Abstract
A systematic process for assessing progress toward landscape sustainability goals is developed and tested. Application of the approach builds capacity and promotes continual improvements in management practices, thus enabling timely action to address changing conditions while progressing toward locally defined goals. We consider how the approach applies to agricultural landscapes, that is farm ecosystem interactions with the environment and human well-being. We present lessons learned from applying the assessment approach in two contrasting situations: large, high-input, commercial agriculture in northwestern Mexico and small, low-input family farms in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. Applying the approach reveals five attributes required for success and the means to achieve those conditions. (1) Having a capable local champion for the project is critical. (2) Implementation of the approach must be in concert with local people and organizations as well as with regional and national policies and programs. (3) Identification and engagement of key stakeholders is essential. (4) Application of the approach is not meant to be a one-time effort but rather an ongoing and systematic process. (5) Engagement and buy-in from stakeholders including multiple agency levels is essential for allocation of necessary resources and logistic support in the continuing implementation of the approach.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 102647 |
| Journal | Futures |
| Volume | 124 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2020 |
Funding
Different from the milpa system, an increasing amount of land is being contracted or rented for non-traditional export crops (NTEC). NTEC are typically grown in monocultures for commercial sale, with inputs such as seeds, herbicides, fertilizers, and pesticides often included as part of the out-grower contract. Although margins are typically slim, growing NTEC under contract reduces financial risk to small farmers since the inputs required for a successful harvest are provided by the buyer. Non-contract cash crops, such as potatoes (Solanum tuberosum), are risky for small farmers because there are few marketing options, prices for inputs and produce fluctuate widely, and there is great dependence on middlemen, who can take advantage of rural producers. We thank Sarah Mulville and Bruce Tonn for comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. This publication was made possible through support provided to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) by the Office of U.S. Agency for International Development Bureau for Food Security, U.S. Agency for International Development, under the terms of Contract No. MTO 069018 ?The multi-donor trust fund for the CGIAR (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research),? and the CGIAR Research Programs on Wheat Agri-Food Systems (WHEAT) and Maize Agri-Food Systems (MAIZE). Support was also provided by Seed Funding from the Smith Center for International Sustainable Agriculture, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Kline's research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), under award number EE0007088 to ORNL. ORNL is managed by the UT-Battelle, LLC, for DOE under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725. Some ideas were developed as part of the research supported by the National Science Foundation project # 1856059 titled ?INFEWS/T3 RCN: EngageINFEWS - A Research Coordination Network for Community and Stakeholder Engagement Critical to Food, Energy, and Water Systems.? Copyright Notice: This manuscript has been authored in part by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan). We thank Sarah Mulville and Bruce Tonn for comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. This publication was made possible through support provided to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) by the Office of U.S. Agency for International Development Bureau for Food Security , U.S. Agency for International Development , under the terms of Contract No. MTO 069018 “The multi-donor trust fund for the CGIAR (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) ,” and the CGIAR Research Programs on Wheat Agri-Food Systems (WHEAT) and Maize Agri-Food Systems (MAIZE) . Support was also provided by Seed Funding from the Smith Center for International Sustainable Agriculture , University of Tennessee, Knoxville . Kline’s research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) , Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) , under award number EE0007088 to ORNL. ORNL is managed by the UT-Battelle, LLC, for DOE under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725. Some ideas were developed as part of the research supported by the National Science Foundation project # 1856059 titled "INFEWS/T3 RCN: EngageINFEWS - A Research Coordination Network for Community and Stakeholder Engagement Critical to Food, Energy, and Water Systems."
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| NTEC | |
| Office of U.S. Agency for International Development Bureau for Food Security | |
| Smith Center for International Sustainable Agriculture , University of Tennessee | |
| Smith Center for International Sustainable Agriculture, University of Tennessee | |
| National Science Foundation | 1856059 |
| U.S. Department of Energy | DE-AC05-00OR22725 |
| United States Agency for International Development | MTO 069018 |
| Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy | |
| Oak Ridge National Laboratory | |
| Bioenergy Technologies Office | EE0007088 |
| Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers |
Keywords
- Agriculture
- Guatemala
- Maize
- Mexico
- Sustainability
- Wheat
