The sustainable intensification of agriculture
Jules N. Pretty,
Jules N. Pretty
The author is Director of the Centre for Environment and Society, John Tabor Laboratories, University of Essex, Colchester, Essex CO4 3SQ, U.K.; and Research Fellow, International Institute for Environment and Development, U.K.
Search for more papers by this authorJules N. Pretty,
Jules N. Pretty
The author is Director of the Centre for Environment and Society, John Tabor Laboratories, University of Essex, Colchester, Essex CO4 3SQ, U.K.; and Research Fellow, International Institute for Environment and Development, U.K.
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Agricultural development is currently facing unprecedented challenges. With 800 million people already having insufficient access to food, population growth estimates project an even bleaker situation in the future. The article summarizes the major schools of thought regarding how to face the dilemma, and advocates sustainable intensification of agriculture, relying on integrated use of a wide range of technologies to manage pests, nutrients, soil and water. Local knowledge and adaptive methods are stressed rather than comprehensive packages of externally-supplied technologies. The article shows how regenerative, low-input agriculture, founded on full farmer participation in all stages of development and extension, can be highly productive. It is stressed that policy must not prescribe specific, concretely defined technologies or practices, as this would restrict future farmer options. Farmers and communities should be allowed and encouraged to adapt to changing conditions; what needs to be sustainable are local processes of innovation and adaptation.
The article highlights environmental and economic benefits resulting from sustainable intensification practices, for farmers as well as communities and nations with examples are taken from Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Despite the increasing success of sustainable agriculture, it is clear that the challenge remains to ‘scale up’ the process from small ‘islands of success’ to fundamental reform of both policies and policy formulation processes.
References
- Attah-Krah, A. N. and Francis, P. A. (1987) The role of on-farm trials in the evaluation of composite technologies: the case of alley farming in Southern Nigeria. Agricultural Systems, 23, 133–152.
- Avery, D. (1995) Saving the Planet with Pesticides and Plastic. The Hudson Institute, Indianapolis.
- Bagadion, B. U. and Korten, F. F. (1991) Developing irrigators' organisations; a learning process approach. In Putting People First, ed. M. M. Cernea, 2nd Edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
- Balbarino, E. A. and Alcober, D. L. (1994) Participatory watershed management in Leyte, Philippines: experience and impacts after three years. Paper for IIED/Action Aid Conf. New Horizons: The Social, Economic and Environmental Impacts of Participatory Watershed Development, Bangalore, India, 28 November–2 December.
-
Bannister, M. E. and
Nair, P. K. R. (1990) Alley cropping as a sustainable agricultural technology for the hillsides of Haiti: experience of an agroforcstry outreach project.
American Journal of Alternative Agriculture, 5(2), 51–59.
10.1017/S0889189300003283 Google Scholar
- Benhke, R. and Scoones, I. (1992) Rethinking Range Ecology: Implications for Rangeland Management in Africa. Drylands Programme Issues Paper No 33, International Institute for Environment and Development, London.
- Borlaug, N. (1992) Small-scale agriculture in Africa: the myths and realities. Feeding the Future (Newsletter of the Sasakawa Africa Association) 4(2).
- Borlaug, N. (1994a) Agricultural research for sustainable development. Testimony before US House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, March 1.
- Borlaug, N. (1994b) Chemical fertilizer ‘essential’. Letter to International Agricultural Development Nov–Dec, 23.
- Brown, L. (1994) The world food prospect: entering a new era. In Assisting Sustainable Food Production: Apathy or Action? Winrock International, Arlington, VA.
- Brown, L. R. and Kane, H. (1994) Full House: Reassessing the Earth's Population Carrying Capacity. W. W. Norton and Co. New York.
- Bunch, R. (1990) Low Input Soil Restoration in Honduras: The Cantarranas Farmer-to-Farmer Extension Programme. Sustainable Agriculture Programme Gatekeeper Series SA23. International Institute for Environment and Development, London.
- Bunch, R. (1993) EPAGRI's work in the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil: Major new possibilities for resource-poor farmers. COSECHA, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
- Bunch, R. and Lòpez, G. (1996) Soil Recuperation in Central America: Sustaining Innovation after Intervention. Sustainable Agriculture Programme Gatekeeper Series SA 55, International Institute for Environment and Development, London.
- Carruthers, I. (1993) Going, going, gone! Tropical agriculture as we knew it. Tropical Agriculture Association Newsletter, 13(3), 1–5.
- Carson, S. (1996) Personal communication, Thai–German Highland Development Project, Chiang Mai.
- Carter, J. (1995) Alley Cropping: Have Resource Poor Farmers Benefited? ODI Natural Resource Perspectives No 3, London.
- CGIAR (1994) Sustainable Agriculture for a Food Secure World: A Vision for International Agricultural Research. Expert Panel of the CGIAR, Washington, DC and Sarec, Stockholm.
- Crosson, P. and Anderson, J. R. (1995) Achieving a Sustainable Agricultural System in Sub-Saharan Africa. Building Block for Africa Paper No 2, AFTES, The World Bank, Washington, DC.
- DANIDA (1994) Agricultural Sector Evaluation. Lessons Learned. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Copenhagen.
- de Freitas, H. V. (1994) EPAGRI in Santa Catarina, Brazil: the microcatchment approach. Paper for IIED New Horizons Conf., Bangalore, India, November 1994. IIED, London.
- DowElanco (1994) The Bottom Line. DowElanco, Indianapolis.
- Dyer, N. and Bartholomew, A. (1995) Project Completion Reports: Evaluation Synthesis Study, Evaluation Report Ev583. ODA, London.
- EC (1994) Evaluation des Projets de Développement Rural Finances Durant les Conventions de Lomé I, II, et III. European Commission, Brussels.
- Ehrlich, P. (1968) The Population Bomb. Ballantine, New York.
- El Titi, A. and Landes, H. (1990) Integrated farming system of Lautenbach: A practical contribution toward sustainable agriculture. In Sustainable Agricultural Systems, eds C. A. Edwards, R. Lai, P. Madden, R. H. Miller and G. House. Soil and Water Conservation Society, Ankeny.
- FAO (1993) Strategies for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD): The Role of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. FAO, Rome.
- FAO (1994) Intercountry Programme for the Development and Application of Integrated Pest Control in Rice in South and South-East Asia, Phase I and II, Project findings and recommendations, Terminal Report. FAO, Rome.
- FAO (1995) World Agriculture: Toward 2010, ed. N. Alexandratos. FAO, Rome.
- Ghimire, K. and Pimbert, M. (1997) Social Change and Conservation. Earthscan Publications Ltd, London.
- GTZ (1992) The Spark Has Jumped the Gap. Deutsche Gessellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), Eschborn.
- Hamilton, N. A. (1995) Learning to learn with farmers. Ph.D. thesis, Wageningen Agricultural University, Wageningen, Netherlands.
- Hanson, J. C., Johnson, D. M., Peters, S. E. and Janke, R. R. (1990) The profitability of sustainable agriculture on a representative grain farm in the mid-Atlantic region, 1981–1989. Northeastern Journal of Agriculture and Resource Economy, 19(2), 90–98.
- Hazell, P. (1995) Managing Agricultural Intensification, IFPRI 2020 Brief 11. IFPRI, Washington, DC.
- Hewitt, T. I. and Smith, K. R. (1995) Intensive Agriculture and Environmental Quality: Examining the Newest Agricultural Myth. Henry Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture, Greenbelt, MD.
- Hinchcliffe, F., Thompson, J. and Pretty, J. N. (1996) Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security in East and Southern Africa. Report for the Committee on Food Security in East and Southern Africa, Swedish International Agency for International Cooperation, Stockholm.
- IFPRI (1995) A 2020 Vision for Food, Agriculture and the Environment. International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC.
- Jordan, V. W. L., Hutcheon, J. A. and Glen, D. M. (1993) Studies in Technology Transfer of Integrated Farming Systems. Considerations and Principles for Development. AFRC Institute of Arable Crops Research, Long Ashton Research Station, Bristol.
- Kamp, K., Gregory, R. and Chowhan, G. (1993) Fish cutting pesticide use. ILEIA Newsletter, 2(93), 22–23.
- Kang, B. T., Wilson, G. F. and Lawson, T. L. (1984) Alley Cropping: A Stable Alternative to Shifting Agriculture. IITA, Ibadan.
- Kendall, H. W. and Pimentel, D. (1994) Constraints on the expansion of the global food supply. Ambio. 23, 198–205.
- Kenmore, P. (1991) How Rice Farmers Clean up the Environment, Conserve Biodiversity, Raise More Food, Make Higher Profits. Indonesia's 1PM-A Model for Asia. FAO, Manila, Philippines.
- Kerkhof, P. (1990) Agroforestry in Africa. A Survey of Project Experience. Panos Institute, London.
- Knutson, R. D., Taylor, J. B., Penson, J. B. and Smith, E. G. (1990) Economic Impacts of Reduced Chemical Use. Texas A&M University, Texas.
- Krishna, A. (1994) Large-scale government programmes: watershed development in Rajasthan, India. Paper for IIED New Horizons Conf., Bangalore, India, November 1994. IIED, London.
- Lal, R. (1989) Agroforestry systems and soil surface management of a Tropical Alfisol. I: Soil moisture and crop yields. Agroforestry Systems, 8, 7–29.
- Leach, G. (1995) Global Land and Food in the 21st Century. Polestar Series Report No 5, Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm.
- McCalla, A. (1994) Agriculture and Food Needs to 2025: Why We Should be Concerned. Sir John Crawford Memorial Lecture, October 27. CGIAR Secretariat, The World Bank, Washington, DC.
- McCalla, A. (1995) Towards a strategic vision for the rural/agricultural/natural resource sector activities of the World Bank. World Bank 15th Annual Agricultural Symposium, 5–6 January, Washington, DC.
- Mitchell, D. O. and Ingco, M. D. (1993) The World Food Outlook. International Economics Department, World Bank, Washington, DC.
- N.A.F. (1994) A Better Row to Hoe: The Economic, Environmental and Social Impact of Sustainable Agriculture. Northwest Area Foundation, St Paul, MN.
- N.R.C. (1989) Alternative Agriculture, National Research Council. National Academy Press, Washington, DC.
-
Ostrom, E. (1990) Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge University Press, New York.
10.1017/CBO9780511807763 Google Scholar
- Paarlberg, R. L. (1994) Sustainable Farming: A Political Geography, IFPRI 2020 Brief 4. IFPRI, Washington, DC.
- Pohl, G. and Mihaljek, D. (1992) Project evaluation and uncertainty in practice: a statistical analysis of rate-of-return divergences of 1015 World Bank projects. World Bank Economic Review, 6(2), 255–277.
- Pretty, J. N. (1995a) Regenerating Agriculture: Policies and Practice for Sustainability and Self-Reliance. Earthscan Publications, London/National Academy Press, Washington, DC/Vikas, Bangalore.
- Pretty, J. N. (1995b) Participatory learning for sustainable agriculture. World Development 23(8), 1247–1263.
- Pretty, J. N. (1996a) Can sustainable agriculture feed the world? Biologist 43(3), 130–133.
- Pretty, J. N. (1996b) A three step framework for agricultural change. Pesticides News 32, 6–8.
- Pretty, J. N. and Howes, R. (1993) Sustainable Agriculture in Britain: Recent Achievements and New Policy Challenges. IIED Research Series Vol 3, No 1. IIED, London.
- Pretty, J. N. and Shah, P. (1994) Soil and Water Conservation in the 20th Century: A History of Coercion and Control. Rural History Centre Paper No 1, University of Reading, Reading.
-
Pretty, J. N. and
Pimbert, M. (1995) Beyond conservation ideology and the wilderness myth.
Natural Resources Forum, 19(1), 5–14.
10.1111/j.1477-8947.1995.tb00588.x Google Scholar
- Pretty, J. N. and Thompson, J. (1996) Sustainable Agriculture and the Overseas Development Administration. Report for Natural Resources Policy Advisory Department, DFID (Department for International Development, formerly ODA), London.
- Pretty, J. N., Thompson, J. and Hinchcliffe, F. (1996) Sustainable Agriculture: Impacts on Food Production and Challenges for Food Security. Gatekeeper Series SA 60. International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London.
- Röling, N. (1994) Platforms for decision-making about ecosystems. In The Future of the Land, ed. L. Fresco. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester.
- N. R. Röling and M. A. Wagemakers (eds) (1997) Social Learning for Sustainable Agriculture. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (in press).
- Rosegrant, M. W. and Agcaolli, M. (1994) Global and Regional Food Demand, Supply and Trade Prospects to 2010. IFPRI, Washington, DC.
- Sasakawa Global 2000 (19931995) Annual Reports. Sasakawa Africa Association, Tokyo.
- Shah, P. (1994) Village-managed extension systems in India: implications for policy and practice. In Beyond Farmer First, ed. I. Scoones and J. Thompson. Intermediate Technology Publications Ltd, London.
- Steer, A. and Lutz, E. (1993) Measuring environmentally sustainable development. Finance and Development Dec, 20–23.
- SWCB (1994) The Impact of the Catchment Approach to Soil and Water Conservation: A Study of Six Catchments in Western, Rift Valley and Central Provinces, Kenya. Ministry of Agriculture, Nairobi.
- TG-HDP (1995) Thai–German Highland Development Project Annual Report. Chiang Mai, Thailand.
- Thrupp, L. A. (1996) Partnerships for Sustainable Agriculture. World Resources Institute, Washington, DC.
- UNDP (1992) The Benefits of Diversity. An Incentive Toward Sustainable Agriculture. United Nations Development Program, New York.
- van der Werf, E. and de Jager, A. (1992) Ecological Agriculture in South India: An Agro-Economic Comparison and Study of Transition. Landbouw-Economisch Institut, The Hague/ETC-Foundation, Leusden.
- Vereijken, P. (1990) Research on integrated arable farming and organic mixed farming in the Netherlands. In Sustainable Agricultural Systems, ed. C. A. Edwards, R. Lai, P. Madden, R. H. Miller and G. House. Soil and Water Conservation Society, Ankeny.
- Viederman, S. (1994) Ecological literacy: can colleges save the world? Keynote address to Associated Colleges of the Midwest Conf. on Ecological Education, 11 March, Beloit College. Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation, New York.
- Winrock International (1994) Assisting Sustainable Food Production: Apathy or Action? Winrock International, Arlington, VA.
- Wirth, T. E. (1995) US Policy, Food Security and Developing Countries. Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs, presentation to Committee on Agricultural Sustainability for Developing Countries, Washington, DC.
- World Bank (1993) Agricultural Sector Review. Agriculture and Natural Resources Department, Washington, DC.
