| Summary: | World population is about 7 billion in 2010 and is expected to grow much more. The expected growth is highest in parts of the world that are vulnerable to hunger and adverse climatic conditions, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This then translates into the likely need for more food in these regions. The situation is exacerbated by the lack of appropriate farming technologies and the many constraints limiting production and productivity of major commodities. Apart from hunger, unless the situation is addressed through a holistic approach to research, there is a very real danger that environmental degradation will escalate. UNEP (2009) found that the recent food crisis could even exacerbate in the next decade if there are no explicit answers to the growing new problems, such as declining agricultural production, faltering distribution network and worldwide environmental deterioration. It concluded that food production, processing and consumption across the globe needs to change and that such changes can both lead to food security for the world’s rising population and assure the environmental services that are the foundation of agricultural production. Organic agriculture is one of the most promising approaches to this situation (IAASTD, 2008; FAO, 2008; ORCA, 2009). In addition, organic agriculture is a promising option with regard to further aspects, such as climate change adaptation and mitigation (see Chapter 5). Unfortunately, research funds for organic agriculture are still very low, and only very limited research is going on to enhance the best practices used in organic agriculture. This chapter discusses the research needs to support organic agriculture as a livelihood strategy, thereby using Sub-Saharan Africa as an illustration. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the biggest lack of direct research involvement, financing and infrastructure for organic agriculture in the world. While we will partly focus on those aspects relevant for this region, there are clearly many important aspects that ...
|
|---|