The major keywords used in the different definitions are shown in Fig. For example, the notion of ecological intensification emphasizes the understanding and intensification of biological and ecological processes and functions in agroecosystem, and it also extends the scope to the landscape using and providing ecosystem services. The CCRP Theory of Change (ToC) describes the broad systems change to which the CCRP contributes. doi:10.1051/agro/2009004, Wezel A, Casagrande M, Celette F, Vian JF, Ferrer A, Peign J (2014) Agroecological practices for sustainable agriculture. A variety of terms have emerged referring to general or more specific concepts and approaches to solve these issues. Terms comprehending words such as sustainable, ecological or agroecological can be used too easily in exchangeable ways. Boom and bust. Routledge, United Kingdom, 314 p, Wezel A, Soldat V (2009) A quantitative and qualitative historical analysis of the scientific discipline agroecology. Others (Brussaard et al. To establish the contribution of FRNs to selected agroecological elements Diversity Synergies Efficiency Co-creation Human and social values The keywords used in the different definitions on ecological intensification are increased production, minimized environmental impacts, resource use efficiency and ecological processes and ecosystem services (Fig. You have a close personal relationship (e.g. doi:10.1007/s13593-013-0180-7. Problems and implications - Agroecological Intensification - Google Sites doi:10.1016/j.eja.2011.02.006, Egger K (1986) Lintensification cologique. The middle part adds other keywords which were either mentioned in publications for either ecological or sustainable intensification. Dobermann and Nelson (2013) define the following principles: increased productivity and profitability, enhanced use of local resources, maximized returns from external inputs, improved stability and diversity of yields, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, enhanced ecological resilience, and environmental service provision. In all other instances where agroecological intensification is defined and principles are provided, these are based on citations of other authors which used them for describing ecological or sustainable intensification principles (e.g. In recent years, an increasing body of scientific literature on food security and agriculture introduce their research by offering a settled future: In 2050, there will be around nine billion humans to feed. In general, the key components in definitions for ecological intensification appear always with different authors, indicating a larger agreement among authors. For this review, research on the different terms ecological intensification, sustainable intensification and agroecological intensification has been conducted in scientific literature as well as in grey literature. It compares the production efficiency of the organic and non-organic smallholder kale production systems in Kenya. Accessed June 2015, Van Bueren EM, van Bueren ETL, van der Zijpp AJ (2014) Understanding wicked problems and organized irresponsibility: changes for governing the sustainable intensification of chicken meat production. Some of the notable international organizations that employ this term are the Food Climate Research Network in 2012, the Montpellier Panel in 2013, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO 2011), United Nations General Assembly in 2010, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR 2011), the International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA 2013) and USAID (2013). Many stakeholders advocate an integrated approach to current and future challenges, including changing diets combined with agricultural intensification and reduce food losses and food waste (Foley et al. No special Here, we compare the three major uses, ecological intensification, sustainable intensification and agroecological intensification, by analysing their various definitions, principles and practices, and also their historical appearance and evolution. Feed the Future. doi:10.1006/jare.2002.1089, Dobermann A, Nelson R (2013) Opportunities and solutions for sustainable food production, background research paper. In: Vanlauwe B, van Asten P, Blomme G (eds) Agro-ecological intensification of agricultural systems in the African Highlands. Lucerne is an interesting intercrop to be undersown in cereals for N-fixation and providing increased soil cover for weed competition during cereal cropping and afterwards. This report explores how agroecological approaches can contribute to sustainable intensification in the UK and European contexts by: (i) exploring the concepts of 'sustainable intensification' and 'agroecology'; (ii) reviewing the range of individual practices and systematic approaches that are typically defined as agroecological; (iii) assessin. (2012) state that agroecological intensification sustains ecosystem services, while minimizing environmental costs and maintaining functional biodiversity through wildlife-friendly farming systems. Many of the authors use existing definitions or concepts of ecological and sustainable intensification, but re-label them as agroecological intensification (Cte et al. There is no accepted submissions to this special issue at this moment. The thematic intervention areas describe the more specific topics the CCRP invests in, as well as shorter-term outcome areas. In this sense, we provide new definitions for all three intensification concepts based on the earlier ones. The present three major intensification concepts are ecological intensification, sustainable intensification and, more recently, agroecological intensification. In this report, the definition and principles of sustainable intensification are not stated explicitly, but the authors clearly foster the use of aquatic and associated natural resources, while at the same time proposing compatible multiple usages that do not compromise upcoming opportunities or diminish prevailing resources. CATA is particularly useful as it has been found to be more reliable and faster than human coders (Short et al. To complete this analysis, we discuss how these intensification terms are operationalized through agricultural practices and in which way these terms are already integrated in policies or laws. Science 277(5325):504509. Due to the level of attention these concepts have received both in academia and international policy-making, this is rather surprising. A comparison with the other intensification concepts will be provided and discussed under the discussion section. Sustainable intensification is emerging as the most frequently referenced new paradigm of agricultural production, and it is continuing to gain momentum in scientific and development literature (Pretty et al. Accessed 3 Oct 2013, Godfray HCJ, Beddington JR, Crute IR, Haddad L, Lawrence D, Muir JF, Pretty J, Robinson S, Thomas SM, Toulmin C (2010) Food security: the challenge of feeding 9 billion people. the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. 2010; CCRP 2013), proponents of sustainable or ecological intensification do not generally include these aspects as central to their concepts. Biol Conserv 151(1):5359. FAO, Rome, Haussmann B (2011) How CCRP could support the agro-ecological intensification (AEI) of the Sahel. 2013) are mentioned. Agroecology is gaining momentum around the world, as evidenced by our regional and international partners and the tens of thousands of farmers we collaborate with in our. 1998). Agroecological Intensification: Potential and Limitations to Achieving The CRFS supports agroecological research that can be applied by farmers and communities to improve productivity, nutrition, livelihoods, equity, and rural vibrancy. (2010), Pretty et al. Here, the landscape approach mentioned provides a new dimension for the definition of ecological intensification. Such plans provide a useful means for presenting the goals of agroecological intensification as well as the ways in which proponents of the term can further modify and refine it. 3) and look also at their use in definitions (Table1). Editors select a small number of articles recently published in the journal that they believe will be particularly Food Policy 27(3):285300. To illustrate the theory, we apply Land Cost of Sustainable Agriculture (LACAS) methodology to Spanish agriculture . positive feedback from the reviewers. Agroecology is based on applying ecological concepts and principles to optimize interactions between plants, animals, humans and the environment while taking into consideration the social aspects that need to be addressed for a sustainable and fair food [], Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Access Agriculture is an international, non-governmental organization that hosts an online platform for sharing farmer-to-farmer videos. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. 2011). Collection Documents Systmes Agraires 6:129135, FAO (2009) Organic agriculture: glossary on organic agriculture. The aim is to provide a snapshot of some of the Science 341(6141):3334. The System of Crop Intensification | FAO Individual projects focus on cereal and legume seed production, biological pest control, systems diversification and soil fertility enhancement via legume and crop-tree-livestock integration, use of locally available resources as fertilizer (including sanitized human urine and more recently, also solid human waste), and processing and marketing of nutritious products derived from the primary harvest. those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). Assessing how livelihoods in rural sub-Saharan Africa might change given future trends in socio-economic and biophysical conditions helps to identify and direct effective efforts towards poverty reduction. Principles of ecological intensification rely heavily on biological processes for management of soil fertility, resources and nutrients, biodiversity and interactions between organisms. 35, 12831295 (2015). Wezel, A., Soboksa, G., McClelland, S. et al. For more information, please refer to We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience. 2011; Reardon et al. Front Ecol Evol 6/2014, doi:10.3389/fevo.2014.00029, Garnett T, Godfray C (2012) Sustainable intensification in agriculture, navigating a course through competing food system priorities. This first comparative analysis on ecological, sustainable and agroecological intensification shows that the three concepts are overlapping to some extent and thus are a significant source of confusion. Finally, Vanlauwe et al. Dev. Curr Opin Environ Sustain 2(12):3442. Later, Gibon et al. According to the FAOLEX database, none of the terms researched has been usedin Englishin national legislations. Paper should be a substantial original Article that involves several techniques or approaches, provides an outlook for 1996-2023 MDPI (Basel, Switzerland) unless otherwise stated. Multiple constraints and limiting factors. It represents a cluster of six CRFS-funded projects, namely Sahel-IPM, Networking-for-Seed, Cowpea Square, Productivity of Womens Fields, Cereal-Legume Processing, and CATI-Gao. Accessed 3 Oct 2013, CIRAD (Centre de coopration internationale en recherche agronomique pour le dveloppement) (2013) Ecological intensification. Ecological and agroecological intensification do bring some major nuances and, in general, more explicitly stated definitions. 2011; Reardon et al. It compares the production efficiency of the organic and non-organic smallholder kale production systems in Kenya. 2013; Milder et al. Google Scholar, Collins ED, Chandrasekaran K (2012) A Wolf in Sheeps Clothing? Island Press, Washington DC. Agroecology and Ecological Intensification. A Discussion from a - MDPI Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI. 2010; Dobermann and Nelson 2013; Haussmann 2011; Karamura et al. Sustain. Principles of agroecological intensification, 5.3. An analysis of the sustainable intensification of agriculture. It defines the concept of Ecological Intensification from an agroecological perspective, and examines in energy terms whether it may be sustainable. Species diversification of BG pastures over time and space, referred to here as agroecological intensification (AEI), may enhance soil organic matter (SOM) and improve nutrient cycling by changing the quality, quantity and timing of organic inputs. to a focus on agroecological intensification practices, which rely on use biological processes within the farm.