Building bridges: an integrated strategy for sustainable food production throughout the value chain

Albajes, R. and Cantero-Martínez, C. and Capell, T. and et al, . (2013) Building bridges: an integrated strategy for sustainable food production throughout the value chain. Molecular Breeding. pp. 1-28.

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Abstract

The food production and processing value chain is under pressure from all sides—increasing demand driven by a growing and more affluent population; dwindling resources caused by urbanization, land erosion, pollution and competing agriculture such as biofuels; and increasing constraints on production methods driven by consumers and regulators demanding higher quality, reduced chemical use, and most of all environmentally beneficial practices ‘from farm to fork’. This pressure can only be addressed by developing efficient and sustainable agricultural practices that are harmonized throughout the value chain, so that renewable resources can be exploited without damaging the environment. Bridges must, therefore, be built between the diverse areas within the food production and processing value chain, including bridges between different stages of production, between currently unlinked agronomic practices, and between the different levels and areas of research to achieve joined-up thinking within the industry, so that the wider impact of different technologies, practices and materials on productivity and sustainability is understood at the local, regional, national and global scales. In this article, we consider the challenges at different stages and levels of the value chain and how new technologies and strategies could be used to build bridges and achieve more sustainable food/feed production in the future.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Food, Farming, Sustainable
Author Affiliation: Universitat de Lleida-Agrotecnio Center, Lleida, Spain
Subjects: Social Sciences > Agricultural Economics
Postharvest Management
Divisions: General
Depositing User: Mr Siva Shankar
Date Deposited: 25 Jul 2013 03:44
Last Modified: 25 Jul 2013 03:44
URI: http://eprints.icrisat.ac.in/id/eprint/11258

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