the dual challenges of feeding the world’s population
and conserving the resources of the planet. SCPI
will allow countries to plan, develop and manage
agricultural production in a manner that addresses
society’s needs and aspirations, without jeopardizing
the rights of future generations to enjoy the full range
of environmental goods and services (FAO, 2011).
- The need for a systems or integrated approach
Production is not the only element to consider
when looking to meet increased demand for food.
Sustainable intensification of crop production is
pointless if optimizing one component (food crop
production) results in inefficiencies elsewhere in
a complex system also featuring livestock, fisheries,
forestry and industrial components (e.g. biofuels).
Similarly, throughout the food chain, post-harvest
processing, transportation and distribution which
do not support the supply of nutritious food to
consumers will limit the benefit of efficiency gains
in crop production.
While the challenge is clear at the global level, there
can be no single blueprint for an ecosystem approach
to crop production intensification on the ground, as
it is dependent on local ecology, farming practices,
markets etc. In implementing SCPI there are three
elements that need to be considered: farmers;
farmingpractices and technologies; and policies
and institutions.
4.1 Targeted to and accessible by smallholder
farmers
Although the principles and practices of sustainable
intensification apply to both large- and small-scale
farming, smallholder farmers are key to increasing
food production sustainably. Approximately 85 percent
of the farmers in developing countries are small-
holders and there are about 500 million of them.
They cultivate less than 2 ha of land each. Their
number is increasing and their farms are getting
smaller. They produce 80 percent of the food in devel-
oping countries and support some 2 .5 billion people
directly. Together smallholders use and manage
more than 80 percent of farmland and similar
proportions of other natural resources in Asia and
Africa (IFAD, 2010). They are often economically
efficient; they create employment, reduce poverty
and improve food security. Unfortunately, however,
50 percent of the world’s undernourished and 7 5
percent of the world’s poor also live on and around
such farms (FAO, 2009b).Sustainable intensification has much to offer small
farmers and their families by enhancing their
productivity, reducing costs, building resilience to
stress and strengthening their capacity to manage
risk. Reduced spending on agricultural inputs
can free resources for investment in farms and
farm families’ food, health, nutrition and education.
Increases to farmers’ net incomes will be achieved
at lower environmental costs, thus delivering both
private and public benefits. Overall gross domestic
product growth generated in agriculture has large
benefits for the poor and is at least twice as effective
in reducing poverty as growth generated by other
sectors (World Bank, 2007).Clearly, increasing smallholder productivity will
help to reduce hunger and poverty; it is inconceivable
that Millennium Development Goal 1 can be achieved
without addressing the needs of smallholder
farmers.4.2 Management practices and technologies
Sustainable crop production intensification must
build on farming systems that offer a range of benefits
to producers and society at large including high and
stable production and profitability; adaptation and
reduced vulnerability to climate change; enhanced
ecosystem functioning and services and reductions
in agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions and carbon
footprint. These farming systems will be based on
the following three technical principles:69