Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Prospects for the Future
The COVID-19 pandemic is adversely impacting food and nutrition security and requires urgent attention from policymakers. Sustainable intensification of agriculture is one strategy that attempts to increase food production without adversely impacting the environment, by shifting from water-intensive...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/10/2738 |
| _version_ | 1797552138736369664 |
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| author | Prasanna Venkatesh Sampath Gaddam Sai Jagadeesh Chandra Sekhar Bahinipati |
| author_facet | Prasanna Venkatesh Sampath Gaddam Sai Jagadeesh Chandra Sekhar Bahinipati |
| author_sort | Prasanna Venkatesh Sampath |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The COVID-19 pandemic is adversely impacting food and nutrition security and requires urgent attention from policymakers. Sustainable intensification of agriculture is one strategy that attempts to increase food production without adversely impacting the environment, by shifting from water-intensive crops to other climate-resistant and nutritious crops. This paper focuses on the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh by studying the impact of shifting 20% of the area under paddy and cotton cultivation to other crops like millets and pulses. Using FAO’s CROPWAT model, along with monsoon forecasts and detailed agricultural data, we simulate the crop water requirements across the study area. We simulate a business-as-usual base case and compare it to multiple crop diversification strategies using various parameters—food, calories, protein production, as well as groundwater and energy consumption. Results from this study indicate that reduced paddy cultivation decreases groundwater and energy consumption by around 9–10%, and a calorie deficit between 4 and 8%—making up this calorie deficit requires a 20–30% improvement in the yields of millets and pulses. We also propose policy interventions to incentivize the cultivation of nutritious and climate-resistant crops as a sustainable strategy towards strengthening food and nutrition security while lowering the environmental footprint of food production. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:55:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3afff40bfb33490b92ee1aa570dd0a72 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:55:43Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-3afff40bfb33490b92ee1aa570dd0a722023-11-20T15:40:01ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412020-09-011210273810.3390/w12102738Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Prospects for the FuturePrasanna Venkatesh Sampath0Gaddam Sai Jagadeesh1Chandra Sekhar Bahinipati2Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, IIT Tirupati, Tirupati 517 506, IndiaDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, IIT Tirupati, Tirupati 517 506, IndiaDepartment of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Tirupati, Tirupati 517 506, IndiaThe COVID-19 pandemic is adversely impacting food and nutrition security and requires urgent attention from policymakers. Sustainable intensification of agriculture is one strategy that attempts to increase food production without adversely impacting the environment, by shifting from water-intensive crops to other climate-resistant and nutritious crops. This paper focuses on the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh by studying the impact of shifting 20% of the area under paddy and cotton cultivation to other crops like millets and pulses. Using FAO’s CROPWAT model, along with monsoon forecasts and detailed agricultural data, we simulate the crop water requirements across the study area. We simulate a business-as-usual base case and compare it to multiple crop diversification strategies using various parameters—food, calories, protein production, as well as groundwater and energy consumption. Results from this study indicate that reduced paddy cultivation decreases groundwater and energy consumption by around 9–10%, and a calorie deficit between 4 and 8%—making up this calorie deficit requires a 20–30% improvement in the yields of millets and pulses. We also propose policy interventions to incentivize the cultivation of nutritious and climate-resistant crops as a sustainable strategy towards strengthening food and nutrition security while lowering the environmental footprint of food production.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/10/2738sustainable intensificationcrop diversificationCOVID-19food securitynutrition securitywater security |
| spellingShingle | Prasanna Venkatesh Sampath Gaddam Sai Jagadeesh Chandra Sekhar Bahinipati Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Prospects for the Future Water sustainable intensification crop diversification COVID-19 food security nutrition security water security |
| title | Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Prospects for the Future |
| title_full | Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Prospects for the Future |
| title_fullStr | Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Prospects for the Future |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Prospects for the Future |
| title_short | Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Prospects for the Future |
| title_sort | sustainable intensification of agriculture in the context of the covid 19 pandemic prospects for the future |
| topic | sustainable intensification crop diversification COVID-19 food security nutrition security water security |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/10/2738 |
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