What Is Sustainable Intensification?

To continue to feed a growing global population while reducing the significant carbon emissions from food systems, we need the principles of sustainable intensification in agriculture. By ‘intensifying’ the productivity of land, it is possible to produce more food and reduce its climate impact. 

by Prince Asiedu 

Definition and Goals of Sustainable Intensification

Sustainable intensification (SI) is defined as the process of “simultaneously raising productivity, increasing resource use efficiency, and reducing the negative environmental impacts of agriculture” [1]. SI encompasses strategies to bolster resilience against stresses that reduce crop yield (e.g. drought), decrease dependency on external inputs such as agrochemicals, enhance biodiversity, and sustain ecosystem services [2].

SI aims to manage soil and other natural resources sustainably to maintain their productive capacity. This involves replenishing what is lost through harvesting and erosion, making informed decisions about changes that occur, and anticipating changes in essential soil and biodiversity properties due to natural and human-induced disturbances [3].

The Urgency of Sustainable Intensification

Alongside global catastrophes and the surging number of regional and cross-border conflicts, we are also challenged with our most imminent ecosystem threat: the climate crisis. One significant contributor to the climate crisis is agriculture and food systems, which are responsible for more than 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions [4]. Food production is also heavily affected by climate change. For example, climate-induced floods, loss of soil productivity, droughts, increased temperatures, ecosystem and biodiversity degradation, intensive use of agrochemicals, and inconsistent weather patterns adversely impact global food chains [5]. 

We need nature and ecosystem-based production approaches to securing low-emissions agriculture and food systems while enhancing marginalized people’s livelihoods.  While adopting healthier, eco-friendly diets and reducing food waste can help, sustainable agricultural production must prioritize solutions that preserve ecosystem capital. Thus, there is a need for sustainable intensification in food systems.

Implementing Sustainable Intensification

Put simply, sustainable intensification looks to produce more out of less. This is done through various strategies, such as enhancing production yield potential, improving nutrient use efficacy, enhancing soil productivity and fertility, promoting biodiversity and nature-based services, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions [6]. SI  has also shown much promise in addressing the increasing global population prone to food insecurity and malnutrition. The targeted pillars of SI are to increase agricultural production per: [3]

1.      unit area, time, and person;

2.      mm of water;

3.      calorie of energy;

4.      kg of soil C mineralized;

5.      kg of CO2 equivalent (including N2O and CH4);

6.      kg of essential nutrients used or lost (N, P, K, Zn, Cu, etc.);

7.      kg of pesticides used; 

8.      kg of soil eroded by water and wind.

Preconditions

Sustainable intensification does not encompass a single management practice or production system exclusively; rather, it involves a range of production approaches including integrated pest management, conservation agriculture, integrated crop and biodiversity management, pasture and forage systems, agroforestry, irrigation and water management, and patch farming. There are a number of preconditions required to implement SI [7]:

1. The food security challenge should, at least partly, be met by an overall increase in production and income in rural areas of the least developed countries;

2. The largest share of this increase should come from existing agricultural land;

3. Biodiversity and ecosystem services should be maintained or even improved; and

4. A broad range of tools and production methods should be considered.

Conclusion

Sustainable intensification holds promise as a pathway to address the dual challenges of increasing food production and safeguarding natural resources. By adopting and scaling up these practices, stakeholders can work towards ensuring food security, improving livelihoods, and preserving biodiversity in a changing world. However, achieving these goals will require concerted efforts and multidisciplinary cooperation to navigate the complexities of sustainable agricultural development.

References:

[1]  Bolton, S.M., Crute, I.R., 2011. Crop nutrition and sustainable intensification. Proceedings International Fertiliser Society 695. International Fertiliser Society, Cambridge, U.K.[2]  Pretty, J., & Bharucha, Z. P. (2014). Sustainable intensification in agricultural systems. Annals of Botany, 114(8), 1571-1596. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcu205[3]  Lal, R. (2014). Shifting Cultivation Versus Sustainable Intensification. Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.09295-2[4]  FAO. (2021). Emissions due to agriculture. Global, regional, and country trends 2000–2018. FAOSTAT Analytical 35 Brief Series.https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb3808en[5]  Ali, S., Liu, Y., Ishaq, M., Shah, T., Abdullah, Ilyas, A., & Din, I. U. (2017). Climate Change and Its Impact on the Yield of Major Food Crops: Evidence from Pakistan. Foods, 6(6), 39. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods6060039[6]  Lécuyer, L., Alard, D., Calla, S., Coolsaet, B., Fickel, T., Heinsoo, K., Henle, K., Herzon, I., Hodgson, I., Quétier, F., McCracken, D., McMahon, B., Melts, I., Sands, D., Skrimizea, E., Watt, A., White, R., & Young, J. (2020). Conflicts between agriculture and biodiversity conservation in Europe: Looking to the future by learning from the past. Advances in Ecological Research, 65, 3-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aecr.2021.10.005[7]  Delzeit, R., Lewandowski, I., Arslan, A., Cadisch, G., Erisman, J. W., Ewert, F., … & Brüggemann, N. (2018). How the sustainable intensification of agriculture can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. The need for specific socio-ecological solutions at all spatial levels. Working Paper No. 18/1.