To speak of sustainability is to speak of the long term and the survival of future generations. Within this framework, there are factors that require special attention: climate, soil and biodiversity.
In recent years we have seen that certain traditional agronomic practices of soil use (such as constant tillage), monoculture and other agronomic management have led to the degradation of natural resources, especially the erosion of surface soil layers and the most important ones, in some cases water and forests, to name a few.
There are also two factors that are seriously conditioning the future of agricultural production at the global level: the increase in average temperature caused by the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) and population growth. These factors are jeopardizing food availability, food security and, therefore, people’s well-being.
If we focus on soils, life on Earth depends on the health of soils. Soils are the foundation of our food systems: they provide water and habitats for biodiversity, they contribute to climate resilience and, not least, they support our cultural heritage, and they are the basis of the economy and prosperity. Soil is a non-renewable resource, and therefore requires special attention, which includes generating greater knowledge, technologies and innovations, as well as public policies to protect it.
A healthy soil is one that has an appropriate organic matter content and allows the harmonious development of the ecosystem it represents. It is populated by microorganisms, insects and plants, and to keep it that way it is necessary to adopt practices such as conservation agriculture, cover crops, adequate rotations, the coexistence of livestock with crops and the increase of organic fertilizer. It is necessary for farmers to question and know the advantages of these practices for the greater efficiency of their farm, their economy and society.
In recent decades and today, climatic events are becoming more extreme and frequent: droughts, heat waves, floods and other events that have important economic and social consequences. These changes in climatic conditions have also awakened many new pests and diseases, altering their cycles and, depending on the case, increasing their impact on primary production. There are microorganisms such as parasites and pathogens or the vectors of these parasites, which are changing the area of distribution and appearing in latitudes where they did not exist before. As a result, crops and livestock are facing new diseases and pests for which there is often no short-term solution or remedy.
The loss of biodiversity in nature is alarming, but also in our crops. The narrow genetic base of cultivated varieties is a risk to face the problems derived from global warming in our farms. It is necessary to recover forgotten varieties that can be a source of genes and traits that can offer the necessary solutions to overcome drought, high temperatures, pests and diseases when they are incorporated into variety improvement programs. But also, we need to value those traditional varieties and crops that were so important in the past and that are part of the culture of our peoples, are more resilient and, undoubtedly, nutritionally enrich the diet of the population.
We need research and innovation to find pragmatic solutions to move towards a more sustainable economy, to find ways to recover water from unusual sources, to use renewable energies, sustainable mobility, to be able to respond to health and climate emergencies. In this regard, I would like to highlight the role of FONTAGRO, which brings together 15 agricultural research institutes together with Spain, and at the same time promotes collaborative work in thousands of networks of scientists around the world, trying to develop new knowledge, technologies and innovations that will enable us to find solutions to the challenges of agriculture and food today and in the future.
29/01/2023
Esther Esteban Rodrigo
Director of INIA Spain
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About FONTAGRO
FONTAGRO was created 1998 with the purpose of promoting the increase of the competitiveness of the agri-food sector, ensuring the sustainable management of natural resources and the reduction of poverty in the region. The objective of FONTAGRO is to establish itself as a sustainable financing mechanism for the development of agricultural technology and innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean and Spain, and to establish a forum for the discussion of priority topics of technological innovation. The member countries are: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Spain, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela. In the last 21 years 167 regional agricultural innovation platforms have been co-financed for an amount of US $ 124 million, which has reached 452 institutions and 33 countries worldwide.