DISCUSSION No. 122 • FSN Forum digest No. 1208 | | Harnessing the benefits of ecosystem services for effective ecological intensification in agriculture | until 21 December 2015 | |
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| | | Dear Members, Please find below the latest comments received on Harnessing the benefits of ecosystem services for effective ecological intensification in agriculture. We encourage all interested members to share their research, ideas and cases on ecological intensification and specifically: 1) How to maximize the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of field and landscape interventions? 2) Which policy measures can facilitate such interventions?, and 3) How to raise awareness of such practices among farmers? Outcomes of the discussion will feed into the EU-funded LIBERATION Project, which aims to provide the evidence base for ecological intensification and demonstrate the concept in representative agricultural landscape types. To find out more and read the full topic please visit the discussion page, also available in French and Spanish. We look forward to further comments. Your FSN Forum team | |
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| | CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED | John Kazer, Carbon Trust, UK
| John highlights that the question on how to maximise the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of field and landscape interventions should be addressed at national level, focusing on key issues of national land management and making sure land policies suit local conditions and farmer goals. To find out more about sustainable intensification policies in the UK: www.siplatform.org.uk [...] Read the contribution |
| E.V.S. Prakasa Rao, Independent Researcher, India
| E.V.S. Prakasa Rao shares his experience in South India, where incorporating aromatic crops contributed to improved landscapes, agricultural intensification and ecological services. [...] Read the contribution |
| Barbara Gemmill-Herren, consultant, USA
| Barbara suggests that there may be other ways to address the problem of lack of incentives for farmers to revers current trends and work towards ecological intensification; if the true costs of agriculture were accounted for, reflecting negative and positive externalities of agriculture, the transition to a more sustainable agriculture would probably be more effective. [...] Read the contribution |
| David Kleijn, Wageningen University, Netherlands
| David stresses that the best approach to make agriculture more sustainable, biodiverse and resilient to future change is to hand farmers the knowledge they need to make informed decisions. Often farmers are interested in applying novel ecological practices but they simply don’t know how to do it; policies are not enough to create transition alone, they need demonstration and research that address farmers concerns and show how to take over new practices. [...] Read the contribution |
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