save and grow flyer

8/4/2019 Save and Grow Flyer

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/save-and-grow-flyer 1/6

A new paradigm of agriculture



Sustainable crop productionintensification can be summedup in the words save and grow.

Sustainable intensification means aproductive agriculture that conserves

and enhances natural resources. It usesan ecosystem approach that draws onnature’s contribution to crop growth

and applies appropriate external inputsat the right time, in the right amount.

Our aim over the next 15 years is to assist

developing countries in adopting save and grow policies

and approaches.

Jacques Diouf Director-General

Food and Agriculture Organizationof the United Nations

Save and grow

A policymaker’s guideto the sustainableintensificationof smallholder crop

production

Unsustainable consumptionof natural resources presentsa grave threat to food security.

This book shows how we can launchan ‘evergreen’ revolution, leading

to increases in productivity in perpetuity, without ecological

harm. I hope it will be widely read and used.

M. S. Swaminathan Father of the Green Revolution in India



The Green Revolution ledto a quantum leap in foodproduction and bolsteredworld food security. In

many countries, however,intensive crop productionhas depleted agriculture’s natural resource base,

jeopardizing future productivity. In order to meetprojected demand over the next 40 years, farmers inthe developing world must double food production, achallenge made even more daunting by the combinedeffects of climate change and growing competitionfor land, water and energy. This book presents a newparadigm: sustainable crop production intensification

(SCPI), which produces more from the same area of land while conserving resources, reducing negativeimpacts on the environment and enhancing naturalcapital and the flow of ecosystem services. While noneof the options presented is etched in stone, all are basedon sound scientific principles and have helped farmersaround the world to “save and grow”.

The challenge

Crops and varieties Farmers will need a genetically diverse portfolioof improved crop varieties that are suited toa range of agro-ecosystems and farming practices,and resilient to climate change.

To feed a growing world population,we have no option but to intensify crop production.

But farmers face unprecedented constraints. In order to grow, agriculture must learn to save.

Genetically improvedcereal varieties accountedfor some 50 percent of the increase in yields overthe past few decades.Plant breeders must

achieve similar results in the future. However, timelydelivery to farmers of high-yielding varieties requires

big improvements in the system that connects plantgermplasm collections, plant breeding and seeddelivery. Over the past century, about 75 percent of plant genetic resources has been lost and a third of today’s diversity could disappear by 2050. Increasedsupport to germplasm collection, conservationand utilization is crucial. Funding is also neededto revitalize public plant breeding programmes.Policies should help to link formal and farmer-saved

seed systems, and foster the emergence of local seedenterprises.



Farming systems

Water management

Crop production intensification will be built on farming systems that offer a range of productivity, socio-economic and environmental benefitsto producers and to society at large.

Sustainable intensification requires smarter, precision technologies for irrigation and farming practices that use ecosystem approachesto conserve water.

Farmers can growmore and save naturalresources, time andmoney with conservation

agriculture (CA), whichminimizes tillage,protects the soil surface, and sows crops in rotationsthat enrich the soil. It helps reduce water needs by30 percent and energy costs by up to 60 percent.Trials in southern Africa saw a six-fold increase inmaize yields. CA practices are a key component of sustainable intensification, which also requires usinggood seed of high-yielding adapted varieties, integratedpest management, plant nutrition based on healthy

soils, efficient water management, and the integrationof crops, pastures, trees and livestock. Such systemsare knowledge-intensive. Policies for SCPI shouldbuild capacity through extension approaches such asfarmer field schools, and facilitate local production of specialized farm tools.

Cities and industries arecompeting intensely withagriculture for the useof water. Despite its highproductivity, irrigation isunder growing pressure

to reduce its environmental impact, including soilsalinization and nitrate contamination of aquifers.

Knowledge-based precision irrigation that providesreliable and flexible water application, along withdeficit irrigation and wastewater-reuse, will be a majorplatform for sustainable intensification. Policies willneed to eliminate perverse subsidies that encouragefarmers to waste water. In rainfed areas, climatechange threatens millions of small farms. Increasingrainfed productivity will depend on the use of improved, drought tolerant varieties and management

practices that save water.

0

40

30

20

10

50

60

70

Net benefit

Cost saving

Yield

Financial advantage of zerotillage over conventional tillage in Haryana, India (US$/ha)

0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

Supplemental irrigationof rainfed production

Full irrigation

Rainfed production

Productivity of water in wheat production

(kg of grain/m3)



Pesticides kill pests, but also pests’ natural enemies,and their overuse can harm farmers, consumersand the environment. The first line of defenceis a healthy agro-ecosystem.

Soil health

Plant protection

Agriculture must, literally, return to its rootsby rediscovering the importance of healthy soil,drawing on natural sources of plant nutrition,and using mineral fertilizer wisely.

Soils rich in biota andorganic matter are thefoundation of increasedcrop productivity. The

best yields are achievedwhen nutrients comefrom a mix of mineral fertilizers and naturalsources, such as manure and nitrogen-fixingcrops and trees. Judicious use of mineralfertilizers saves money and ensures thatnutrients reach the plant and do not polluteair, soil and waterways. Policies to promotesoil health should encourage conservationagriculture and mixed crop-livestock and

agro-forestry systems that enhance soilfertility. They should remove incentivesthat encourage mechanical tillage and thewasteful use of fertilizers, and transfer tofarmers precision approaches such as ureadeep placement and site-specific nutrientmanagement.

In well managed farmingsystems, crop losses toinsects can often be keptto an acceptable minimumby deploying resistant

varieties, conservingpredators and managing crop nutrient levels to reduceinsect reproduction. Recommended measures against

diseases include use of clean planting material, croprotations to suppress pathogens, and eliminatinginfected host plants. Effective weed managemententails timely manual weeding, minimized tillageand the use of surface residues. When necessary,lower risk synthetic pesticides should be used fortargeted control, in the right quantity and at the righttime. Integrated pest management can be promotedthrough farmer field schools, local production of

biocontrol agents, strict pesticide regulations, andremoval of pesticide subsidies.

0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

Groundnut Maize SorghumMillet

Under

Outside

Crop yields under and outsideFaidherbia albida canopy (t/ha)



May 2011

ISBN 978-92-5-106871-7

112 pp.182 x 257 mm, paperback

LanguagesArabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian,Spanish

Subject categoriesAgriculture, cropping systems, plantgenetics and breeding, soil science andmanagement, water resources andmanagement, plant pests and diseases

Lead authors

Linda Collette, Toby Hodgkin,Amir Kassam, Peter Kenmore, Leslie Lipper,Christian Nolte, Kostas Stamoulis,Pasquale Steduto

How to order this book Save and grow can be purchased from:[email protected] through the FAO online catalogue:www.fao.org/icatalog/inter-e.htm

ContactsFurther information: [email protected] relations: [email protected] site: www.fao.org

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

First, farming needs to beprofitable: smallholdersmust be able to affordinputs and be sure of

earning a reasonable pricefor their crops. Somecountries protect income by fixing minimum prices forcommodities; others are exploring “smart subsidies” oninputs, targeted to low-income producers. Policymakersalso need to devise incentives for small-scale farmersto use natural resources wisely – for example, throughpayments for environmental services – and reduce thetransaction costs of access to credit, which is urgentlyneeded for investment. In many countries, regulations

are needed to protect farmers from unscrupulousdealers selling bogus seed and other inputs.Major investment will be needed to rebuild researchand technology transfer capacity in developingcountries in order to provide farmers with appropriatetechnologies and to enhance their skills throughfarmer field schools.

Policies and institutionsTo encourage smallholders to adopt sustainablecrop production intensification, fundamental changes are needed in agricultural development

policies and institutions.

save and grow flyer

Documents