Farming Systems Design 2007 - International Environmental ...

Farming Systems Design 2007
Field-farm scale design and improvement
whole society. According to its new “multifunctional role”, besides ensuring food and fibre
production, agricolture should also contribute to the environmental safeguard, to the supply of
recreational services, to the creation of alternative opportunities for income and employment
for the farmers, and so on. MAPs fit very well in this, and represent a good opportunity for agrotouristic
concerns, helping in attracting people from the cities by means of the development of
herbs-based commercial items (handicraft, oils, extracts, honey) besides representing a further
source of aesthetic land valorization.
MAPs and biodiversity
The widespread belief that only under “natural” conditions MAPs find their optimum quality features
has driven in many cases to their uncontrolled collection from the wild, and as a result many of
them are nowadays at a risk of extinction. The field cropping of such spontaneous species could
play an important role in safeguarding biodiversity.
MAPs and integrated development
Inside the intervention lines feasible for the sustainable exploitation of marginal lands, a great
attention is paid to the integration of economic development, social development and
environmental protection as “interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable
development” (UN-CSD, 2007). One of the main goals is to promote all those economical activities
that fit in unitary production pathways, besides the production of raw matter also including the first
transformation and, whenever possible packaging and marketing processes. Most MAPs fit very
well in such line, having a strong aptitude to be transformed by means of low-cost in-farm
equipments, that could help farmers in increasing their income level by retaining in farm the added
value due to the transformation process.
MAPs and organic agriculture
The growing diffusion in Mediterranean environments of the organic production technique offers to
MAPs new possibilities, being such crops mostly suitable to cultivation with a reduced use of
energetic and technological inputs (Demarco et al., 1999). When their “naturality” features are
enhanced by means of the organic labelling, MAPs have the possibility to meet the requests of
more careful and exigent consumers, disposed to pay more for a “natural” and “healthy” product.
MAPs and agroforestry
The new trends in agroforestry claim that the introduction of MAPs inside the agroforestry system
is a useful way to increase biodiversity and gain a significant increase in income (Huang et al.,
2002). In such sense, they could be grown together with trees (that should however remain the
main crop) generating highly positive interactions. As a matter of fact, in many areas of the world
non-wood forest products, including MAPs, are the main income generating activity from the
forests and several rural communities depend on these products for their living.
Conclusions
Our survey shows that MAPs cultivation could be implemented in a productive way throughout
many Mediterranean marginal lands and could help in solving some of the major land-use
problems.
References
M.F Demarco et al., Good agricultural practices for the organic production of medicinal plants, 1999. Acta
Horticolturae, 502, 21-27.
FAO-CGIAR, Reducing Poverty through Cutting-edge Science. CGIAR Research Priorities for Marginal
Lands, 1999. International Centers Week, October 25 – 29, Washington D.C.
COM (Commission of the European Communities), Halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010 and beyond –
Communication from the Commission, 216 final, Brussels, 22.5.2006.
UN-CSD (United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development), Report on the fifteenth session
Economic and Social Council - Official Records, 2007 - Supplement No. 9- E/2007/29 - E/CN.17/2007/15
W. Huang et al., Agroforestry for biodiversity conservation of nature reserves: functional group identification
and analysis, 2002. Agroforestry systems, 55, 65-72.
- 20 -