There are only two ways to produce more crops: cultivate more land or achieve higher yields on the land currently cropped. In practice, there is no rational alternative to increasing yield per hectare. Agricultural productivity, whether measured in production per unit land or per unit water, has enormous remaining potential left. For example, for certain important crops, some regions achieve only 20% of the productivity enjoyed elsewhere. Making up just half of that yield gap would revolutionise the relationship between agriculture and biodiversity, as well as contributing to poverty alleviation. Increasing productivity only, however, is not enough. Care also must be taken to manage land and agricultural inputs sensibly to prevent erosion, maintain soil fertility, protect water, enhance biodiversity and improve degraded lands.

A global mosaic of solutions
There is no one-size-fits-all management tool or technology to achieve sustainable agriculture. However, many of the solutions for meeting escalating demands while protecting the environment already exist. In the end, a global mosaic of viable solutions and site-specific approaches will be required to manage agro-ecosystems in a sustainable manner.

Plant breeding — Dramatically increased productivity is among the most impressive achievements of agriculture in the past 50 years. It is estimated that some thirty to sixty per cent of increases are due to improved crop varieties made possible by plant breeding. Hybrid seeds enabled a significant step in terms of increased yield and also have been widely used to improve resistance to disease and pests. More recently, genetically engineered (GE) crops have further contributed to enhanced yield, quality, and pest resistance, resulting in farmer savings in water, soil, energy, time and costs.

In addition to contributing to increased yields, plant breeders also are contributing to the conservation of plant biodiversity. First created by plant breeders in the 1930s, gene banks today hold more than 6 million plant samples. Further, every year, thousands of new varieties are released. Indeed, in some crops, plant biodiversity is being enhanced as the range of genetic material in crops is enriched by professional breeding, which includes genetic material from wild relatives. For instance, the wheat variety VEERY was developed through 3,170 crosses involving 51 crop parents from 21 countries.

Integrated farming practices — Integrated Crop Management (ICM), promoted since the 1980s, comprises a wide portfolio of management measures such as soil and nutrient management, crop choice and protection as well as measures of water and energy management and landscape protection. A large percentage of cultivated fields are for instance, situated on sloping land, which may lead to severe soil erosion. Effective crop management such as rearrangement of fields to follow contour lines, crop rotation, use of cover crops and reforestation measures can be used to counter erosion. Similarly, no- or minimum-till farming also has proven to be a very sensible land management approach, which often are made possible by the availability of herbicides and herbicide-tolerant varieties. Minimum-till decreases erosion, improves soil moisture and also increases the organic matter in the soil, which contributes to increased carbon sequestration. In many places, water may become the limiting factor to sustainable agriculture. The optimisation of irrigation techniques, creation of rainwater reservoirs, improvement of the water table through land management, and improved access to water sources can increase crop yield and labour effectiveness in agriculture.

Integrated Pest Management — Within ICM, pest control is referred to as Integrated Pest Management (IPM). This includes both indirect measures for weed, insect and disease prevention, such as crop rotation, and direct control measures through biological, biotechnological, mechanical and chemical means. In the context of chemical pesticide evaluation, research has ensured for many years that insecticides will not adversely affect pollinators or other beneficial insect populations when used properly, so that they can continue to perform their valuable services to agriculture. Many pesticides, such as systemic products that only control those insects or diseases that harm the plant through sucking or biting, can be fully incorporated within IPM approaches.

Meeting the challenge
We are convinced that many of the solutions needed to attain sustainability in agriculture are known and invite governments in ensuring that those winning technologies are identified, adapted and disseminated (see box, above).

More than twenty years ago, the world community agreed in the Rio Declaration that States must “cooperate to strengthen capacity-building for sustainable development by improving scientific understanding through exchanges of respective knowledge, and by enhancing the development, adaptation, diffusion and transfer of technologies, including new and innovative technologies”. If we want to ensure compatibility between agriculture and biodiversity, we must better implement this principle and ensure that known solutions are made available to all.

An all-out effort by the international community is needed to replicate successful solutions and experiences that harness and promote good practices and to facilitate the transfer, adaptation and scaling up of all the approaches and powerful technologies available today. Let us be optimistic, but practical. Let us share what we know, build on the best, and ensure farm-level choice to truly achieve sustainability.

Laura van der Meer is Director, International Environmental Resources SPRL and Annik Dollacker is Co-chair of the ICC CBD Task Force.

This paper represents the views of several agricultural businesses of the International Chamber of Commerce’s CBD Task Force.

http://www.iccwbo.org/policy/environment/id5621/index.html