Guiding sustainability by a Sustainable Agriculture Matrix

Finding sustainable ways to produce enough food for the growing global population is key for achieving various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including zero hunger (SDG2) and clean water (SDG6). Achieving this ambitious goal and finding a reliable way to measure success is however not easy, partly because the links between farming practices and how they affect farmers livelihoods and the environment are still poorly understood. In addition, there are complex tradeoffs between the SDGs related to agriculture that also differ between geographic regions, but there are few studies or tools available to examine and understand those tradeoffs on national to global scales in order to inform strategies that will help to make the sector more sustainable in the future. To bridge this gap, the consortium established as part of this project will develop an indicator system and other products to help with the consistent and transparent measurement of agricultural sustainability and improve the accountability of countries commitment to sustainable agriculture. The consortium will serve as a platform to encourage conversations and possible coordination among stakeholders and countries, and identify the links between SDGs related to agriculture to improve the understanding of the interactions between the human and natural elements in agriculture and beyond. Last, but not least, the consortium will identify strategies that will promote sustainable agriculture and inform policies. The consortium includes members from across various disciplines, including natural- and social scientists, economists, and individuals, groups, or parties that are directly impacted by or have an interest in the agricultural sector, such as farmers, NGOs and agribusinesses, thus bringing together a wide range of expertise and experiences. These stakeholders will be involved from early in the process to ensure the development of inclusive research and communication products that will be useful to the people that need them most, rather than only engaging with them as users after the products have been developed. The participants will span six geographic regions with diverse socioeconomic and environmental profiles, which will allow them to cultivate cross-country partnerships to investigate the historical trends in agricultural sustainability on national as well as global scales. The consortium is led by Xin Zhang and David Ericson from the University of Maryland and includes researchers and stakeholders from Austria, Brazil, Morocco, South Africa, Turkey, and the USA. The Austrian research team comprises Christian Folberth (IIASA), Franz Sinabell (WIFO) and Thomas Schinko (IIASA). A series of networking and co-learning activities will maximize interactions and collaborations across the boundaries of disciplines, sectors, and nations.

No additional funding sources recorded.