Agroecological Approaches and Other Innovations for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems That Enhance Food Security and Nutrition. A Production Approach
Fidel A. Pariacote
Francisco De Miranda University, Animal Production Department. P. O. Box 7482. Coro 4101. E. Mail [email protected]
The alimentary security is a challenge to overcome worldwide. It implies, among others, to increase food production to cover the population's current and future demand, to increase the patrimony of the neediest sectors so they can get the food they need, and to preserve the natural resources that are required so future generations could produce the type and quality of food they will need. A sustainable agriculture is inexorable but production systems are complex. Factors of diverse nature, from the sun light to social regulations, are from one way or another direct or intricately related to agricultural production systems. Local knowledge from many disciplines is required to understand the system and be able to propose coherent plans of actions. A sustainable production approach is given.
System’s components
Due to the complexity of agricultural systems, it seems necessary to define components and boundaries or ecotones within components. In a general way, an agricultural production systems is composed of four based components. The genetic resource (GR), the biophysical environment (BE) or general agroecological conditions to which the GR is exposed to, the cultural environment (CE) or technological skills as a human input, and the extrinsic environment (EE) such as marketing and political factors. In this approach, the man is a part integral of the system. Changes will be possible only if producers become aware they are needed. Producers must participate and share responsibilities.
The challenge will be to achieve the suitable combination of factors that maximize the productivity of the system, in a given situation. The ideal combination of factors of each component could vary from one place to another due to interactions.
To improve resource efficience and resilience.
A system output or response is the result from the interaction of its components. Under sustainable sceneries the response to a particular action should be evaluated in a trans-disciplinary way, since components don’t adjust additively. Such approach helps to avoid the unconscious exploitation of the natural resources and also to understand the components that restrict the most the response.
Properly sustainable production systems should be based on local knowledge, and producers must be an integral part of them. The goal should be to maximize the response, but also to evaluate environments where production systems could be competitive and economically efficient. Marked oriented production systems seem to be prior to a sustainable social development.
Controversies and uncertainties related to innovative technologies and practices?
Unsuccessfulness of development plans must be due to the fact that they are normally based in imported technology, where producer have not participation other than to apply them as an unique process of development. Producers should participate in building the plan and share responsibilities.
Regulations and standards.
Most agricultural production systems are located in rural communities, where production hardly reaches to cover family’s needs. In most situations, both to go from a subsistence to a market economy and also to improve the quality of life of the family or human development are needed. Both issues, although they are dependent, should be considered simultaneously. Producers must participate, as must the rest of the alimentary chain links. Production must go to the neediest sectors. A significant amount of food is being waste.
Normally, resources needed to reach these objectives are beyond producer capacity. All alimentary chain must participate. Official grants are needed to take off but also private sector regulations is a key factor. Sustainable development will be possible if all links of the chain are harmoniously connected. If a link breaks the chain stop being a chain.
Impacts on FSN.
Regulations are needed but forced changes are not sustainable. Sustainability is a matter of awareness. At the producers level, sustainability will be possible when producers become aware changes are needed.
A favorable circumstance of this approach will be that actions must be advisable. A human development is required. A trans-disciplinary approach is needed in order to evaluate how a given action or scaling within a component of the system could affect response and resilience.
Fidel A Pariacote