Towards ecologically intensive smallholder farming systems. Design, scales and tradeoffs evaluation.

PABLO TITTONELL

Agro-ecological Intensification of Agricultural Systems in the African Highlands

Routlege

Lugar: Oxon; Año: 2013; p. 132 - 144

Designing ecologically intensive farming systems in the context of the African humid highlands, of inherent complexity associated with increasing land fragmentation and resource scarcity, calls for multi-scale approaches and an ability to quantify trade-offs. This chapter discusses the need to move from purely analytical, disciplinary agricultural research towards integrative approaches that synthesize knowledge at the adequate spatio-temporal scale to guide design in agro-ecosystems. Cases of ecologically-intensive approaches, such as the integrated management of soil fertility (ISFM) or of insect pests (IPM), which are good examples of design through knowledge synthesis, are used here to assert the need to consider multiple scales simultaneously in agro-ecosystems design. When moving across scales, trade-offs may emerge around operational and strategic decisions on resource allocation. To guide such decisions the key resource trade-offs should be understood in their nature and quantified, and models can play an important role here. One such example using ?inverse modelling? techniques is also discussed. The evidence presented here indicates that the frequent mismatch between proposed technical solutions and farmers? reality may be simply the result of scale mismatches.