This paper was approved and declassified by written procedure by the Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy (CSTP) on 15 September 2019 and prepared for publication by the OECD Secretariat. Note to Delegations: This document is also available on ONE M&P under the reference code: DSTI/STP/TIP(2019)12/FINAL This document, as well as any data and any map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.

In the last decades, population growth worldwide boosts agricultural demand for food production. This huge driver rendered global food production more and more specialized, so agricultural landscapes became uniform and monotonic. The loss of diversity is a strong evidence of how modern agricultural landscapes have been disconnecting from nature. Evidence of environmental sideeffects from this pathway are abundant in literature. Now, society is pressing towards changing practices aiming for healthy diets and sustainable food production systems. This raises the question: how to reconnect nature and agriculture in the context of future food production? In this review we propose a reconnection process based on the principles of ecological intensification or sustainable intensification. The integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS) are the most consolidated technological pathway to reconcile crop production with natural processes. These systems are diverse and can partially mimic natural ecosystems exploring the synergies of natural biological processes, while achieving high levels of food production. ICLS promote soil improvements and mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, reducing the agricultural share of global warming and climate change. Besides, these systems are more efficient in the use of nutrients and can optimize the use of other inputs such as pesticides. We present evidence of soil health and biogeochemical cycle restoration in addition to system stability improvement, and assume those symptoms as evidence of mixing crops and livestock fostering reconnection with natural processes.

The paper was approved and declassified by written procedure by the Committee on Science and Technology Policy (CSTP) on 15 September 2019 and prepared for publication by the OECD Secretariat. Note to Delegations: An earlier version of the document is available on ONE M&P under the reference code: DSTI/STP(2019)20 This document, as well as any data and any map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.

The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law. This document, as well as any data and any map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.