Eco-functional Intensification and Food Security : Synergy or Compromise ?

There is an increased understanding that the challenges of producing enough food and biomass while preserving soil, water and biodiversity necessary for ecosystem services can not be solved by prevalent types of conventional agriculture and that agro-ecological approaches and ecological intensification is fundamental for our future food production. FAO has stated that “Ecosystem services sustain agricultural productivity and resilience” and advocates production intensification through ecosystem management. Terminologies such as agro-ecology and ecological/ eco-functional/sustainable intensification are being proposed for agricultural development, which builds on higher input of knowledge, observation skills and management and improved use of agro-ecological methods. Contrary, increased global demand for food, and non-food biomass has increased the pressure for intensifying land use and increasing crop yields based on conventional inputs, while still aiming at reducing environmental impact. There is a battle of discourse between these approaches in competition for – among others – research and development funding. The examples of improved local food security from introducing agro-ecological and low external input agriculture practices among smallholder farmers are many. However, upscaling remains a challenge and the ability of such eco-functional intensification to feed the increased urban populations in emerging economies remains an open question. A broader view of what is organic and conventional farming is necessary and the use of new understandings from ecology and molecular biology will be needed to create and profit from synergies between preserving and building on eco-systems services and providing increased food and biomass.

Actual and forecasted intake of animal protein per region Westhoek et al. 2011 4 Chapter 7. Food security and Food production systems "All aspects of food security are potentially affected by climate change, including food access, utilization and price stability (high confidence)" 31/3 2014: New report released from IPCC

Sustainable intensification
A productive agriculture that conserves and enhances natural resources.
-uses an ecosystem approach that draws on nature's contribution to crop growth -soil organic matter, water flow regulation, pollination and natural predation of pest -and applies appropriate external inputs at the right time, in the right amount CPI represents a major shift from the homogeneous model of crop production to knowledge-intensive, often location-specific, faming systems.
Is there a paradigm shift undergoing? FAO, 2011 The overall objective: Eco-functional intensification Intensification of land use and agriculture by means of • improved knowledge and application of biological principles and agro-ecological methods • increased cooperation and synergy between different components of agro-eco systems and food systems, with the aim of enhancing the health and productivity, adaptability and resilience of all its components.

Niggli et al., 2008
The relation between Ecofunctional intensification and food security:

CONCLUSION
• OA has potential to improve smallholders food security through increasing own diversified food consumption in low input areas (Food availability and access), and increasing income through decreasing production cost and price premium in high input areas (Food access).
• Large-scale conversion could increase the income of smallholders without any major negative impacts on overall state production • Higher protein rich food in organic "model" has potential to alleviate/reduce the protein malnutrition and reduce the import of pulses • ! But: Effects on food security beyond household levels?
• Eg. Surplus for urban poor? The Doubly Green Revolution scenario The Green Revolution, which was introduced on a world scale after World War II, made it easy to ignore the threat of hunger. But the Green Revolution also encouraged overpopulation; it ravaged the environment in many places; it created inequalities in the sharing of the planet's wealth, and these inequalities have made the threats we must face in the coming decades even greater than those the world had to confront in the early twentieth century.
The "Agrimonde 1" scenario (AG1) Agrimonde platform Adapting Mosaic Regional watershed-scale ecosystems are the focus of political and economic activity. Local institutions are strengthened and local ecosystem management strategies are common; societies develop a strongly proactive approach to the management of ecosystems. Economic growth rates are somewhat low initially but increase with time, and population in 2050 is nearly as high as in Order from Strength.

Techno-Garden
A globally connected world relying strongly on environmentally sound technology, using highly managed, often engineered, ecosystems to deliver ecosystem services, and taking a proactive approach to the management of ecosystems in an effort to avoid problems. Economic growth is relatively high and accelerates, while population in 2050 is in the midrange of the scenarios.

Order from Strength
A regionalized and fragmented world, concerned with security and protection, emphasizing primarily regional markets, paying little attention to public goods, and taking a reactive approach to ecosystem problems. Economic growth rates are the lowest of the scenarios (particularly low in developing countries) and decrease with time, while population growth is the highest. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment scenarios

Global Orchestration
A globally connected society that focuses on global trade and economic liberalization and takes a reactive approach to ecosystem problems but that also takes strong steps to reduce poverty and inequality and to invest in public goods such as infrastructure and education. Economic growth in this scenario is the highest of the four scenarios, while it is assumed to have the lowest population in 2050.

Globalization
Reactivity Proactivity  The "AGO" and "AG1" worlds  What lessons from the 2 scenarios ?
 What is in our plates (total calories, %Veg/Ani, macro/micro-nutrients…) is a key driver for: -preserving some ecosystem services (carbon sequestration, soil, water, pollination…) and/or saving the use of some agricultural inputs (water, fertilizers, pesticides…) -reducing some important human health problems (from under-nutrition to obesity) -opening larger opportunities for non-food productions (bio-energies, biomaterials…) and reducing substantially post-harvest losses and food wastes -maintaining a diversity of production systems, landscapes and environments There is no necessary convergence of world diets towards today's OECD mean diet.
 Food trade can secure some regional food needs and avoid huge migrations, provided the net-deficit regions/populations can: -pay for their food imports (local opportunities of incomes?) -rely on a fair and transparent international trade regulation system ...also aware of poor farmers incomes and environmental externalities The planet can feed properly 9 billions people in 2050 but…