How agroecological rice intensification can assist in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

The UN Development Program has set forth a roster of sustainable development goals (SDGs) for eradicating hunger and poverty with other consequential targets also to be achieved by 2030. Agroecological production strategies can help accomplish about half of these goals, especially SDG #2 (zero hunger) and SDG #12 (action for climate), utilizing biological processes and potentials that already exist in crop plants and in the soil systems they grow in. These potentials are not mobilized by chemical-dependent practices that create hazards for the environment and human health. An agroecological strategy, the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), has demonstrated that it can raise rice production by 25–50%, and in some cases more than 50% while lowering production costs and raising farmer incomes. Higher yield is achieved by using 25–50% less water, and SRI practices reduce net emission of greenhouse gases from paddy fields, while reducing crops’ vulnerability to the hazards of climate change. The advantages of SRI methods are being extended also to crops beyond rice, like wheat, millet, and sugarcane. SRI practices contribute to achieving other SDGs beyond reducing hunger and poverty. Government initiatives plus investments by donors can extend research and extension for SRI and other agroecological methodologies that enable growers to help achieve multiple SDGs in the next decade.