The Green Revolution with an aim for food security was “easy”. But now challenges are “wicked,” inculcating food security with nutritional security, sustainable growth and livelihood, says Jeff Sayer at Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD2) in Punta del Este, Uruguay. The wicked challenges ask for “breaking silos” of science and partnership.
The Green Revolution brought by a science-led synergistic approach led to an unprecedented transformation in food security and rural development. However, continuing to secure such gains is a major challenge especially in the context of soaring food and fuel prices, global economic downturn, volatile markets, depleting water resources, diversion of human capital from agriculture, shrinking farm size, soil degradation, and indiscriminate and imbalanced use of chemical inputs, not to mention the overarching effects of global climate change.
But the scientific think tank body of CGIAR “Science Council” says that to overcome wicked challenges, cutting edge research needs to integrate innovation research. It will add multi-functionality and a bottom up approach to counter challenges. From Green Revolution success, it is understandable that beneficiaries are multiple and there is no single best outcome. It also tells that there is no simple linear model to understand the theories of change in ARD. So sell success to overcome stress and ensure sustainable food security and attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Blogpost by Yash, one of the GCARD2 social reporters.
Inculcating food security with nutritional security, sustainable growth and livelihood is indeed a difficult task and in a country like ours where policies and programs look so good on paper but fail miserably in real time it would be interesting to see how this one turns out.