Check out the interview with Georg Cadisch, from the University of Hohenheim, on agriculture and food safety
Photo: Camila Cunha – PUCRS
From Oct 2 – 7, PUCRS promoted the 8th Brazil-Germany Symposium of Sustainable Development. The event, which is offered every two years, alternately in Brazil and in Germany, discussed the differences and similarities in sustainable development between the two nations and the cultural connections with natural resources and processes. The theme of the 2017 edition was “Facing human impacts: the challenges for society and science”.
The program included lectures on global climate changes, biodiversity, ecology and forests, social and environmental responsibility, among other topics. Additionally, participants had the chance to go on guided tours to PUCRS’ Pró-Mata Center for Research and Conservation of Nature, to Lagoa do Peixe, to the coast and other archaeological sites, to the Centro Histórico and Wind farms as well.
The symposium featured professionals from PUCRS, UFRGS, Unesp, UFRJ, Urca and Fiocruz, as well as representatives from German institutions, including Georg Cadisch, from the Institute of Agricultural Sciences in the Tropics (Hans-Ruthenberg-Institute), of the University of Hohenheim. Unesco made its presence felt too. The event was partnered by Center for German and European Studies, which opened its doors on Apr 10, at the 6th floor of Building 5, of the School of Humanities, and coordinated by PUCRS and UFRGS.
Georg Cadisch
– What are de major challenges for producing adequate food of sufficient quality?
The extend of the challenges vary strongly with region but major challenges include: i) increasing food requirements by a growing population (worldwide estimated to be around 60% by 2050), ii) decreasing land availability per capita, iii) increase in degraded land (erosion, salinization, pollution), iv) competition with bioeconomy use of food production areas (ethanol, oil, rubber, etc.), v) large post harvest storage losses and food process losses, vi) unequal access to food (regional distribution, urbanization, purchasing power), vii) environmental impact (drinking water pollution and availability, groundwater levels falling, climate change, etc.), vii) loss of biodiversity as well as ix) changes in food habits (increase in meat based diets, processed food quality).
– How big is the impact of changes in food habits for a Sustainable agricultural?
The demand for more meat based food products has drastically increased worldwide but particularly in Asia were an increasingly more affluent population is consuming more pig and chicken meat. This has strongly increased the price of feed for these non-ruminant animals and hence has led to increasing pressure on land for maize and cassava cropping. Due to the reduced conversion efficiency compared to grain based diet land requirements double or triple. In combination with land area limitations the production is increasingly spreading into marginal areas like the tropical highlands where traditional fallow periods are abandoned in favour of maize mono-cropping systems. Monocrops on steep sloping lands lead to large erosion and consequently to soil degradation, siltation of reservoirs, and large discharge flumes into the ocean. A similar land pressure can be seen in Brazil were soybean expansion has threatened the sustainability of savannas and forests. However, the case in Brazil also shows that good management (driven by new technologies, i.e. minimum tillage) together with good governance (support of diversification, protection of natural resources) can largely offset the impact if effectively implemented.
– And how future climate change can impact?
Although there is still considerable uncertainty about the extent of climate impact, the general trends are clear with worldwide increasing temperatures and varying degree of impact of rainfall distribution. The impact will vary strongly by region and location where some regions (particularly colder regions) might even benefit. For example, rice production could be a climate change “winner” since more areas will be suitable for cultivation.
– How dangerous will be those climate changes?
Some of the climate change impacts can be buffered by changing cropping systems (e.g. soybean production in Europe), adaptations in management and through breeding for more heat/drought/saline tolerant varieties. Thus, projections into the future need to include the adaptation potential of the ecosystem, farmers and the associated industry.
Some of the more drastic climate change impacts are foreseen for regions, which are heavily affected by sea level rise (where some of the island might even disappear). The largest challenge is probably coming from the uncertainty and the increasing occurrence of extreme events (El Nino, Hurricanes) which make adoptions efforts more difficult.
– What are the ways to increase food production?
Although there is some room for improvement through the adoption of healthier diets and reduction of food waste, future agricultural production is challenged to find solutions towards sustainable intensificaton. We need to use our resources more efficient. As land area available per capita is strongly decreasing the main pathway to enhance food production is the intensification of agricultural productivity with concomitant conservation, or even restoration, of natural and near-natural ecosystems under future climatic conditions, based on a sustainable business model.
– What are the biggest obstacles?
Preconditions for a sucessful implementaton of sustainable intensification approaches are, i) the food security challenge should, at least partly, be met by an overall increase in production and income in rural areas of the least developed countries, b) biodiversity and ecosystem services should be maintained or even improved, and c) a broad range of tools and production methods should be considered. Major obstacles are a limited understanding of the complex interactions occuring in intensively managed agroecosystems. Furthermore, intensification also means access to technologies and resources which is often lacking specifically in poorer countries. On the resource side, water will be a strongly limiting factor in the future where agriculture already today is utilising 70% of freshwater resources. Importantly, the successful implementation of agricultural management and technologies that increase productivity but are at the same time environmentally benign depends on site-specific natural conditions and requires participatory approaches involving farmers. The social setting of a particular area is as much important as the natural resources. Thus, the pursuit of sustainable intensification necessitates a major research program embracing the social sciences as much as the natural sciences.
– And how this options can impact in the environment and the modern way of living? Would that implicate in deforestation, for example?
The impact depends on how well they are implemented. Intensification has always the risk of creating unwanted externalities if not carefully managed. A sustainable intensification would however put more value on food systems and the environment. Thus food prices are likely to be affected. On the other hand, enhancing efficiency and reducing postharvest losses could lead to savings as well as enhancing the environmental quality. Giving more value to ecosystem services provided by forests, this should in principle reduce deforestation if effective regulations are in place and the majority of the society is supporting the concept.
– What would be the most important sustainable intensification strategies? What would this strategies address?
Assessing the role of sustainable intensification in sustainable development first requires an understanding of the main underlying dynamics and drivers that both impact on and are affected by sustainable intensification at various temporal and spatial scales. We need more research about the functions and processes we affect with land management practices. On the other hand we need to analyse the already existing information – the handling of big data will be a future challenge for science. Regional and site specific strategies could include, i) closing existing yield gaps particularly in developing countries, ii) increasing exploitation of biological systems (N2 fixation, biological nitrification inhibition, symbiotic systems), iii) combine measures with climate smart agriculture such as precision agriculture, improved information technologies, iv) advances in stress breeding in plants and animals, and v) closing nutrient cycles via an improved recycling of resources. While the development of a range of agro-ecological and technological solutions for sustainable intensification is important, their implementation will probably only occur within an appropriate regulatory framework. Negative externalities of agricultural production, e.g., nitrogen leaching and GHG emissions, need to be regulated by legally binding thresholds, internalized for example through taxes or other incentives.
– What is the core of socio-agroecological conditions?
Socio-agroecological approaches involves the understanding of the interaction and feedback mechanisms between biological and societal systems. This requires and integrated assessment and an involvement of stakeholders of the whole society in the process of developing alternatives. The assessment of a broad range of ecosystem services and their trade-offs is a first step together with a transdisciplinary approach in developing alternative scenarios considering a whole value chain and life cycle approach. As well as putting the issues in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals to get them in the broader context and to obtain a wider policy support. The SDGs recognize the social aspects of land use and agricultural production as important for the conservation and protection of ecosystems and biodiversity, and for the adequacy of human livelihoods and socio-economic development. The interlinkages of socio-cultural aspects, land management, agroecology and biodiversity are emphasized in landscape approaches, such as the concept of multifunctional landscapes. Landscape approaches realign food production with other societal purposes, e.g., rural development, maintenance of biodiversity, and preservation of ecosystem services in areas where productive land uses compete with environmental goals. Focusing on landscape approaches for sustainable intensification offers considerable opportunities to reduce the environmental impact of land use without compromising food security and human well-being. However, landscape approaches, which aim to improve human well-being in a broad sense rather than merely minimizing environmental impacts, require a “real transdisciplinary engagement” and the involvement of multiple scientific disciplines.
