The Top 100 questions for the sustainable intensification of agriculture in India’s rainfed drylands

Zareen Pervez Bharucha, Simon Attwood, Shrinivas Badiger , Arun Balamatti, Richard Bawden, Jeffery W Bentley, Mahesh Chander, Leonora Davies, Harry Dixon, John Dixon, Marcella D'Souza, Cornelia Butler Flora, Michael Green, Deepa Joshi, Adam M. Komarek, Lesley Ruth McDermid, Erik Mathijs, Agnes C. Rola, Sasmita Patnaik, Sandip PattanayakPrabhu Pingaliu, V. P. Vara Prasad, Rudy Rabbinge, G. V. Ramanjaneyulux , N. H. Ravindranath, Colin Sage, Amrita Saha, Ceccarelli Salvatore, Lopamudra Patnaik Saxena, Chandni Singh, Pete Smith, Arjuna Srinidhi, Rudresh Sugam, Richard Thomas, Norman Uphoff, Jules Pretty

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    6 Citations (Scopus)
    115 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    India has the largest area of rainfed dryland agriculture globally, with a variety of distinct types of farming systems producing most of its coarse cereals, food legumes, minor millets, and large amounts of livestock. All these are vital for national and regional food and nutritional security. Yet, the rainfed drylands have been relatively neglected in mainstream agricultural and rural development policy. As a result, significant social-ecological challenges overlap in these landscapes: endemic poverty, malnutrition and land degradation. Sustainable intensification of dryland agriculture is essential for helping to address these challenges, particularly in the context of accelerating climate change. In this paper, we present 100 questions that point to the most important knowledge gaps and research priorities. If addressed, these would facilitate and inform sustainable intensification in Indian rainfed drylands, leading to improved agricultural production and enhanced ecosystem services. The horizon scanning method used to produce these questions brought together experts and practitioners involved in a broad range of disciplines and sectors. This exercise resulted in a consolidated set of questions covering the agricultural drylands, organized into 13 themes. Together, these represent a collective programme for new cross- and multi-disciplinary research on sustainable intensification in the Indian rainfed drylands.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)106-127
    Number of pages22
    JournalInternational Journal of Agricultural Sustainability
    Volume19
    Issue number2
    Early online date1 Dec 2020
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2021

    Bibliographical note

    This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability on 01/12/2020, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/14735903.2020.1830530

    Copyright © and Moral Rights are retained by the author(s) and/ or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This item cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.

    Keywords

    • Drylands
    • India
    • rainfed agriculture
    • sustainable intensification

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Agronomy and Crop Science
    • Economics and Econometrics

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