How to create resilient agriculture

Economic growth with resilience to environmental threats will be central to the agenda of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in June this year, which aims to map out a pathway of sustainable development for the planet. The 'zero draft', the document that will form the basis of co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Appropriate technology 2012-06, Vol.39 (2), p.12
Main Author: Conway, Gordon
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural production
Agriculture
Appropriate technology
Climate change
Corn
Drought
Farmers
Food security
Food supply
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
Hunger
Innovations
Nutrition
Sustainable development
Technology adoption
Water shortages
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Summary:Economic growth with resilience to environmental threats will be central to the agenda of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in June this year, which aims to map out a pathway of sustainable development for the planet. The 'zero draft', the document that will form the basis of conference negotiations, states a resolve to fight hunger, eradicate poverty and work towards just and economically stable societies. Food security is critical to this mission. Farmers around the world will need to produce more food and other agricultural products on less land, with fewer pesticides and fertilisers, less water and lower outputs of greenhouse gases. Developing resilient agriculture will require technologies and practices that build on agro-ecological knowledge and enable smallholder farmers to counter environmental degradation and climate change in ways that maintain sustainable agricultural growth. Agro-ecology and modern breeding methods are not mutually exclusive. Building appropriate, improved crop varieties into ecological agricultural systems can boost both productivity and resilience.
ISSN:0305-0920
1751-6900