Africa Research in sustainable intensification for next generation

Sustainable intensification of mixed crop livestock systems is a key pathway towards better food security, improved livelihoods and a healthy environment. As part of the US government’s Feed the Future initiative to address hunger and food security issues in sub-Saharan Africa, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is supporting three multi-stakeholder agricultural research projects to sustainably intensify key African farming systems.

Pascal Erasto (19) and his sister Ana (16) have a different perspective. Their positive attitude towards vegetable production and utilization was influenced by their mother, Monica Pascal, who has worked as a farmer trainer in the Africa RISING project since 2013.

Intensification of production can take many forms, for example, the one that underpinned the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s helped humanity keep food production at pace with population growth. However, the present context has changed and ensuring sustainability is of vital importance. But how can we evaluate sustainability? Is a systems perspective essential for integrated crop-livestock systems?