POLLINATORS POLLINATION AND FOOD PRODUCTION

THE ASSESSMENT REPORT ON POLLINATORS, POLLINATION AND FOOD PRODUCTION
10
1. BACKGROUND TO POLLINATORS,
POLLINATION AND FOOD PRODUCTION
ecosystem, rather than on purchased off-farm inputs. These
approaches were found to improve yields and livelihoods in
developing nations where they were widely practiced (Pretty
et al., 2006). However, recent usage has shifted the focus
toward capital- and input-intensive solutions to enhance
resource use efficiencies, such as irrigation, precision
agriculture, fertilizer application and GMOs (Parmentier,
2014), leading to critiques that the concept no longer
promotes social equity (Loos et al., 2014).
Organic agriculture originated as a holistic system for
building soil fertility, promoting water storage and the natural
control of crop pests and diseases using management
practices (FAO: http://www.fao.org/organicag/oa-faq/oafaq1/en/,
accessed 5 Aug 2015). Traditionally this farming
strategy was associated with smaller-scale, low-input,
diversified farms. A more recent development, certified
organic farming, prohibits the use of almost all synthetic
inputs of fertilizer and pesticides as well as genetically
modified organisms, while allowing the use of organic
fertilizers and pesticides. Certification allows marketing
opportunities, which have been rapidly growing in Europe
and North America. As the sales of certified organic
products have increased in response to consumer demand,
many organic farms today practice “input substitution” – in
Mode of
agriculture
Use of
synthetic
inputs
Use of
GMOs
Encourages
non-farmed
species
diversity
other words, similarly to conventional farms they are highinput,
large-scale and highly simplified (low in crop and noncrop
diversity), but use permitted organic products instead
of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides (Kremen et al., 2012;
Guthman, 2014). Thus today, organic agriculture includes a
wide spectrum of farming styles, from those based on the
original holistic concept, to those resembling conventional
agriculture except for the choice of inputs.
Diversified farming describes farms that integrate the use
of a mix of crops and/or animals in the production system,
contrasting with the trend towards large areas of single
crops in conventional agriculture. A diversified farming
system is a newer concept (Kremen and Miles, 2012;
Kremen et al., 2012) emphasizing use of a suite of farming
practices that promote agro-biodiversity across scales (from
within the farm to the surrounding landscape), leading to
the generation and regeneration of key ecosystem functions
(soil fertility, water use efficiency, pest and disease control,
pollination, climate resilience, and others) and reducing the
need for off-farm inputs. This concept is closely allied with
concepts of agroecology and ecological intensification while
emphasizing cross-scale diversification as the mechanism
for sustainable production.
TABLE 1.1
Similarities and differences among different term that define variations in the modes of agriculture. Each column identifies a
characteristic and scores qualitatively (often, sometimes, rarely, never) for the terms used in the assessment (rows). We include
some characteristics that describe practice (the first 6 traits) and others which describe intention (the last 5 traits). There
is still debate regarding definitions of different modes of agriculture, and within any kind of agriculture there is a diversity of
practice around the world. This table reflects the definitions that we have adopted in this report, with frequency statements
(i.e. never, to often) reflecting that which is most typical of the mode of agriculture in question.
Highly
labour
dependant
Integration
of
livestock
Encourages
spatial
heterogeneity
Encourages
spatial
heterogeneity
Take
advantage
of
ecosystem
services
Plans
for resilience
Take advantage
of
ecological
processes
at multiple
temporal and
spatial scales
Often
Often
Explicit
focus on
traditional
knowledge
Conventional
Sometimes-often
Rarely
Rarely
Sometimes
Diversified
Ecologically
intensified
Often Often Often Often Sometimes
Agroecological
Rarely-sometimes
Sustainably
intensified
Sometimes
Sometimes
Rarely
Rarelysometimes
Rarely
Rarely Rarely Rarely Rarely Rarely
Rarely Rarely Sometimes
Sometimes
Sometimes
Rarely
Rarely
Rarely Rarely Often Often Often Often Often Often Often Sometimesoften
Rarely Rarely Often Often Often Sometimes
Rarely Never Often Often Often Sometimesoften
Rarely
Organic Rarely Never Sometimes
Sometimes
Sometimesoften
Sometimes
Sometimesoften
Sometimes
Often
Often Often Often Sometimes Often