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Agroecology and sustainable intensification

1. definitions, practices and systems

Prof. Nicolas Lampkin

Director

Organic Research Centre, Newbury, UK

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Acknowledgements

• This presentation presents the outcome of work funded by Scottish Natural Heritage on behalf of the UK Nature Conservation Agencies’ Land Use Policy Group.

• The report was prepared by a team of authors from the Organic Research Centre and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust.

• The conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of SNH or the LUPG.

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What is sustainable intensification?

• Producing more with less? (less input per unit output but still more in total?)

• Producing more with no added environmental impact? (are current impacts, resource use levels sustainable?)

• Producing more with positive environmental impacts (more ecosystem services, natural capital regeneration)?

• Producing enough, more efficiently, with positive environmental impacts?

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Sustainable intensification should

• Mean more than ‘more with less’

• Place increased emphasis on ‘sustainable’

• Actively support environmental protection, production of ecosystem services and regeneration of natural capital alongside production of food etc.

• A sufficiency rather than productivist model where consumption issues also addressed

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How does SI relate to Pretty’s (1997) vision?

• … of an agriculture ‘relying on the integrated use of a wide range of technologies to manage pests, nutrients, soil and water.’

• … where ‘local knowledge and adaptive methods are stressed rather than comprehensive packages of externally-supplied technologies’

• ‘Regenerative, low-input agriculture, founded on full farmer participation in all stages of development and extension, can be highly productive.’

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Agroecology …

… is also subject to multiple definitions:

• Study of the ecology of agricultural systems

• Application of ecology to the design and management of agricultural systems

• Social movement for transformation of agriculture and food systems

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Agroforestry

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Framework

Courtesy of Hill, MacRae and others, dating back to 1980s

Conventional intensive systems

Increased efficiency

Input substitution

System redesign

Sustainable food systems

Conventional intensive systems

Increased efficiency

Input substitution

System redesign

Sustainable food systems

Conventional intensive systems

Increased efficiency

Input substitution

System redesign

Sustainable food systems

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Agroecology by design requires …

• Diversity AND complexity to deliver sustainable, stable, resilient and self-regulating systems.

• Multiple components deliver multiple functions

‘The purpose of a functional and self-regulating design is to place elements or components in such a way that each serves the needs and accepts the products of other elements’ (Mollison)

• Functional biodiversity for eco-functional intensification

• Systems thinking and application

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Systemic approaches

• While all these practices can be used by any farmer, the synergies between them mean more benefits if used in systemic framework

• Examples include:

Integrated Pest, Crop, Farm Management

Conservation agriculture

Organic farming

Agroforestry

Permaculture

• More or less codified/regulated depending on market context

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Agroecology and sustainable intensification

2. evaluation of performance

Prof. Nicolas Lampkin

Director

Organic Research Centre, Newbury, UK

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Evaluations of potential SI contribution

Outputs

Productivity

Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions

Biodiversity and related ecosystem services

Soil and water resource use/conservation

Profitability

Denominators

Per unit land area or other limiting resource

Per tonne produced

Per tonne for human consumption (NSO)

Literature review – matter of judgement

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Impact on productivity

Output

parameter Integrated Organic

Agro-

forestry

Yield/ha 0 -- +

Net system

output/ha 0 - +

Land equiv-

alent ratio 0 - +

Labour use

efficiency + -/+ -/+

Input use

efficiency + ++ ++

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Output

parameter Integrated Organic

Agro-

forestry

Energy use

cultivations - +/- -

Energy use

other inputs 0/- -- -

Soil organic

carbon 0/+ + ++

Above ground

C sequestration 0 + ++

GHG/NH3

emissions/ha

per unit food

-

-

--

0/+

--

--

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Impact on biodiversity

Output

parameter Integrated Organic

Agro-

forestry

Soil micro-

organisms + ++ ++

Invertebrates ++ ++ +++

Plants + ++ +++

Pollinators + ++ ++

Mammals + + ++

Farmland birds + + +/-

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Output

parameter Integrated Organic

Agro-

forestry

Reduced soil

erosion + ++ +++

Reduced soil

compaction ++ + +++

Soil fertility

improvement + ++/- ++

Improved water

quality 0/+ ++ ++/-

Flood mitigation 0 ++ ++

Improve drought

tolerance 0 + ++

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Output parameter Integrated Organic Agro-

forestry

Output level 0 -- +

Enterprise mix value 0 - +/-

Variable costs - -- -

Fixed costs - 0/+ +/-

Infrastructure needs 0 +/- +

Premium markets + ++ 0/+

Agri-env. support + ++ [+]

Farm profitability 0 0 [+]

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Benefit of key practices and approaches 1

Practice/

approach

Product-

ivity

Energy &

GHGs

Bio-

diversity

Soil &

water

Profit-

ability

Legume

leys +/- + +/++ ++ -

Organic

amends + + ++ + 0

Reduced

tillage + + + + +

Limit agro-

chemicals -- + ++ ++ --

Extended

rotations + 0/+ + + +/-

Poly-

cultures ++ 0/+ + + +/-

Variety

mixtures + 0/+ + 0 0/-

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Practice/

approach

Product-

ivity

Energy &

GHGs

Bio-

diversity

Soil &

water

Profit-

ability

Field

margins +/- 0/+ +/++ 0/+ +/-

Biological

control + 0/+ + 0 +

Diverse

pastures + 0/+ + + 0/+

Mix crops/

livestock + 0/+ + + +/-

Mix livstck

species + 0/+ + 0 +/-

Integrated

farming 0 + + + 0/+

Organic

farming -- +/0 ++ ++ 0/--

Agro-

forestry + ++ ++/- ++ +/-

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tre Key issues

• Potential for win-win situations in many cases

• But also trade-offs between productivity and environment, e.g. in organic case

• Land sharing, land sparing and functional biodiversity

“A major argument for wildlife-friendly farming and agroecological intensification is that crucial ecosystem services are provided by ‘planned’ and ‘associated’ biodiversity, whereas the land sparing concept implies that biodiversity in agroecosystems is functionally negligible.” Tscharntke et al., 2012

• Access to (and funding of) knowledge and research

• Focus on practices or systems?

• Role of markets and policy support in compensating for trade-offs and rewarding environmental outputs

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Agroecology and sustainable intensification 3. developing the contribution

Prof. Nicolas Lampkin

Director

Organic Research Centre, Newbury, UK

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What do we need to do?

• Emphasise ecosystem services and natural capital regeneration as part of sustainable intensification – eco-functional or ecological intensification

• Recognise potential of agroecological approaches to deliver this

• Develop appropriate evaluation metrics to address local context and system complexity in support of business and policy decision making

• Consider/promote agroecological solutions to key problems linked to input use (emissions, pollution, soil erosion, antibiotic resistance, pollinator decline)

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What else?

• Use agri-environmental support, payment for ecosystem services, and market mechanisms to encourage system change, not just practices

• Improve agroecological knowledge exchange and information systems – knowledge intensification

• Deepen educational understanding of agroecology at all levels

• Support agroecological research and innovation with real participation of users – needs shift from corporate/ technology focus of current funding models

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How to achieve this

• Build on current good practice and expertise in UK

• Make more creative use of EU policy frameworks, in particular rural development and research , including:

Establishment of agroforestry

Agri-environment/climate

Organic farming

Advice, training and vocational skills

EIP-Agri operational groups

• Ensure greater synergies between policies, using strategies and action plans where appropriate

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Some examples

• Organic action plans in many countries, some (e.g. Denmark) included as chapters RDPs

• German Bundesprogramm Oekologischer Landbau now extended to include other forms of sustainable agriculture

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Agroecology & 2015 law

1. Training and education

2. Collective action

3. Pesticide reduction plans

4. Promoting biological control

5. Reducing antibiotic use

6. Sustainable bee-keeping

7. Better use of livestock effluent

8. Encouraging organic production

9. Better plant breeding

10. Encouraging agroforestry

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What drives these changes?

• Strong political backing at Ministerial level

• Active engagement of producers and other industry partners

• Public concern about environment and health issues

• Can we achieve something similar in the UK nations?