NEW STUDY: 21st Century Systems Agriculture: An Update of the 1989 NRC Report Alternative Agriculture
The National Research Council has appointed a Committee on 21st Century Systems Agriculture to conduct a study to identify the scientific foundations of sustainable farming systems and management practices, and the social, economic, and political factors that influence their use and wide scale adoption by farmers in the US and abroad. The study will build on the Academies 1989 report,
Alternative Agriculture, that highlights the economic and environmental benefits of what were at that time unconventional or alternative farming practices, such as conservation tillage, integrated pest management, and crop rotations. Many of these practices have since been adopted widely by agricultural producers in the United States and have even had significant beneficial impact on small scale farming systems in the developing world. The new study will examine technologies and practices that have emerged over the past two decades, and define key drivers that are applicable to sustainable farm production throughout the world. The study is sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
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