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Abstract
This review paper analyses the role and many functions of agriculture within the paradigm of sustainable development and within the scenario of climate change, which is also characterised by an increasing number of natural hazards. The fast-increasing world population, that will achieve the number of 9.7 billion in 2050, will not only demand from agricultural producers a much larger supply of all commodities, but it will also expect from all farmers – large corporations and smallholders alike - a higher level of respect towards some environmental issues. Agriculture is impacting on several natural resources (water, soils, biodiversity, etc.) and contemporarily coping with changing climates and societal demands, requires modern and efficient production systems. Within this already difficult scenario, climate change is altering the face of risks, not only through increased weather-related risks and sea-level and temperature rises, but also through more stresses on water availability and ecosystems. The Authors underline that these three aspects (growing food demand, higher attention to environmental aspects and resilience building to cope with natural hazards) must be tackled together, through short term and long-term measures, with an holistic planning and implementation.