Innovative Agriculture for Food Security: An integrated agro-ecosystems approach
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Citation
Mahmoud Solh, Maarten van Ginkel, Rodomiro Ortiz. (30/11/2013). Innovative Agriculture for Food Security: An integrated agro-ecosystems approach. Amman, Jordan: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).
Abstract
Agricultural research has improved the lives of millions of people in
the past three decades. But today, poverty, hunger, lack of access
to food and nutrition remain a daily fact of life for millions of people
in many of the world’s low-income regions of sub-Saharan Africa and
Asia.
If agricultural research and innovation are to deliver acceptable
levels of food and nutrition security to poor communities, a rethink is
needed of how current approaches to research-for-development
are planned and executed.
The obstacles to taking food security to the next level lie in three
factors: the current vertical and agricultural commodity or thematic
focus – by, researchers, research leaders and development
agencies – that do not effectively address countries’ needs; the
current short-term project focus to agricultural research and
development funding; and a lack of practical policy options that
can help countries respond to the realities they face of chronic food
insecurity and nutrition deficit.
If we can shift thinking in these areas, agricultural innovation will take
a more holistic approach and deliver more benefits to smallholder
farmers and their communities. This is the path to achieve global
food security.
The research approach needs to be broadened. Current
project-focused and vertical approaches of research programs and
development agencies – that focus on solutions based on one
commodity crop or a series of ‘mandate’ disciplinary technologies –
should be replaced with a view that looks at all combinations of
approaches (e.g. crops, livestock, trees, fish, natural resources
management, policies, income options) that best respond to a
country’s nutrition and food security needs and can increase income
for small farmers.
Low-income countries need less ‘global policy advice’ and more
practical policy options that help improve income for smallholders
and communities, and that work in their reality of imperfect
institutions and capacity and lack of adequate funding.