Sustainable agriculture is key to ending hunger and malnutrition while simultaneously protecting our planet. It entails farming in such a way as not to harm either people's health or harm the environment - such as by changing diets.
An ecosystem approach prioritizes science while taking into account environmental, economic and social considerations - this includes encouraging crop diversity while encouraging agroecology.
Climate Change
Global population numbers are growing quickly, putting strain on natural resources while meeting rising food demand while conserving natural resources. Climate change exacerbates this challenge by impacting food availability, accessibility and quality.
Climate change impacts agricultural production in a number of ways, from increasing extreme weather events and water availability issues, to temperature shifts causing decreased food production, reduced availability for sale or distribution and higher prices.
Unsustainable agricultural practices threaten our planet's ecosystems and may not be able to keep up with demand for food, leading to biodiversity loss and land degradation. Furthermore, pesticides and fertilizers used for farming pollute the environment further, potentially leading to diseases in animals as well as humans.
Good news is that initiatives have already started to shift conventional agriculture towards sustainable practices. These include using organic fertilizers instead of harmful chemicals and practicing crop rotation - these strategies reduce environmental impacts while increasing yields from both crops and people, making an enormous impactful difference to our planet's ability to provide sustenance sustainably in future years.
The World Bank is intensifying its efforts to promote sustainable agriculture by offering innovative tools and technical assistance to farmers and agricultural stakeholders worldwide. Our assistance includes climate-smart agriculture strategies which boost yields and resilience while simultaneously reducing GHG emissions, food waste disposal issues and water supplies management issues.
At CRS, we're working towards our vision of a world without hunger, by supporting the development of more productive and diverse crop varieties that better suit local conditions, while improving nutrition by decreasing sugar and increasing protein content in staple foods. This work is key in order to meet this objective and we work collaboratively across the agriculture supply chain (farmers, producers, consumers, traders, businesses and government agencies). A global sustainable food system requires everyone working together towards building systems that offer increased food security while protecting the environment while creating economic opportunity.
Water Resources
As global agricultural production expands to keep up with our ever-increasing population, natural ecosystems face immense strain from increased food production. This may cause soil degradation, water shortages, biodiversity loss, pollution, climate change and other impacts which reduce food security and supply - for this reason it is essential that ways be found to enhance farming practices while still producing enough food to meet demand.
Sustainable agriculture development relies upon more efficient water usage in order to guarantee future supplies and reduce environmental impacts. Farmers can adapt their methods by selecting drought-tolerant seeds or by planting diverse species together in one field - both can share nutrients with one another and conserve water usage by using rainfall or recycled water for irrigation.
Another significant challenge lies in the limited space available for new agricultural land in many countries, making any innovation that helps increase sustainability crucial for increasing productivity, improving supply chains, decreasing food waste, and decreasing poverty levels among those who rely on agricultural production as their means of income.
There has been an upsurge in interest regarding an innovative new approach to making farms more sustainable: Agroecology focuses on managing farms as ecosystems to prevent damage to the environment, and numerous studies show its success over traditional approaches.
Focusing on crop diversity and exploring various farming techniques such as intercropping or complex multiyear rotations can help farmers increase yields while protecting soil health, as well as reduce pest problems and increase nutrient uptake by their soils. Agroecology offers further advantages.
By addressing global challenges of sustainable agriculture, we can ensure that food supplies are nutritious and accessible for all and can protect future generations' health. This is the aim of global sustainable agriculture and food security strategies.
Pests and Diseases
As global population growth continues, much work must be done to sustainably increase crop production, improve food supply chains and decrease food waste. To meet this challenge, novel approaches for agricultural productivity growth should focus on strengthening natural ecosystem functions rather than depleting them; alternative forms of farming that use less land, water and energy while simultaneously increasing yields, biodiversity and social equity could be explored as a possible solution.
Though they face immense obstacles, farmers are working tirelessly to address environmental challenges. They're improving soil health and decreasing water and energy use while prioritizing research into sustainable intensification methods that deliver improved environmental results with equal or even lower inputs (see below). Unfortunately, however, such work is complex as it requires changes across many practices across the world - due to how global food systems are structured; what happens in one part may counterbalance any gains achieved elsewhere.
Furthermore, plant disease outbreaks continue to have a devastating impact on crop production and global food security, with annual yield losses due to pathogens estimated at US$220 billion1.2 This loss affects not only primary agricultural production but also regional economies and related socio-economic aspects. Furthermore, as climate change alters pathogen distribution patterns geographically while international trade increases it can only be expected that both frequency and severity of outbreaks increase accordingly.
As this has a direct bearing on global food supplies and security, and thus human nutrition, multistakeholder partnerships that foster improved food security, sustainability and economic opportunity at national levels are of critical importance.
Agroecological approaches addressing environmental, social and economic factors should be prioritized over an economic model approach like Feed the Future Innovation Labs which brings together experts from over 70 universities and institutions from developing countries as well as in the US in order to identify, develop and extend best practices in sustainable agriculture.
Human Health
Sustainable agriculture entails farming practices that benefit animal, human and ecological health simultaneously - including soil health.
Sustainable farming seeks to reduce external costs associated with industrial agriculture on air, water and soil that taxpayers and governments pay for by decreasing farmer input costs, increasing system diversity and strengthening food security - while simultaneously producing food in ways that are healthful, nutritious and delicious for people.
To meet these objectives, the global community must adopt new multistakeholder collaboration models across all spheres of society - from farmers to consumers and everyone in between. This book presents several approaches for creating a world free from hunger that can be implemented using science.
Research into agroecological methods that combine crop rotations, diverse plantings and soil health measures with crop nutrient dense food production can assist farmers in reducing fertilizer inputs while simultaneously increasing productivity and profitability. Such practices also increase food nutrient density while decreasing pest populations.
Reconsider food and nutrition policy within the context of sustainable development is another viable approach to food insecurity. One key element is prioritizing nutrient density by increasing plant-based foods (particularly legumes ) such as legumes. While this might increase prices initially, it could ultimately lower risks related to malnutrition, climate change, as well as enhance people's quality of life and living conditions.
Additionally, investments must be increased in research and development activities that support sustainable agricultural production and food systems. At present, too little of the $700 billion spent annually on food and fisheries goes toward innovation that builds resilience against climate change, water shortages and other challenges. Governments and agribusinesses now have an opportunity to lead in creating resilient food systems. By providing funding, infrastructure and expertise necessary for innovation in agriculture, food and nutrition they will help create a healthy world with which we can cope under climate change and other pressures.
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