Social Sustainability
Sustainable Intensification
Definition
Sustainable intensification is increasing agricultural output per unit of land, water and inputs while reducing environmental impacts and maintaining the natural resource base — "producing more from less". Developed from the original intensification concept by Pretty and others in the 1990s and adopted by the FAO and UK policy, it emphasises precision input use, improved genetics, agroecological practices and soil health over simple input expansion.
References
This reference provides supporting context for how “Sustainable Intensification” is defined and used.
Source imported for editorial provenance.
Overview
How it is used
The framework structures agricultural R&D (CGIAR), fertilizer and pesticide policy, land-sparing versus land-sharing debates, and food security strategy.
Why it matters
Feeding ten billion people without eating the planet requires yields and ecology to rise together; sustainable intensification is the bet that they can.