The Role of Agroecology in Sustainable Intensification

Summary

‘Sustainable intensification’ is now often used to describe the future direction for agriculture and food production as a way to address the challenges of increasing global population, food security, climate change and resource conservation. While sustainable intensification is interpreted by some to relate to increasing production, with more efficient but potentially increased use of inputs and technology, there is also a need to consider environmental protection, including the conservation and renewal of natural capital and the output of ecosystem services. There is a growing consensus that sustainable intensification should not only avoid further environmental damage, but actively encourage environmental benefits.
This includes addressing issues of consumption (including diets), waste, biodiversity conservation and resource use, while ensuring sufficient overall levels of production to meet human needs.
‘Agroecology’ is also now receiving increasing attention as an approach to agriculture that attempts to reconcile environmental, sustainability and production goals by emphasising the application of ecological concepts and principles to the design and management of agricultural systems. Agroecology can be seen as part of a broader approach to sustainable intensification focusing on ecological (or eco-functional) and knowledge intensification alongside technological intensification.
This report explores how agroecological approaches can contribute to sustainable intensification in the UK and European contexts by:
- exploring the concepts of ‘sustainable intensification’ and ‘agroecology’ (Chapter 2);
- reviewing the range of individual practices and systematic approaches that are typically defined as agroecological (Chapter 3);
- assessing the extent to which different agroecological approaches can contribute considering the policy drivers and constraints that may affect the adoption of agroecological approaches (Chapter 5);
- presenting some conclusions (Chapter 6).