Sustainable Food and Agriculture: An Integrated Approach is the first book to look at the imminent threats to sustainable food security through a cross-sectoral lens. As the world faces food supply challenges posed by the declining growth rate of agricultural productivity, accelerated deterioration of quantity and quality of natural resources that underpin agricultural production, climate change, and hunger, poverty and malnutrition, a multi-faced understanding is key to identifying practical solutions. This book gives stakeholders a common vision, concept and methods that are based on proven and widely agreed strategies for continuous improvement in sustainability at different scales. While information on policies and technologies that would enhance productivity and sustainability of individual agricultural sectors is available to some extent, literature is practically devoid of information and experiences for countries and communities considering a comprehensive approach (cross-sectoral policies, strategies and technologies) to SFA. This book is the first effort to fill this gap, providing information on proven options for enhancing productivity, profitability, equity and environmental sustainability of individual sectors and, in addition, how to identify opportunities and actions for exploiting cross-sectoral synergies. - Provides proven options of integrated technologies and policies, helping new programs identify appropriate existing programs - Presents mechanisms/tools for balancing trade-offs and proposes indicators to facilitate decision-making and progress measurement - Positions a comprehensive and informed review of issues in one place for effective education, comparison and evaluation

"Sustainability is at the heart of FAO's new Strategic Framework and is the specific focus of Strategic Objective 2, which aims at sustainably increasing the provision of goods and services from agriculture, forestry and fisheries. This report is the outcome of intensive consultations and discussions aimed at developing a common approach to FAO's work on sustainability. That process was conducted in a climate of cross-sectoral collaboration that drew on the contributions of leading FAO and external specialists in crops, livestock, forestry, capture fisheries, aquaculture and natural resources. The report provides the vision, the key principles and indications on the way forward to transition towards sustainable food and agriculture. It builds on the Organization's long experience in developing sustainability concepts, approaches and tools, and offers a common platform for a vision of the agriculture sector and of the inter-sectoral synergies that will eventually make agriculture more productive and sustainable."--Publisher's information.

Using sustainable food value chain development (SFVCD) approaches to reduce poverty presents both great opportunities and daunting challenges. SFVCD requires a systems approach to identifying root problems, innovative thinking to find effective solutions and broad-based partnerships to implement programmes that have an impact at scale. In practice, however, a misunderstanding of its fundamental nature can easily result in value-chain projects having limited or non-sustainable impact. Furthermore, development practitioners around the world are learning valuable lessons from both failures and successes, but many of these are not well disseminated. This new set of handbooks aims to address these gaps by providing practical guidance on SFVCD to a target audience of policy-makers, project designers and field practitioners. This first handbook provides a solid conceptual foundation on which to build the subsequent handbooks. It (1) clearly defines the concept of a sustainable food value chain; (2) presents and discusses a development paradigm that integrates the multidimensional concepts of sustainability and value added; (3) presents, discusses and illustrates ten principles that underlie SFVCD; and (4) discusses the potential and limitations of using the value-chain concept in food-systems development. By doing so, the handbook makes a strong case for placing SFVCD at the heart of any strategy aimed at reducing poverty and hunger in the long run.

Sustainable food systems are fundamental to ensuring that future generations are food secure and eat healthy diets. To transition towards sustainability, many food system activities must be reconstructed, and myriad actors around the world are starting to act locally. While some changes are easier than others, knowing how to navigate through them to promote sustainable consumption and production practices requires complex skill sets. This handbook is written for “sustainable food systems innovators” by a group of innovators from Asia, Africa, the Americas and Europe who are leading initiatives to grow, share, sell and consume more sustainable foods in their local contexts. It includes experiences that are changing the organizational structures of local food systems to make them more sustainable. The handbook is organized as a “choose your own adventure” story where each reader – individually or in a facilitated group – can develop their own personalized learning and action journeys according to their priorities. The topics included in this handbook are arranged into four categories of innovations: engaging consumers, producing sustainably, getting products to market and getting organized.

Continued population growth, rapidly changing consumption patterns and the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are driving limited resources of food, energy, water and materials towards critical thresholds worldwide. These pressures are likely to be substantial across Africa, where countries will have to find innovative ways to boost crop and livestock production to avoid becoming more reliant on imports and food aid. Sustainable agricultural intensification - producing more output from the same area of land while reducing the negative environmental impacts - represents a solution for millions of African farmers. This volume presents the lessons learned from 40 sustainable agricultural intensification programmes in 20 countries across Africa, commissioned as part of the UK Government's Foresight project. Through detailed case studies, the authors of each chapter examine how to develop productive and sustainable agricultural systems and how to scale up these systems to reach many more millions of people in the future. Themes covered include crop improvements, agroforestry and soil conservation, conservation agriculture, integrated pest management, horticulture, livestock and fodder crops, aquaculture, and novel policies and partnerships.

This report provides estimates of investment costs, both public and private, required to eliminate chronic dietary energy deficits, or to achieve zero hunger by 2030. This target is consistent with achieving both the Sustainable Development Goal 2, to eliminate hunger by 2030, and the Sustainable Development Goal 1, to eradicate poverty. The report adopts a reference “baseline” scenario, reflecting a “business-as-usual” situation, to estimate the additional investment requirements. In this scenario, around 650 million people will still suffer from hunger in 2030. The investment requirements to eliminate hunger by 2030 are then estimated. Hunger is eliminated through a combination of social protection and targeted “pro-poor “ investments. The first component aims to bring the poor immediately above the extreme poverty line through social protection by a “transfer to cover the poverty gap” (PGT) The second component involves additional investment required to stimulate and to sustain higher pro-poor growth of incomes and employment than in the business-as-usual scenario. This would, in turn, reduce the need for social protection to cover the PGT. The analysis is complemented by looking at alternative ways to achieve zero hunger by 2030.

A food system comprises the entire range of actors and interlinked activities related to food production, processing, distribution, marketing and trade, preparation, consumption, and disposal. When a food system operates without compromising the needs of future generations, it is considered to be a “Sustainable Food System.” The present-day food systems in Sri Lanka are diverse, and the natural and physical environment, infrastructure, institutions, society and culture, and policies and regulations within which the food systems operate, as well as the technologies employed, have shaped their outcomes. Agricultural research is a key factor in terms of innovation and technological advances. Innovation has been the main driver of food systems’ transformation over the past few decades and will be critical to addressing the needs of a rapidly growing population in a context of climate change and scarcity of natural resources. In addition, agricultural research must help meet the rising demand for food at affordable prices. Comprising 17 chapters written by specialist(s) in their respective subject-areas, this Contributed Volume on “Agricultural Research for Sustainable Food Systems in Sri Lanka: A Historical Perspective” shares the scientific knowledge accumulated by the National Agricultural Research System of Sri Lanka, including universities, and offers recommendations on how to make food systems more sustainable in order to address the current needs of Sri Lankan society. It presents perspectives on four key thematic areas, namely: (i) Crop and animal production, management, and improvement, (ii) Agro-product processing technologies, (iii) Natural resource management, and (iv) Socio-economic development and agri-business management.

Unless action is taken now to make agriculture more sustainable, productive and resilient, climate change impacts will seriously compromise food production in countries and regions that are already highly food-insecure. The Paris Agreement, adopted in December 2015, represents a new beginning in the global effort to stabilize the climate before it is too late. It recognizes the importance of food security in the international response to climate change, as reflected by many countries prominent focus on the agriculture sector in their planned contributions to adaptation and mitigation. To help put those plans into action, this report identifies strategies, financing opportunities, and data and information needs. It also describes transformative policies and institutions that can overcome barriers to implementation. The State of Food and Agriculture is produced annually. Each edition contains an overview of the current global agricultural situation, as well as more in-depth coverage of a topical theme."

This book presents an in-depth study to show that a sustainable future urban life is possible. To build a safer and more sustainable future, as humankind, we would like to use more renewable energy, increase energy efficiency, reduce our carbon and water footprints in all economic sectors. The increasing population and humans’ ever-increasing demand for consumption pose another question whether the world’s resources are sufficient for present and future generations. Fair access to water, energy, and food is the objective for all. In line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, scientists, researchers, engineers, and policymakers worldwide are working hard to achieve these objectives. To answer all these challenges, we would like to introduce the core of Smart Cities of the future, the building block of the future’s urban life: Open Digital Innovation Hub (ODIH). ODIH will serve as the ‘Home of the Future’, a fully digitalised and smart, self-sustaining building that answers all the motivation we highlight here. In ODIH, we introduce a living space that produces its water, energy, and food by minimising carbon and water footprints thanks to the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, and Blockchain technologies. It will also serve as an open innovation environment for start-ups and entrepreneurs who wish to integrate their solutions into the infrastructure of ODIH and test those in real-time. We believe this will be a true open innovation test-bed for new business models.

This new volume provides a better understanding of molecular plant breeding in order to boost the quality of agriculture produce, to increase crop yields and to provide nutritious food for everyone by 2050. Scientists believe the challenge can be met by implementing new and improved techniques of quantitative trait inheritance in plant breeding. Integrating genomics and molecular biology into appropriate tools and methodologies can help to create genetically engineered plants, such as by using biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, molecular markers, ‘-omics’ technology, and genome editing.