**6.1 Agroecology**

The central theme of evolving global agriculture in the 21st century is "sustainable intensification," which FAO (2011c, Chapter 1) has defined as "producing more from the

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The Rodale Institute, long a leader in research on organic agriculture, recently issued a report on its 30-year study comparing conventional and organic cultivation (Rodale, 2011). The report documents comparable yields between the two systems, with fewer inputs, lower carbon emissions, and higher profitability from the organic fields. While some of the higher financial returns depend on the market premium paid for organic crops, the large profit disparity (organic: \$224/ha/year; conventional: \$60/ha/year) implies that much of the difference comes from the much lower cost of inputs. Although the contribution of organic agriculture is growing rapidly, critics point out that organic cultivation still accounts for only about 1% of U.S. production. Moreover, as pointed out by Pollan (2006, p. 184), "Big Organic" cultivation (eschewing synthetic fertilizer, pesticides, and GMOs, but not industrialized production methods) is not necessarily sustainable or free of concerns about fossil fuel scarcity: "As in so many other realms, nature's logic has proven no match for the logic of capitalism, one in which cheap energy has always been a given. And so, today, the organic food industry finds itself in a most unexpected, uncomfortable, and, yes,

A case study in agriculture after Peak Oil comes from the Cuban experience in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union, which eliminated both the source of almost all of its oil imports and also markets for Cuban agriculture. Wright (2009) has studied this example and documented the dramatic shift to organic methods. The example may be imperfect, because Cuba's isolation from global markets and industrial inputs are unique historically, but it does indicate the ability of organic agriculture and ample labor to produce

An unquestioned need exists for continued advances in crop breeding to produce cultivars adapted for specific habitats and circumstances, including climate change. Whether these techniques should include genetic engineering is controversial. Acknowledging the challenges of sustainable agriculture, many food security experts, such as Fedoroff et al. (2010), strongly advocate GMOs as necessary to the solution. Goals include breeding grain crops that would fix nitrogen, eliminating the need for synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, the most fossil fuel-dependent agricultural input in the developing world. Others, such as Benbrook (2011) take a more skeptical view, especially for developing countries. To the extent that genetically engineered cultivars depend on fossil fuel-dependent technologies, they will fail to meet the coming challenge of increasing fossil fuel costs. Likewise, the profit-driven choice of cultivars, with restrictions on seed saving, local experimentation, and innovation, appears inadequate to address the essential needs of small-scale agriculture that feeds 80%

Regardless of the resolution of the GMO debate, advances in molecular biology have provided powerful tools for advancing conventional crop breeding. One advocate of this approach is the Kansas-based Land Institute. Consistent with the agroecology approach, Land Institute founder Wes Jackson and his colleagues advocate a sustainable "next synthesis" based on cultivation of perennial grains (Jackson, Cox, & Crews, 2011; Glover et al., 2010). Jackson et al. argue that these crops can reconcile ecological sustainability with the productivity needed to meet human needs, in the process providing both a model and

unsustainable position: floating on a sinking sea of petroleum."

an adequate food supply with minimal fossil fuel inputs.

**6.3 Crop breeding** 

of the world's people.

metaphor for the material economy.

same area of land while reducing negative environmental impacts and increasing contributions to natural capital and the flow of environmental services." A key element of this is agroecology, particularly practiced by small producers in developing countries, as advocated by the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD, 2009). De Schutter & Vanloqueren (2011) provide a brief for agroecology with the following definition. "Agroecology is the application of ecological science to the study, design, and management of sustainable agriculture. It seeks to mimic natural ecological processes, and it emphasizes the importance of improving the entire agricultural system, not just the plant." Following ecological principles, agroecology seeks to recycle biomass and nutrients; enhance organic matter deposition to build soil; carefully manage resources of sun, water, and nutrients; enhance biological and genetic diversity; and encourage beneficial biological synergies while minimizing pesticides. De Schutter and Vanloqueren provide sample cases of successful implementation in the developing world, identify obstacles to wider implementation (including marginalization of the targeted small-scale farmers by past policies), and articulate policies for scaling up these innovations. By following ecological principles, agroecology seeks to minimize inputs and recycle nutrients, thus greatly reducing fossil fuel inputs and improving sustainability.
