Oakland Institute: Overhaul of Agriculture Systems Needed
A report by the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology concludes that "the business-as-usual scenario of industrial farming, input and energy intensiveness, and marginalization of small-scale farmers, is no longer tenable."
Writing for The Oakland Institute, Lim Li Ching reports on the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology (IAASTD) and its report on world agricultural systems and technologies. The work of over 400 authors and the product of an extensive peer-review process, the IAASTD report concludes that "the business-as-usual scenario of industrial farming, input and energy intensiveness, and marginalization of small-scale farmers, is no longer tenable."
Moreover, Li Ching notes,
The IAASTD report calls for a systematic redirection of investment, funding, research and policy focus towards the needs of small-farmers. This involves creating space for diverse voices and perspectives, particularly those who have been marginalized in the past, including poor farmers and women.
The IAASTD report says that greater emphasis is needed on safeguarding natural resources and agro-ecological practices, as well as on tapping the wide range of traditional knowledge held by local communities and farmers, which can work in partnership with formal science and technology. Sustainable agriculture that is biodiversity based, including agro-ecology and organic farming, is beneficial to poor farmers, and needs to be supported by the appropriate policy and regulatory frameworks.
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