This discussion paper is the first in a series of papers prepared as part of IFPRI’s 2020 Vision initiative, which seeks to develop an international consensus on how to meet future world food needs while reducing poverty and protecting the environment. It shows that poverty and environmental degradation in the developing world are inextricably linked with inadequate agricultural intensification. Increased investment in agriculture and poverty alleviation are essential for preventing further resource degradation and for meeting future food needs in a sustainable manner.

Continued population growth, rapidly changing consumption patterns and the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are driving limited resources of food, energy, water and materials towards critical thresholds worldwide. These pressures are likely to be substantial across Africa, where countries will have to find innovative ways to boost crop and livestock production to avoid becoming more reliant on imports and food aid. Sustainable agricultural intensification - producing more output from the same area of land while reducing the negative environmental impacts - represents a solution for millions of African farmers. This volume presents the lessons learned from 40 sustainable agricultural intensification programmes in 20 countries across Africa, commissioned as part of the UK Government's Foresight project. Through detailed case studies, the authors of each chapter examine how to develop productive and sustainable agricultural systems and how to scale up these systems to reach many more millions of people in the future. Themes covered include crop improvements, agroforestry and soil conservation, conservation agriculture, integrated pest management, horticulture, livestock and fodder crops, aquaculture, and novel policies and partnerships.

A joint FAO and World Bank study which shows how the farming systems approach can be used to identify priorities for the reduction of hunger and poverty in the main farming systems of the six major developing regions of the world.

'A valuable contribution to our collective knowledge about governance, poverty and the environment' Frances Seymour, World Resources Institute 'Detailed and realistic documentation of contemporary development and governance relationships and trends' Melissa Leach, Institute of Development Studies There are growing signs that development work by governments, aid agencies and non-government organisations ignores the fact that environmental quality matters to the poor. There are also indications that some environmental work is pushing 'people-out' protection methodologies. Yet recently, an extensive range of project, programme and policy level activities has focused attention on the important links between poverty and the environment, and the benefit of entrenching these links in policy-making processes at all levels. The role that politics plays in all of this is of overriding importance. This volume is the first to address the role of politics in environmental issues that matter to the poor through a series of case studies. It describes experiences at regional, national and local levels in low and middle income countries including China, Tanzania, Nigeria, South Africa, Pakistan, Colombia, Peru, India, Saint Lucia and countries in East Africa. Ultimately the book demonstrates how understanding the national and local political context is crucial for addressing poverty-environment issues such as environmental health, access to natural resources for livelihoods and security, and coping with environmental disasters. The editors advocate ways in which political processes can be used to make positive changes - from the perspectives of both poverty reduction and the environment.