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Abstract
Who feeds the world? Two billion small-scale farmers who
in addition to feeding themselves also produce surpluses
for local markets — these are the food producers for a
global population. Domestic markets along with the food
consumed by the producers’ families constitute more
than 70% of the world’s food consumption and are often
overlooked in the food security debate. The importance
of these producers to overall global food security is not
in dispute, but can these farming systems continue to
perform at current or improved levels, considering the
influence of human-induced land and water degradation
and associated effects on ecosystem services? Soil erosion,
depletion of nutrients and soil organic matter, salinisation and surface and
groundwater pollution are challenges that have confronted agricultural and
urban communities for decades, and still do. Land degradation associated
with inappropriate and unsustainable land use practices is estimated to
affect 5–10 Mha annually; 34 Mha of global irrigated areas is affected by
salinisation; it is estimated that 25% of global freshwater storage capacity
will be lost in the next 25–50 years unless measures are taken to control
sedimentation in reservoirs; approximately 2 Mt of waste is dumped into
rivers, lakes and wetlands each day; and it is estimated that there are now
12,000 km3 of polluted water on the planet, a volume greater than the
contents of the world’s ten biggest river basins. This litany of land and
water degradation issues represents a diminished ability of ecosystems or
landscapes to support functions and services required to sustain livelihoods.
Small-scale farmers, the engine of global food supply, are the mainstay of
most developing country rural economies and often occupy marginal and
vulnerable lands. It makes sound economic sense to address this ‘slumbering
giant’ of degradation through increased conservation investments in land
and water resources within this sector. Whilst technologies, technology
packages and management practices have been developed that demonstrate
the practicalities of addressing these resource degradation issues, adoption
at scale has been disappointing. Government institutions and development
and research organisations are tasked with sustainably securing future
food supplies. Their central challenge is to develop greater insights into
constraints inhibiting adoption of productivity-enhancing and conserving
interventions, and to identify the driving factors and relevant levers to
address these constraints. Time may not be on our side in addressing land
and water degradation, central to one of the nine thresholds that define ‘a
safe operating space for humanity’.