Chapter 2 - Sustainable agriculture for food and nutritional security

Abstract

Worldwide, agriculture and farming systems intrinsically depend on climate but have dramatically changed due to technological progress and expansion, socioeconomic development, shifts in consumption patterns, and the threat of environmental degradation. Almost half of the Earth's farmable land has been converted to croplands, pastures, and rangelands. On the other side, farmers and land managers have affected the agricultural ecosystems through extracting farming and abusive use of resources to increase food production to satisfy either local consumption or trade. Nearly one in three people in the world (2.37 billion) did not have access to adequate food in 2020 an increase of almost 320 million people in just 1year. Consequently, food and nutrition insecurity and climate change emerged as the most pressing and urgent challenges for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the ideals of Agenda 2063. Presently, both developed and developing nations are facing urgent and interconnected challenges that are mining hope for securing food for the growing population and restoring the environment and natural resources. In other terms, less than 10 years into the 2030 Agenda, SDG two is still far from being reached by most countries. A profound understanding of this complexity is fundamental for transitioning to and hence building sustainable food and farming systems. Actions of transformation set the overarching objectives of mobilizing all actors toward zero hunger and net-zero emissions by 2050at the latest. Sustainable agriculture in its various streams, management practices and values, is an essential shift to satisfy the growing population and for tackling these land challenges. Sustainability initiatives are requested to tackle multiple challenges and drivers of agriculture and to provide rollover benefits from both short and long-term solutions to merge toward healthy food systems. From the available experiences and studies, conservation, regenerative, organic, and precision agriculture are the leading processes and game changers being used to help the agriculture sector to reverse the effects of climate change and address other disruptors to the total food supply chain. Such types of agriculture are mainstreaming healthy and durable food systems and revolutionizing farming worldwide. In other terms, these innovative and win-win-win solutions value the health of soils, people, and ecosystems. The SDGs-relating to food, natural resources management, and climate change will or can be attainable if common engagement, globally and locally, of the champions of essential streams of sustainable agriculture, is implemented and enforced in terms of policy, capacity development, technology, institutional settings, and availability of durable funds. Shifting to healthy and plant-based diets and a circular economy could further haste advancement toward regenerative and nutrition-sensitive agriculture and environmental sustainability.