Abstract
The reinvestment in agriculture, triggered by the 2008 food price crisis, is essential to the concrete realization of the right to food. However, in a context of ecological, food and energy crises, the most pressing issue regarding reinvestment is not how much, but how. This manuscript explores how agroecology, understood as the application of the science of ecology to agricultural systems, can result in modes of production that are highly productive, highly sustainable and that contribute to the alleviation of rural poverty and, thus, to the realization of the right to food.
Drawing on an extensive review of the scientific literature published in the last 5 years, the study shows how agroecology can benefit in particular the most vulnerable groups in various countries and environments. Moreover, agroecology delivers advantages that are complementary to better known conventional approaches such as breeding high-yielding varieties. And it strongly contributes to the broader economic development. Appropriate public policies can create an enabling environment for sustainable modes of agricultural production. These policies should prioritize the procurement of public goods in public spending rather than solely providing input subsidies. They should invest in knowledge and in forms of social organization that encourage partnerships, including farmer field schools and farmers’ movements innovation networks.
This chapter is a short and revised version of the report I presented, in my official capacity as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, at the 16th session of the Human Rights Council (UN doc. A/HRC/16/49).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
In developing countries, the consumption of meat is much lower, and meat can be an important source of proteins important for child development (Neumann et al. 2007).
- 2.
Such as glucose from the degradation of cellulose, a technology that is currently being developed.
- 3.
CH4 and N2O represent respectively 14.3% and 7.2% of total GHG emissions, and they are particularly potent in trapping heat: CH4 traps 21 times more heat than CO2, and N2O traps 260 times more heat (Kasterine and Vanzetti 2010: 87–111).
- 4.
Modern science combines with local knowledge in agroecological research. In Central America for instance, the coffee groves grown under high-canopy trees were improved by the identification of the optimal shade conditions minimizing the entire pest complex and maximizing the beneficial microflora and fauna while maximizing yield and coffee quality (see Staver et al. 2001).
- 5.
The 79% figure is for the 360 reliable yield comparisons from 198 projects. There was a wide spread in results, with 25% of projects reporting a 100% increase or more.
- 6.
Not all these projects, it should be added, comply fully with the principles of agroecology.
- 7.
Such as improvements on cassava, for which NaCRRI developed locally-developed resistant varieties in Uganda, or improvements on Tef in Ethiopia, where the Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Centre developed a new variety, the Quncho.
- 8.
See Ajayi et al. 2009: 279 (research on agroforestry in Zambia does not support ‘the popular notion that agroforestry practices are more labour intensive’).
- 9.
In East Africa, this development was facilitated by the exchange of technology from Brazilian manufacturers to their counterparts in Eastern Africa (Sims et al. 2009).
Bibliography
Ajayi CO et al (2009) Labour inputs and financial profitability of conventional and agroforestry-based soil fertility management practices in Zambia. Agrekon 48:246–292
Akande G, DieiOuadi Y (2010) Post-harvest losses in small-scale fisheries: case studies in five sub-Saharan African countries. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper No 550
Akinnifesi FK et al (2010) Fertiliser trees for sustainable food security in the maize-based production systems of East and Southern Africa. A review. Agron Sustain Dev 30(3):615–629
Alloway BJ (ed) (2008) Micronutrient deficiencies in global crop production. Springer Verlag, Heidelberg
Alston J et al (2002) A meta-analysis of rates of return to agricultural R&D: research report 113, IFPRI, Washington, DC
Altieri MA (1995) Agroecology: the science of sustainable agriculture, 2nd edn. Westview Press, Boulder
Altieri MA (2002) Agroecology: the science of natural resource management for poor farmers in marginal environments. Agric Ecosyst Environ 93:1–24
Altieri MA, Nicholls C (2004) Biodiversity and pest management in agroecosystems, 2nd edn. CRC, Boca Raton
Amudavi DM et al (2009) Evaluation of farmers’ field days as a dissemination tool for push-pull technology in Western Kenya. Crop Prot 28:225–235
Burney JA et al (2010) Greenhouse gas mitigation by agricultural intensification. Proc Natl Acad Sci 107(26):12052–12057
Campbell B et al (1997) Local level valuation of Savannah resources: a case study from Zimbabwe. Econ Bot 51:57–77
Christiaensen L, Demery L, Kuhl J (2011) The (evolving) role of agriculture in poverty reduction – an empirical perspective. J Dev Eco 96:239–254. doi: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2010.10.006
Cline WR (2007) Global warming and agriculture impact estimates by country. Center for Global Development and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington, DC
DeClerck FAJ et al (2011) Ecological approaches to human nutrition. Food Nutr Bull, 32 (suppl 1): 41S–50S
Degrande A et al (2006) Mechanisms for scaling-up tree domestication: how grassroots organisations become agents of change, ICRAF, Nairobi
Delgado C, Hopkins J, Kelly VA (1998), Agricultural growth linkages in sub-Saharan Africa, IFPRI Research Report 107. International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC
Demment MW et al (2003) Providing micronutrients through food based solutions: a key to human and national development. J Nutr 133:3879–3885
Diop AM (2001) Management of organic inputs to increase food production in Senegal. In: Uphoff N (ed) Agroecological innovations increasing food production with participatory development. Earthscan, London
Edwards S (2007) The impact of compost use on crop yields in Tigray, Ethiopia. In: International conference on organic agriculture and food security, FAO, Rome, 2–4 May 2007
Eyhord F et al (2007) The viability of cotton-based organic agriculture systems in India. Int J Agric Sustain 5:25–38
FAO (United Nations Organisation for Food and Agriculture) (2006a) World agriculture, towards 2030/2050. FAO, Rome
FAO (United Nations Organisation for Food and Agriculture) (2006b) Livestock’s long shadow. FAO, Rome
FAO (United Nations Organisation for Food and Agriculture) (2009) Food security and agricultural mitigation in developing countries: options for capturing synergies, FAO, Rome
FAO (United Nations Organisation for Food and Agriculture) – IIED (International Institute for Environment and Development) (2008) The right to food and access to natural resources – using human rights arguments and mechanisms to improve resource access for the rural poor, right to food study. FAO, Rome
FAO (United Nations Organisation for Food and Agriculture) and Bioversity International, Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD) Policy Brief 11, 2007
Frison E et al (2006) Agricultural biodiversity, nutrition and health: making a difference to hunger and nutrition in the developing world. Food Nutr Bull 27(2):167–179
Garrity DP et al (2010) Evergreen Agriculture: a robust approach to sustainable food security in Africa. Food Secur 2:197–214
Gliessman S (2007) Agroecology: the ecology of sustainable food systems. CRC, Boca Raton
Hoffmann U (2010) Assuring food security in developing countries under the challenges of climate change: key trade and development issues of a profound transformation of agriculture. UNCTAD, Discussion Paper No. 201, November 2010
Holt-Giménez E (2002) Measuring farmers’ agroecological resistance after hurricane Mitch in Nicaragua: a case study in participatory, sustainable land management impact monitoring. Agric Ecosyst Environ 93(1–2):87–105
Holt-Giménez E (2006) Campesino a campesino: voices from Latin America’s farmer to farmer movement for sustainable agriculture. Food First Books, Oakland
IAASTD (International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development) (2008) Summary for Decision Makers of the Global Report, April 2008, Washington, DC
IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) (2007) Climate change 2007: climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Working group II contribution to the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge/New York
Kassam A et al (2009) The spread of conservation agriculture: justification, sustainability and uptake. Int J Agric Sustain 7(4):292–320
Kasterine A, Vanzetti D (2010) The effectiveness, efficiency and equity of market-based and voluntary measures to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from the agri-food sector. Trade and Environment Review 2009/2010, UNCTAD, Geneva, pp 87–111
Keyzer MA et al (2005) Diet shifts towards meat and the effects on cereal use: can we feed the animals in 2030? Ecol Econ 55(2):187–202
Khan A, Ahmed GJU, Magor NP, Salahuddin A (2005) Integrated rice-duck: a new farming system for Bangladesh. In: Van Mele P, Ahmad S, Magor NP (eds) Innovations in rural extension: case studies from Bangladesh, Cabi bioscience and IRRI. Cabi Publishing, Oxford, pp 243–256
Khan Z et al (2011) Push-pull technology: a conservation agriculture approach for integrated management of insect pests, weeds and soil health in Africa. Int J Agr Sustain 9(1):162–170
Landers J (2007) Tropical crop-livestock systems in conservation agriculture: the Brazilian experience, integrated crop management, vol 5. FAO, Rome
Linyunga K et al (2004) Accelerating agroforestry adoption: a case of Mozambique, ICRAF-agroforestry project. Paper presented at the IUFRO Congress, Rome, Italy, 12–15 July 2004
Lipton M (1977) Why poor people stay poor: a study of urban bias in world development. Maurice Temple Smith, London
Neumann CG et al (2007) Meat supplementation improves growth, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes in Kenyan children. J Nutr 137(4):1119–1123
Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research (2010) Climate Change project, Bioversity International and The Christensen Fund, The use of agrobiodiversity by indigenous and traditional agricultural communities in adapting to climate change – Synthesis paper
Pretty J (2008) Agricultural sustainability: concepts, principles and evidence. Phil Trans R Soc B 363(1491):447–465
Pretty J et al (2006) Resource-conserving agriculture increases yields in developing countries. Environ Sci Technol 40(4):1114–1119
Pretty J et al (2011) Sustainable intensification in African agriculture. International Journal of Agric Sustain pp 5–24. doi: 10.3763/ijas.2010.0583
Pye-Smith C (2008) Farming trees, banishing hunger. How an agroforestry programme is helping smallholders in Malawi to grow more food and improve their livelihoods. World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi
Pye-Smith C (2010) A rural revival in Tanzania: how agroforestry is helping farmers to restore the woodlands in Shinyanga region, ICRAF trees for change no. 7. World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi
Reardon T, Berdegué JA (2002) The rapid rise of supermarkets in Latin America. Challenges and opportunities for development. Dev Policy Rev 20:317–334
Reardon T et al (2007) Supermarkets and horticultural development in Mexico : synthesis of findings and recommendations to USAID and GOM. Report submitted by MSU to USAID/Mexico and USDA/Washington, August 2007
Reardon T et al (2009) Agrifood industry transformation and small farmers in developing countries. World Dev 37:1717–1727
Rosset P et al (2011) The Campesino to- Campesino agroecology movement of ANAP in Cuba. J Peasant Stud 38(1):1–33
Sims B et al (2009) Agroforestry and conservation agriculture: complementary practices for sustainable development. II World Congress of Agroforestry, Nairobi, Kenya, 23–28 August 2009
Smith P et al (2007) Agriculture. In: Metz et al (eds) Climate change 2007: mitigation, contribution of WG III to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York
Staver C et al (2001) Designing pestsuppressive multistrata perennial crop systems: shade-grown coffee in Central America. Agrofor Syst 53:151–170
Stern N (2007) Stern review report on the economics of climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Report to the General Assembly (2009) Seed policies and the right to food: enhancing agrobiodiversity, rewarding innovation, UN doc. A/64/170, October 2009
UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) (2009) World investment report 2009. Transnational corporations, agricultural production and development
UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) and UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) (2008) Organic Agriculture and Food Security in Africa, UNEP-UNCTAD Capacity Building Task Force on Trade, Environment and Development (UNCTAD/DITC/TED/2007/15), United Nations, New York/Geneva
UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) (2007) Human development report 2007/2008. Fighting climate change: human solidarity in a divided world
UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) (2005) Agroecology and the search for a truly sustainable agriculture, Mexico
UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) (2009) The environmental food crisis. UNEP, Nairobi
Uphoff N (2002) Institutional change and policy reforms. In: Uphoff N (ed) Agroecological innovations increasing food production with participatory development. Earthscan Publications, London
Van den Berg H, Jiggins J (2007) Investing in farmers. The impacts of farmer field schools in relation to integrated pest management. World Dev 35(4):663–686
Warner KD, Kirschenmann F (2007) Agroecology in action: extending alternative agriculture through social networks. MIT Press, Cambridge
Wezel A et al (2009a) A quantitative and qualitative historical analysis of the scientific discipline of agroecology. Int J Agric Sustain 7(1):3–18
Wezel A et al (2009b) Agroecology as a science, a movement and a practice. A review. Agron Sustain Dev 29:503–515
World Agroforestry Centre (2009) Creating an evergreen agriculture in Africa for food security and environmental resilience. World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi
World Bank (2007) Word development report 2008: agriculture for development. The World Bank, Washington, DC
Zhu YY et al (2000) Genetic diversity and disease control in rice. Nature 406:718–722
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
De Schutter, O. (2012). Agroecology, a Tool for the Realization of the Right to Food. In: Lichtfouse, E. (eds) Agroecology and Strategies for Climate Change. Sustainable Agriculture Reviews, vol 8. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1905-7_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1905-7_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-1904-0
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-1905-7
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)