Jiggins, J.L.S.

English

NARCIS 

Sustainable agriculture in the news: International study stresses role of farmers

Wageningen Yield 

L E I S A  I N D I A  •  J U N E  2 0 0 828
Landmark report
What kind of agricultural knowledge, science and technology do
we need to solve these problems? Over the last three years UN
organisations, the World Bank and many governments supported
400 experts from all over the world to conduct a massive study: the
International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and
Technology for Development (or IAASTD, see http://
www.agassessment.org for more details). They delivered their report
in April in Johannesburg, South Africa, which happened to coincide
with the sudden doubling of world food prices. The broad conclusion
was that agricultural knowledge and technology need drastic
changes: “business as usual is not an option”. The sad reality is
that the countless poor and the vast amount of degraded agricultural
land are so far not major drivers for change in agriculture and
science. The IAASTD study suggests that three transitions would
help move practice in the desired direction.
First: Science must help farmers to use resources more efficiently.
Soils, energy, biodiversity, fertilizers and pesticides need to be used
wisely. Farming must adapt to and contribute to counteracting
climate change. Science must complement local knowledge and
support sustainable farming with a “best mix” of economic, social
and environmental outcomes.
Second: Issues like subsidies, markets, access to land and know-
how must take the necessities of smallholder farmers into account.
For example, most smallholder farmers cannot respond; that benefit
the rich more. Intellectual property regulation hampers smallholders’
seed systems that have become “illegal” as industries take out
patents on seeds as well as other living organisms.
Third: The true agricultural production costs should show in prices.
Farmers invest in maintaining soil quality or biodiversity but get
no rewards from the market, while it is the world community’s
interest to keep soils productive, and to make sure that water from
agricultural land is drinkable, and does not run off in the shape of
floods.
This assessment highlights the contribution of strong collaboration
between researchers, formal science, and the knowledge, skills and
expertise of small farmers in moving sustainable agriculture
forward. It provides robust evidence that public and private goods
can be secured only by a new balance among environmental,
economic and social interests. And importantly, it emphasises the
key role of small farmers in providing global food security.

Janice Jiggins
Guest researcher, Communication and Innovation Studies.
Wageningen University. P.O. Box 430, 6700 AK Wageningen,
 the Netherlands. E- mail: janice.jiggins@inter.nl.net
Janice Jiggins is a contributing author and editor of the IAASTD
reports.
Sustainable agriculture in the news:
International study stresses
role of farmers
The recent global food crisis shows that agro-
technology and markets alone cannot reduce
hunger. A ground-breaking three-year study
recently concluded that the agriculture sector
should use the know-how of smallholder farmers
better.
Janice Jiggins
Global agriculture is not delivering all it should.Agricultural production has increased, but atan environmental and social cost. All over
the world, some 800 million people are still
undernourished, most of them in rural areas. At the
same time, a similar number of people globally are
overweight, with obesity rates on the increase.
Currently, 1.9 billion hectares of land (three times the
size of India!) is affected by significant land
degradation. Agriculture today uses about 70 percent
of the world’s freshwater, nutrient run-off from
farmers’ fields causes pollution of all major rivers in
the world, and agricultural production emits gases
contributing to climate change. Food export bans and
speculation disturb supplies to the poor in importing
countries, even if production is sufficient.
Members of the Mkombozi farmers group in Mkomo, Mtwara region, Tanzania.
Their knowledge and expertise, like that of all small holder farmers around the world,
is crucial in ensuring global food security.
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Sustainable agriculture in the news: International study stresses role of farmers

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