Agricultural innovation is a pillar for sustainable agriculture

 “Agricultural innovation is one important pillar for ensuring sustainable agriculture.” This was the message delivered by Mr. Shun-ichi Murata, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in his welcome statement during the High-Level Policy Dialogue on Technology Transfer for Smallholder Farmers, held in Bogor, Indonesia, 13 February 2013.

Further he stated that without innovation, agricultural productivity will continue to decline due to low fertility and degraded soils. Given that arable land is increasingly taken out of production for industrial purposes, the pressure on food systems to produce safe and affordable food for all is growing tremendously and requires an urgent paradigm shift in our thinking and actions.

Millions of smallholder farmers living in Asia and the Pacific depend on agricultural land as the main or only source of their livelihoods. Efforts to help them meet this challenge need to address the two bottom lines of agricultural research: how to innovate without reinventing the wheel and how to ensure that this knowledge benefits smallholder farmers.

Mr. Murata noted that science and technology are fundamental in this process. The world needs farmers but it also needs improved techniques to feed the world’s growing population. Technology advancement in agriculture also requires active support from governments. Policymakers, extension workers, researchers, the private sector and smallholder farmers in their many different roles – as producers, sellers, buyers and consumers – can all play an important part in addressing today’s agricultural concerns.

 “We believe that by working in partnership we can ensure that the right tools and policies are scaled up and will be applied to benefit smallholders and others in the value chain,”Mr. Murata said in his closing.  

Nowadays, agriculture has to be more appealing to youth. Introducing farm mechanization and adopting agricultural innovations that makes land and labor more productive and agricultural businesses more profitable can provide such opportunities for young people.