External publications

Solving the agricultural intensification paradox: a blended sustainable agriculture pathway

Mockshell, Jonathan / Godfrey Omulo / Frank Place / Marcela Quintero / Michael Brüntrup
External Publications (2024)

published on SSRN, 19.06.2024

DOI: https://doi.org/https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4870363
Open access

In both developed and developing countries, policymakers grapple with the question of whether to promote agroecology, regenerative agriculture, conservation agriculture, or climate-smart agriculture among others, to address the complex challenges of a growing population, changing climate, environmental degradation, and food and nutrition insecurity. This has triggered intense debates and sparked an impasse among scientists, practitioners, donors, and policymakers. Rather than advocating for one approach over the others, we propose a Blended Sustainable Agriculture strategy. This approach involves a customized combination of various agricultural pathways to leverage their strengths and minimize trade-offs, offering a viable route toward sustainability. It considers location-specific factors, including sustainable agricultural principles, geographical characteristics, available resources, local farming practices, innovation networks, market accessibility, and policy frameworks.