Editing IPCC:AR6/WGIII/Chapter-16 (section)

=== Box 16.10 | Agroecological Approaches: The Role of Local and Indigenous Knowledge and Innovation ===

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Major improvements in agricultural productivity have been recorded over recent decades ( [[#FAO--2018a|FAO 2018a]] ). However, progress has also come with social and environmental costs, high levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and rising demand for natural resources (UNEP 2013; UNEP 2017; [[#FAO--2018a|FAO 2018a]] ; [[#Bringezu--2019|Bringezu 2019]] ; [[#Díaz--2019|Díaz et al. 2019]] ).

Trend analysis indicates that a large share of the global demand for land is projected to be supplied by South America, in particular the Amazon ( [[#Lambin--2011|Lambin and Meyfroidt 2011]] ; [[#TEEB--2018|TEEB 2018]] ) and Gran Chaco forests ( [[#Grau--2015|Grau et al. 2015]] ). In developing countries, land use change for satisfying international meat demand is leading to deforestation. In Brazil, the amount of GHGs emitted by the beef cattle sector alone represents 65% of the agricultural sector’s emissions and 15% of the country’s overall emissions ( [[#May--2019|May 2019]] ).

Agricultural and food systems are complex and diverse; they include traditional food systems, mixed food systems and modern food systems ( [[#Pengue--2018|Pengue et al. 2018]] ). Multiple forms of visible and invisible flows of natural resources exist in global food systems ( [[#Pascual--2017|Pascual et al. 2017]] ; [[#TEEB--2018|TEEB 2018]] ; [[#IPBES--2019|IPBES 2019]] ).

Technological practices, management and changes in the food chain could help adapt to climate change, reduce emissions and absorb carbon in soil, thus contributing to carbon dioxide removal (IPCC, 2018, 2019). A range of technologies can be implemented – from highly technological options, such as transgenic crops resistant to drought ( [[#González--2019|González et al. 2019]] ), salt or pesticides ( [[#OECD--2011b|OECD 2011b]] ; [[#Kim--2020|Kim and Kwak 2020]] ) or smart and 4.0 agriculture ( [[#Klerkx--2019|Klerkx et al. 2019]] ), to more frugal, low-cost technologies such as agroecological approaches adapted to local circumstances ( [[#Francis--2003|Francis et al. 2003]] ; [[#FAO--2018b|FAO 2018b]] ). These agroecological approaches are the subject of this box.

For developing countries, agroecological approaches could tackle climate change challenges and food security (WGII-report, Chapter 5, Box 5.10). Small Island Developing States (SIDS) support livelihoods to develop local food value chains that can promote sustainable management of natural resources, preserve biodiversity and help build resilience to climate change impacts and natural disasters ( [[#FAO--2019|FAO 2019]] ). Other advantages of agroecological practices include their adaptation to different social, economic and ecological environments ( [[#Altieri--2017|Altieri and Nicholls 2017]] ), the fact that they are physical and financial capital-extensive, and are well-integrated with the social and cultural capital of rural territories and local resources (knowledge, natural resources, etc.), without leading to technological dependencies ( [[#Côte--2019|Côte et al. 2019]] ).

Agroecology is a dynamic concept that has gained prominence in scientific, agricultural and political discourses in recent years ( [[#Wezel--2020|Wezel et al. 2020]] ; [[#Anderson--2021|Anderson et al. 2021]] ) (Chapter 7, Chapter 5, WGII Box 5.10). Three of the different agroecological approaches are briefly discussed here: agroecological intensification; agroforestry; and biochar use in rice paddy fields.

Agricultural intensification provides ways to use land, water and energy resources to ensure adequate food supply while also addressing concerns about climate change and biodiversity ( [[#Cassman--2020|Cassman and Grassini 2020]] ). The term ecological intensification ( [[#Tittonell--2014|Tittonell 2014]] ) focuses on biological and ecological processes and functions in agroecosystems. In line with the development of the concept of agroecology, agroecological intensification integrates social and cultural perspectives ( [[#Wezel--2015|Wezel et al. 2015]] ). Agroecological intensification ( [[#Mockshell--2019|Mockshell and Villarino 2019]] ) for sub-Saharan Africa aims to address employment and food security challenges ( [[#Pretty--2011|Pretty et al. 2011]] ; [[#Altieri--2015|Altieri et al. 2015]] ).

Another example of an agroecological approach is agroforestry. Agroforestry provides examples of positive agroecological feedbacks, such as ‘the regreening of the Sahel’ in Niger. The practice is based on the assisted natural regeneration of trees in cultivated fields, an old method that was slowly dying out, but which innovative public policies (the transfer of property rights over trees from the state to farmers) helped restore ( [[#Sendzimir--2011|Sendzimir et al. 2011]] ).

Rice paddy fields are a major source of methane. Climate change impacts and adaptation strategies can affect rice production and rice farmers’ net income. Biochar use in rice paddy fields has been advocated as a potential strategy to reduce GHG emissions from soils, enhance soil carbon stocks and nitrogen retention, and improve soil function and crop productivity ( [[#Mohammadi--2020|Mohammadi et al. 2020]] ).

The contributions of indigenous people ( [[#Díaz--2019|Díaz et al. 2019]] ), heritage agriculture ( [[#Koohafkan--2010|Koohafkan and Altieri 2010]] ) and peasants’ agroecological knowledge ( [[#Holt-Giménez--2002|Holt-Giménez 2002]] ) to technological innovation offer a wide array of options for management of land, soils, biodiversity and enhanced food security without depending on modern, foreign agricultural technologies ( [[#Denevan--1995|Denevan 1995]] ). In farming agriculture and food systems, innovation and technology based on nature could help to reduce climate change impacts ( [[#Griscom--2017|Griscom et al. 2017]] ). Evidence suggests that there are benefits to integrating tradition with new technologies in order to design new approaches to farming, and that these are greatest when they are tailored to local circumstances ( [[#Nicholls--2018|Nicholls and Altieri 2018]] ).

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