A theory on agricultural productivity

: A New Paradigm for African
Agriculture
Today, the world is searching for solutions to a
series of global challenges unprecedented in their
scale and complexity: food insecurity,
malnutrition, climate change, rural poverty,
environmental protection all among them.
Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly vulnerable, with
both supply and demand challenges putting
additional pressure on an already fragile food
production system.
Over recent years, the term “Sustainable
Intensification” – producing more outputs with
more efficient use of all inputs on a durable basis,
while reducing environmental damage and
building resilience, natural capital and the flow of
environmental services – has come to take on a
highly charged and politicised meaning,
becoming synonymous with big, industrial
agriculture. As we strive to feed a population
expected to reach nine billion by 2050
sustainably, the risk is that we may lose sight of
the term’s scientific value and its potential
relevance to all types of agricultural systems,
including for smallholder farmers in Africa.
The report provides innovative thinking and
examples into the way in which the techniques of
Sustainable Intensification are being used by
smallholder farmers in Africa to address the
continent’s food and nutrition crisis.
It begins by examining the process and elements
of Intensification itself, before considering how
we then ensure that the Intensification is
Sustainable, and concludes with practical
solutions in action today across the African
continent, that underline the positive impacts the
framework can produce if scaled up more
effectively.