., Reyes, F. (2011). Evaluacion inicial de sistemas integrados para la produccion de alimentos y energia en Cuba. Pastos y Forrajes, 34(4), 445–462. 

[5] Pretty, J. N., Morison, J. I., & Bragg, R. E. (2003). Reducing food poverty by increasing agriculture sustainability in developing countries, 8809(February 2018).

[6] U.K. (2011). The Future of Food and Farming : Challenges and choices for global sustainability. London.