Integrated farming systems and resilient agricultural landscapes
Abstract
Asia is experiencing unprecedented rapid socio-economic and political change. To balance economic growth and environmental sustainability, agricultural decision makers need more reliable information and tools to thrive in increasingly complex social and ecological settings.
Smallholders in remote and fragile Asian environments may survive by maximizing natural resource use in their surroundings, shifting between agricultural livelihood options, based on immediate food and income needs. This can compromise natural resource sustainability, particularly in upland communities, isolated from wider agri-food systems and mainstream agricultural value chains. Longstanding threats of natural resource degradation are compounded by climate change vulnerabilities, and adaptation/mitigation solutions often require joint action and learning by individual farmers and other stakeholders.
CIAT Asia’s priority is to address the diversity of smallholder farming systems holistically, adopting a research and development framework that links farm and landscape in a more resilient agriculture, featuring: diversified upland farming systems through value addition for cash and food crops; resilient climate-smart agricultural communities, bridging farms and landscapes; improved soil health and land management through landscape-scale actions and policies; and sustainable agri-food systems for poor rural and urban consumers.
Citation
CIAT. Integrated farming systems and resilient agricultural landscapes. Eco-efficient agriculture for improved livelihoods in Asia. International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Hanoi, Vietnam (2015) 4 pp.