Sustainable intensification is an approach that focuses on the increase of crop yields (and livestock productivity) by using new technologies while at the same time minimizing the negative impact on the environment (e.g., carbon emissions) and society (increasing farmers' profit and improving livelihoods).
More specifically, FAO defines the term as the farming strategy of producing more per unit of input resource (or decreasing the input but maintaining the yield).
Other terms that are usually used as synonyms of this system are the agroecological intensification and the ecological intensification.
Except for the production, intensification may be defined as related to income (amount of new income generated per unit of input) and nutrition (human consumption of nutrients per unit of input). In the first case, the farmer may shift to high-value crops or livestock species/breeds, improve his/her knowledge regarding market demand and branding, and diversify the sources of income. In the second case, we focus on the farming of more nutritious crops and animal breeds and the diversification of production.
For the past few decades, this system has been discussed and considered to be the most viable and scalable solution as our first step to transition to a more sustainable but still high-yielding agriculture. However, there is still a vivid debate and confusion around the system.
The Principles
One of the main tools of sustainable intensification is adopting conservation agricultural practices (presented below). The use of smart farming and precision agriculture technologies is also key to reaching yield goals and increasing resource use efficiency without damaging the environment.
As a result, sustainable intensification agriculture has 3 core principles:
- Increase or maintain high yields (using resilient and high-yielding crops and animal breeds).
- Decrease the amount of inputs or/and increase their use efficiency by having a multifactor approach and adapting new technologies (e.g., precision agriculture practices, renewable energy resources).
- Reduce food waste.
Common Practices applied
Many of the practices applied in the conservation agriculture system are common (presented below). Here are just some examples.
- Use of organic fertilizers
- Soil and Water conservation practices (precision irrigation, fertigation, use of animal manure, etc.)
- Conservation/reduced tillage
- Intercropping, cover crops, and crop rotation with legume crops
- Application of Integrated Pest and Disease Management
- Use of improved, more resilient varieties (with increased nutrient and water use efficiency), and animal breeds.
To facilitate the adaptation of such a system, especially by professionals and smallholder farmers, it is essential to take measures to offer financial benefits, improve the accessibility to markets and knowledge support, and further provide relevant education to understand the system and its benefits better.
It becomes apparent that the adoption of precision agriculture and new technologies is a key factor in making the system not only productive but also sustainable. The efficiency of such practices is higher in medium to larger-scale farms.
Most are focusing on applying fertilizers (fertigation and fertilization based on specific needs, taking into account the soil nutrient profile and characteristics), herbicides, and pesticides (on time and specific regarding the application location and pest/weed species) and managing water resources (e.g., drip irrigation).
Further reading
What is Sustainable Agriculture?
What is Subsistence Agriculture?
