A New Way of Looking at Agriculture

The way the world grows its food will have to change radically to better serve the poor and hungry if the world is to cope with a growing population and climate change while avoiding social breakdown and environmental collapse. That is the conclusion of a report by the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), incorporating assessments and ideas of over 400 scientists.

The report found that the way to meet the challenges of combining production, social and environmental goals lies in putting in place institutional, economic and legal frameworks that combine productivity with the protection and conservation of natural resources like soils, water, forests, and biodiversity while meeting production needs.

IAASTD’s report was launched on 15 April 2008 in Johannesburg, South Africa, but was already engendering a lot of response a week earlier at a intergovernmental plenary in the same city where the assessment findings were reviewed ahead of its presentation.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200804150171.html

http://adamsmith.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/388/