Land Quality, Agricultural Productivity, and Food Security

Land Quality, Agricultural Productivity, and Food Security
Author: Keith Daniel Wiebe
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 478
Release: 2003-01-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9781781956977

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'Action is needed to fight poverty by sustaining the environment and the use of natural resources. Land Quality, Agricultural Productivity, and Food Security explores a range of factors driving food security. The book offers an assessment to link quality of the available land resources with productivity of land and the ability to ensure food security. It offers a mixture of broad-scale assessments across the globe, with detailed case studies, deepening our understanding of economics and decision-making mechanisms. It is recommended to researchers, as well as actors in the private and public domain, who are keen to improve their understanding of the appropriate actions that ensure food security in the decade to come.' - Floor Brouwer, Agricultural Economics Research Institute (LEI), The Hague, The Netherlands Land quality and land degradation affect agricultural productivity and food security, but quantifying these relationships has been difficult. Data are extremely limited and outcomes are sensitive to the choices that farmers make. The contributors to this book - including soil scientists, geographers, and economists - analyse data on soils, climate, land cover, agricultural inputs and outputs, and a variety of socio-economic factors to provide new insights into three key issues: * the extent to which differences in land quality generate differences in agricultural productivity across countries * how farmers' responses to differences or changes in land quality are influenced by economic, environmental, and institutional factors, and * whether land degradation over time threatens productivity growth and food security at local, regional, and global levels.

Linking Land Quality, Agricultural Productivity, and Food Security

Linking Land Quality, Agricultural Productivity, and Food Security
Author: Keith D. Wiebe
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2005
Genre:
ISBN:

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Land quality and land degradation affect agricultural productivity, but quantifying these relationships has been difficult. Data are limited, and impacts are sensitive to the choices that farmers make. Summarizing new research by economists, soil scientists, and geographers, this report explores the extent to which land quality and land degradation affect agricultural productivity, how farmers' responses to land degradation are influenced by economic, environmental, and institutional factors, and whether land degradation poses a threat to productivity growth and food security. Results suggest that land degradation does not threaten food security at the global scale, but does pose problems in areas where soils are fragile, property rights are insecure, and farmers have limited access to information and markets.

Soil Degradation

Soil Degradation
Author: Sara J. Scherr
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 77
Release: 1999
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0896296318

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Evaluating the impact of soil degradation o food security. Past and present effects of soil degradation. Future effects of soil degradation and threats to developing-country food security. Policy and research priorities.

Sustainable Intensification

Sustainable Intensification
Author: Jules N. Pretty
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2012-06-25
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1136529276

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Continued population growth, rapidly changing consumption patterns and the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are driving limited resources of food, energy, water and materials towards critical thresholds worldwide. These pressures are likely to be substantial across Africa, where countries will have to find innovative ways to boost crop and livestock production to avoid becoming more reliant on imports and food aid. Sustainable agricultural intensification - producing more output from the same area of land while reducing the negative environmental impacts - represents a solution for millions of African farmers. This volume presents the lessons learned from 40 sustainable agricultural intensification programmes in 20 countries across Africa, commissioned as part of the UK Government's Foresight project. Through detailed case studies, the authors of each chapter examine how to develop productive and sustainable agricultural systems and how to scale up these systems to reach many more millions of people in the future. Themes covered include crop improvements, agroforestry and soil conservation, conservation agriculture, integrated pest management, horticulture, livestock and fodder crops, aquaculture, and novel policies and partnerships.

Agricultural Investment and Productivity in Developing Countries

Agricultural Investment and Productivity in Developing Countries
Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Total Pages: 172
Release: 2001
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9789251045534

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Includes 8 papers by various authors.

Food Security and Land Use Change under Conditions of Climatic Variability

Food Security and Land Use Change under Conditions of Climatic Variability
Author: Victor R. Squires
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 358
Release: 2020-05-12
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3030367622

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This volume analyzes the global challenges of food security, land use changes, and climate change impacts on food production in order to recommend sustainable development policies, anticipate future food services and demands, and identify the economic benefits and trade-offs of meeting food security demands and achieving climate change mitigation objectives. The key points of analysis that form the conclusions of this book are based on measuring the quantity and quality of land and water resources, and the rate of use of sustainable management of these resources in the context of socio-economic factors, including food security, poverty, and climate change impacts. In six parts, readers will learn about these crucial dimensions of the affects of climate change on food security, and will gain a better understanding of how to assess the trade-offs when combating multiple climate change challenges and how to develop sustainable solutions to these problems. The book presents multidimensional perspectives from expert contributors, offering holistic and strategic approaches to link knowledge on climate change and food security with action in the form of policy recommendations, with a focus on sociological and socio-economic components of climate change impacts. The intended audience of the book includes students and researchers engaged in climate change and food security issues, NGOs, and policy makers.

Conservation Agriculture: A Sustainable Approach for Soil Health and Food Security

Conservation Agriculture: A Sustainable Approach for Soil Health and Food Security
Author: Somasundaram Jayaraman
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 626
Release: 2021-08-20
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 981160827X

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Feeding the increasing global population, which is projected to reach ~10 billion by 2050, there has been increasing demands for more improved/sustainable agricultural management practices that can be followed by farmers to improve productivity without jeopardizing the environment and ecosystem. Indeed, about 95% of our food directly or indirectly comes from soil. It is a precious resource, and sustainable soil management is a critical socio–economic and environmental issue. Maintaining the environmental sustainability while the world is facing resource degradation, increasing climate change and population explosion is the current challenge of every food production sectors. Thus, there is an urgent need to evolve a holistic approach such as conservation agriculture to sustain higher crop productivity in the country without deteriorating soil health. Conservation Agriculture (CA), is a sustainable approach to manage agro–ecosystems in order to improve productivity, increase farm profitabilty and food security and also enhance the resource base and environment. Worldwide, it has been reported various benefits and prospects in adopting CA technologies in different agro-climatic conditions. Yet, CA in arid and semi-arid regions of India and parts of south Asia raises uncertainities due to its extreme climates, large scale residue burning, soil erosion and other constraints such as low water holding capacity, high potential evapotranspiration, etc . Thus, the proposed book has 30 chapters addressing all issues relevant to conservation agriculture/no-till farming system. The book also gives further strengthening existing knowledge in relation to soil physical, chemical and biological processes and health within close proximity of CA as well as machinery requirements. Moreover, the information on carbon (C) sequestration, C credits, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, mitigation of climate change effects and socio-economic view on CA under diverse ecologies namely rainfed, irrigated and hill eco-region is also deliberated. For large scale adoption of CA practices in South Asian region especially in India and other countries need dissemination of best-bet CA technologies for dominant soil types/cropping systems through participatory mode, strong linkages and institutional mechanism and public-private-policy support. We hope this book gives a comprehensive and clear picture about conservation agriculture/no-till farming and its associated problem, challenges, prospects and benefits. This book shall be highly useful reference material to researchers, scientists, students, farmers and land managers for efficient and sustainable management of natural resources.

Sustainable Agricultural Development

Sustainable Agricultural Development
Author: Mohamed Behnassi
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2011-02-09
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9400705190

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Due to many challenges (i.e. climate change, energy, water and land shortage, high demands on food, land grabbing, etc.), agriculture production potential is expected to be seriously affected; thus, increasing food insecurity and hunger in many already affected regions (especially in Africa). In this context, sustainable agriculture is highly recommended as an eco-system approach where soil, water, plants, environment and living organisms live in harmony. Innovative technologies and research should be developed to ensure sustainable agriculture and productivity using modern irrigation systems, improved varieties, improved soil quality, etc. In the meantime, the preservation of natural environment should be based on resource conservation technologies and best management practices. Sustainable Agricultural Development, not only raises the serious ethical and social issues underlying these huge environmental problems, but also aims at presenting successful experiences from all over the world in relation with sustainable farming, sustainable management of water and land resources, and innovative processes in livestock production. It also aims at providing inputs to decision making processes and encouraging the transfer of relevant know-how, technologies and expertise to different countries where similar agro-climatic conditions may exist; thus saving precious resources and promoting sustainable agricultural development as a relevant approach to tackle the food security challenge. Finally, this book focuses on the paradigmatic and policy dimensions and call for an innovative approach by analyzing the key themes in a complex and interrelated manner.

Food Security and Climate Change

Food Security and Climate Change
Author: Shyam Singh Yadav
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 568
Release: 2019-02-26
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1119180643

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This book looks at the current state of food security and climate change, discusses the issues that are affecting them, and the actions required to ensure there will be enough food for the future. By casting a much wider net than most previously published books—to include select novel approaches, techniques, genes from crop diverse genetic resources or relatives—it shows how agriculture may still be able to triumph over the very real threat of climate change. Food Security and Climate Change integrates various challenges posed by changing climate, increasing population, sustainability in crop productivity, demand for food grains to sustain food security, and the anticipated future need for nutritious quality foods. It looks at individual factors resulting from climate change, including rising carbon emission levels, increasing temperature, disruptions in rainfall patterns, drought, and their combined impact on planting environments, crop adaptation, production, and management. The role of plant genetic resources, breeding technologies of crops, biotechnologies, and integrated farm management and agronomic good practices are included, and demonstrate the significance of food grain production in achieving food security during climate change. Food Security and Climate Change is an excellent book for researchers, scientists, students, and policy makers involved in agricultural science and technology, as well as those concerned with the effects of climate change on our environment and the food industry.