Agriculture

ratios of 2.5 to 1. Compared with mono-cropping strategies push pull strategies and intercropping both imply an increased use of labour, but demonstrated returns are more than 200 per cent.

Similarly, pest management strategies that include introducing new predator species in Africa to combat losses caused by the mealy bug have proven to be extremely effective. Most significant costs are associated with research development and extension but the resulting increase in effective produce and diminished post-harvest losses contribute to more than an order of magnitude increase in returns. Unlike push-pull, these types of strategies are usually managed at a country or inter-country level and thus benefit from scale, while providing benefits to all farmers, regardless of their size and their possibility to invest in pest control.

Scaling up adoption of green agriculture by partnering with leading agribusinesses A small number of corporations control a large share of the global agribusiness. The four biggest seed companies control more than half of the commercial seed market (Howard 2009), the biggest ten corporations (four of them are among the top 10 seed companies) together control 82 per cent of the world pesticides business. The share of the top-ten corporations in the global market for food processing is 28 per cent, and the top 15 supermarket companies represent more than 30 per cent of global food sales (Emmanuel and Violette 2010). Investment decisions of these approximately 40 companies have the power to determine, to a large extent, how the global agriculture sector could endorse and encourage green and sustainable farming practices.

By greening the core business operations and supply chains, these corporations can play a major role in supporting a transition to greener agriculture. In addition, they can provide investments to develop and implement viable strategies for ensuring global food security based on optimal use of inorganic inputs and building capacity to recycle on-farm nutrients. Investing in building consumer awareness about benefits of sustainable agrifood products is another area that offers benefits for the environment and these businesses. One of the promising developments in the area of agribusiness and NGO partnerships to promote green agriculture is the Sustainable Food Laboratory.16

Strengthening the supply chains for green products and farm inputs Demand for sustainably produced products is increasing but it is concentrated in developed countries. Investments in developing new markets in developing countries and

16. http://www.sustainablefoodlab.org.

expanding existing market in developed countries could (i) create new and high return employment opportunities for on- and off-farm sectors (e.g. certification auditors); (ii) shorten the field-to-market supply chains, and thus offer better prices to farmers in these countries; and (iii) help maintain the price premiums, which can range from 10 per cent to more than 100 per cent over a variety of conventionally- produced foods (Clark and Alexander 2010). A major challenge in this regard is consumer demand for less expensive food and high demand elasticities associated with premium prices for organic food and other products. As incomes rise and consumers learn more about lifestyle diseases, and in the absence of good food safety regulations or lack of their implementation, the negative health effects of some cheaper, conventionally produced foods, we expect to see in upper and middle income consumers an increasing willingness to pay for more environmentally sustainable and ethically produced (e.g. fairtrade, etc.) foods at prices that would cover their higher costs.

The limited availability of substantial quantities of natural fertiliser and pesticides in many countries is a major constraint to the growth of sustainable farming practices. Large-scale composting of organic matter and recovery of livestock manures for commercial organic fertiliser products will be required in most farming regions. Investments in the production, supply and marketing of non-synthetic, natural inputs for farming will not only offer competitive returns but will also help in set up new small-scale businesses in rural areas. The bulk and volume of organic fertilisers that are required for equivalent applications of inorganic fertilisers make them not very cost-effective for long distance transport, thus necessitating relatively localised or regional compost-production capacities.

Farm mechanisation and post-harvest storage Appropriate mechanisation of small and medium farms can significantly increase agricultural productivity and help green the farming practices. The degree to which there is access to farm mechanisation equipment (both draft animal and modern fuel-powered technology) will substantially determine achievable levels of productivity per unit of labour and of land. Use of (i) more energy- efficient cultivating machines that incorporate plant residues into the soil to increase fertility, (ii) zero-tillage and minimal-tillage direct seeders for optimum planting uniformity and minimal topsoil disturbance, (iii) precision application systems for more efficient use of agrochemicals, (iv) drip and sparkling irrigation, and (v) harvest and post- harvest operations that include village-level processing of farm products and by-products are central to the green mechanisation of farms (Rodulfo and Geronimo 2004).

Since most farm mechanisation technologies require modern fuels or electric power to operate and fossil fuel

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