Drivers of change in global agriculture

Abstract

As a result of agricultural intensification, more food is produced today than needed to feed the entire world population and at prices that have never been so low. Yet despite this success and the impact of globalization and increasing world trade in agriculture, there remain large, persistent and, in some cases, worsening spatial differences in the ability of societies to both feed themselves and protect the long-term productive capacity of their natural resources. This paper explores these differences and develops a country!farming systems typology for exploring the linkages between human needs, agriculture and the environment, and for assessing options for addressing future food security, land use and ecosystem service challenges facing different societies around the world.

Crop Diversification Affects Biological Pest Control

“…The main reason for this lies in the fact that modern agriculture achieved significant advances in terms of agroecosystem productivity that come at the price of sustainability (Hazell & Wood 2008;Lichtfouse et al, 2009). This is because modern growing systems imply the simplification of the structure of the environment over large areas of land, replacing natural plant diversity with only a limited number of cultivated plants in monocultures (Vandermeer et al, 1998;Sachs, 2009).…”

Regional suitability for agricultural intensification: a spatial analysis of the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania

“…Cereal yields in SSA hover around 1000 kg per hectare (Hazell & Wood, 2008) while just 5% of agricultural land is irrigated (Rockstrom, Lannerstad, & Falkenmark, 2007). Moreover, production per capita remains at 1960 levels in Africa (Pretty, Toulmin, & Williams, 2011) while the sector accounts for 65% of full-time employment, and 61% of rural households in SSA depend on agriculture for their livelihoods (Pretty et al, 2011;World Bank, 2008).…”

Powering production. The case of the sisal fibre production in the Tanga region, Tanzania

“…Also, in low-GDP countries considerable food losses occur in the supply chain due to inadequate harvesting techniques, poor storage capabilities and ineffective transportation (FAO, 2011). As a result, agricultural outputs per hectare in sub-Saharan Africa are considerably lower than in developed countries (Hazell & Wood, 2008).…”