Sustainable Intensification: - Workspace - Imperial College London

10
The Inputs
As with the outputs, the inputs used in the intensification process vary according to the farming system and
the local social, economic and environmental conditions (Table 3).
Table 3 Examples of the direct and indirect inputs to agricultural intensification
Direct inputs
Use of which can
directly alter the
outputs from the
farm 1
Indirect inputs
Use of which are
often required to
facilitate or modify
the use
of direct inputs
• Labour, in either human or mechanised form
• Water, either through irrigation or rainfall
• Inorganic chemicals and/or organic matter, such as fertilisers, manure,
crop residue and pesticides
• Biodiversity, be it a new variety of crop or breed of livestock.
• Financial capital, for investment in inputs and other changes to the farming
system
• Knowledge, of new methods of working and of local conditions
• Infrastructure, to enable access to input and output markets
• Technology, which generates and supports new forms and ways of using
direct inputs
• Markets, as an outlet for increased outputs.
Greater intensification can derive from increasing
the use of inputs, introducing a new input to the
system or using an existing input in a new way.
Examples include using a new and improved
rainwater harvesting technique to increase access
to water, planting new high-yielding seed varieties or
employing more farm labourers. All these changes
require both access to technologies and information
as well as the fundamental science that generates
new inputs or novel ways of employing them. © Africa Rice Center