National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×

TOWARD SUSTAINABILITY

A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management

Panel for Collaborative Research Support for AID's Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Program

Board on Agriculture

Board on Science and Technology for International Development

National Research Council

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C. 1991

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the panel responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Samuel O. Thier is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

This report has been prepared with funds provided by the Bureau for Science and Technology, Office of Agriculture and Office of Rural Development, U.S. Agency for International Development, under Grant No. DAN-5052-C-00-6037-00. The U.S. Agency for International Development reserves a royalty-free and nonexclusive and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use and to authorize others to use the work for government purposes.

Library of Congress Catalog Card No.91-61818

ISBN 0-309-04540-1

A limited number of copies are available from:

Board on Science and Technology for International Development

Office of International Affairs

National Research Council

2101 Constitution Avenue

Washington, DC 20418

Additional copies are available for sale from:

National Academy Press
2101 Constitution Avenue Washington, DC20418

S-378

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×

PANEL FOR COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH SUPPORT FOR AID'S SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

LOWELL HARDIN, Chairman,

Purdue University

JOHN AXTELL,

Purdue University

HECTOR BARRETO,

Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo, Guatemala

BARBARA BRAMBLE,

National Wildlife Federation

PIERRE CROSSON,

Resources for the Future

CLIVE EDWARDS,

Ohio State University

RICHARD HARWOOD,

Michigan State University

G. EDWARD SCHUH,

Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota

ROBERT WAGNER,

Phosphate and Potash Institute (Retired)

Ex Officio Members

PATRICIA BARNES-MCCONNELL,

Collaborative Research Support Program, Michigan State University

LEONARD BERRY,

Florida Atlantic University

PEDRO SANCHEZ,

North Carolina State University

JAN VAN SCHILFGAARDE,

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ft. Collins, Colorado

Staff

MICHAEL MCD. DOW, Study Director

JAY DAVENPORT, Senior Project Officer

CURT MEINE, Staff Associate

NEAL BRANDES, Study Assistant

NANCY NACHBAR, Program Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×

BOARD ON AGRICULTURE

THEODORE L. HULLAR, Chairman,

University of California, Davis

PHILIP H. ABELSON,

American Association for the Advancement of Science

DALE E. BAUMAN,

Cornell University

R. JAMES COOK,

Agricultural Research Service at Washington State University

ELLIS B. COWLING,

North Carolina State University

ROBERT M. GOODMAN, Visiting Professor,

University of Wisconsin, and National Research Council Scholar-in-Residence

PAUL W. JOHNSON,

Iowa House of Representatives

NEAL A. JORGENSEN,

University of Wisconsin

ALLEN V. KNEESE,

Resources for the Future, Inc.

JOHN W. MELLOR,

International Food Policy Research Institute

DONALD R. NIELSEN,

University of California, Davis

ROBERT L. THOMPSON,

Purdue University

ANNE M. K. VIDAVER,

University of Nebraska

CONRAD J. WEISER,

Oregon State University

JOHN R. WELSER,

The Upjohn Company

Staff

JAMES E. TAVARES, Acting Executive Director

ROBERT M. GOODMAN, NRC Scholar-in-Residence

CARLA CARLSON, Director of Communications

BARBARA J. RICE, Editor

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×

BOARD ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

ALEXANDER SHAKOW, Chairman,

The World Bank

PATRICIA BARNES-MCCONNELL,

Michigan State University

JORDAN J. BARUCH,

Jordan Baruch Associates

BARRY BLOOM,

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

JANE BORTNICK,

Congressional Research Service

GEORGE T. CURLIN,

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

DIRK FRANKENBERG,

University of North Carolina

RALPH HARDY,

Boyce-Thompson Institute for Plant Research at Cornell University

FREDRICK HORNE,

Oregon State University

ELLEN MESSER,

Allan Shaw Feinstein World Hunger Program, Brown University

CHARLES C. MUSCOPLAT,

Molecular Genetics, Inc.

JAMES QUINN,

Dartmouth College

VERNON RUTTAN,

University of Minnesota

ANTHONY SAN PIETRO,

Indiana University

ERNEST SMERDON,

University of Arizona

Ex Officio Members

GERALD P. DINEEN, Foreign Secretary,

National Academy of Engineering

JAMES B. WYNGAARDEN, Foreign Secretary,

National Academy of Sciences

Staff

JOHN HURLEY, Director

MICHAEL MCD. DOW, Associate Director

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×
This page in the original is blank.
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×

Preface

In response to growing support for sustainable international development strategies, the U.S. Congress has recommended that the Agency for International Development (AID) create a new Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP) that focuses on the research needs of sustainable agriculture and natural resource management. The Office of Agriculture in AID's Bureau for Science and Technology subsequently asked that the National Research Council's Board on Agriculture (BA) and Board on Science and Technology for International Development (BOSTID) undertake planning for the new CRSP.

Collaborative research support programs were created under Title XII of the International Development and Food Assistance Act of 1975, which supports long-term agricultural research of benefit to developing countries and the United States. These programs are the primary mechanisms through which U.S. universities conduct such research. Currently eight CRSPs are conducting research on several important crops, livestock, soils, fisheries, aquaculture, and human nutrition.

The charge to the National Research Council's Panel for Collaborative Research Support for AID's Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Program was to: (1) recommend a design for the new CRSP; (2) help AID define research priorities for the new CRSP; and (3) suggest management arrangements for administering the CRSP that will enable it to draw on and contribute to all of AID's agricultural, environmental, and rural development activities. Officials of AID requested that the panel, in carrying out its charge, try to define a process by which knowledge from all relevant AID-supported research, development, and training programs could be integrated and applied in the effort to advance profitable farming sys-

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×

tems that improve local conditions while contributing to broader environmental goals.

The panel is one of three units established at AID's request to assist the Office of Agriculture in reviewing its projects on sustainable agriculture and natural resource management. The Committee for a Study on Sustainable Agriculture and the Environment in the Humid Tropics is studying successful approaches to sustainable agriculture in the humid tropics. Its activities are managed jointly by BA and BOSTID. The Committee International Soil and Water Research and Development is assessing the needs and priorities in soil and water management for developing countries. Its activities are managed jointly by BOSTID and the Water Science and Technology Board.

The Panel for Collaborative Research Support for AID's Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Program has focused on the need to promote integrated, multidisciplinary research across agroecological zones, among departments and institutions of U.S. universities, and in collaboration with other institutions, research institutes, national agricultural research systems, and the international agricultural research centers. Its principal objectives have been to foster a truly collaborative and participatory approach to the design of research and to involve the ultimate beneficiary of the research: the small-scale farmer and rural and urban poor in developing countries. From its inception, the panel has emphasized the need to draw on and actively engage in-country expertise and indigenous knowledge and practices in meeting its objective.

At an organizational meeting in July 1990, participants stressed the fact that research under the new CRSP must focus on on-farm methodologies that effectively integrate the agronomic, biological, ecological, cultural, and socioeconomic factors that govern the performance and sustainability of agroecosystems. Only such integrated research can fill the critical gaps in scientific understanding of the foundation and functioning of sustainable agricultural systems. Of particular importance in this regard are the following:

  • Conservation of soil and water resources and the impact on fertility of the soil's physical and biological characteristics, processes, and cycles;

  • Cultural practices for improving soil fertility, controlling erosion, and maximizing biological production potential (for example, tillage methods, crop residue management, irrigation, alley cropping, and agroforestry);

  • Integrated pest management systems, both pre- and postharvest;

  • Indigenous practices and uses of germplasm and the economic and cultural consequences of biodiversity loss and preservation;

  • The consequences of converting forest and savannah lands into range for cattle production;

  • Institutional arrangements—local, national, and international—involving education, trade, finance, and prices;

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×
  • Common issues related to property resource management, land tenure, and other public policies; and

  • The impact of policy incentives or disincentives on the production of cash crops for export or food crops for local consumption.

The development of research methodologies to address these key gaps in knowledge is a formidable task. The further implementation of the necessary research to fill these gaps will require an enormous commitment of resources over an extended time. Participants in the organizational meeting agreed that the new CRSP should not be restricted to, but should concentrate on, the more fragile agroecosystems in targeting its initial investments for maximum effect. They also noted the need for an open planning process for the CRSP. To this end, the panel together with invited participants from the land-grant colleges and universities and other interested organizations—more than 120 people—convened in November 1990 for an open forum on international sustainable agriculture and natural resource management. At the day-long forum, invited speakers and other participants reviewed the CRSP record and the experience of collaborative international agricultural research at U.S. universities. During 3 days of intensive follow-up discussions, participants discussed research priorities and suggested guidelines for establishing and managing a program to encourage research on sustainability, agriculture, and natural resources in U.S. institutions and their developing country counterparts.

The panel met twice after the November forum. This report summarizes the findings from the forum and the subsequent panel discussions. An executive summary provides a synopsis of the rationale and principal recommendations for the new Collaborative Research Support Program on Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. The panel 's findings and specific recommendations are then presented in greater detail in the main body of the report. The papers presented at the open forum and the discussions that followed generated several significant statements on agroecosystem research and management. These are included as appendixes. A concurrent subpanel was convened to summarize and provide guidance to AID on activities involving integrated pest management, an area of particular importance to sustainability. The discussions of the subpanel will be published in a separate report in late 1991.

The panel has tried to accommodate as faithfully as possible the many viewpoints germane to this topic. The panelists and participants in the November forum, though diverse, were in fact in welcome accord on one principal point: the need for research to focus on the integration of the social and natural sciences in progressing toward sustainability. Not all participants would agree on the means of accomplishing this challenging task. Further, the report does not deal in any depth with population policy

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×

and family planning concerns, which are important factors in the sustainability formula. Nonetheless, within the scope of this report, the broad consensus regarding the nature of the scientific and managerial challenge bodes well for the future. In particular, the challenge of bringing together the varied disciplines, with their different traditions, approaches, and languages, must be met to gain a better understanding of the nature of sustainability.

Members

Panel for Collaborative Research

Support for AID's Sustainable

Agriculture and Natural Resource

Management Program

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×

Acknowledgments

As with all endeavors that try to bring different perspectives together and distill large amounts of technical information into a coherent form, this effort has been a challenging one. The panel deeply appreciates the extensive advice it received in the short time available for completion of this report. The panel is entirely responsible for any shortcomings of the report.

Several people deserve special thanks: those who participated in and, in many cases, prepared written papers for the forum and subsequent workshop, and who later commented on the draft report; others who were unable to attend the meeting but who reviewed and offered comments on the draft; and Thurman Grove, for his substantive assistance as liaison at the Agency for International Development.

We would also like to acknowledge the intellectual contributions of Charles Benbrook and Charles B. McCants. Invaluable assistance was provided by Jay Dorsey, Chris Elfring, Patricia A. Harrington, Mary Francis Schlichter, and Lynn Wolter.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×
This page in the original is blank.
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×
Page R1
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×
Page R2
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×
Page R3
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×
Page R4
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×
Page R5
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×
Page R6
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×
Page R7
Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×
Page R8
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×
Page R9
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×
Page R10
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×
Page R11
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×
Page R12
Page xiii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×
Page R13
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1822.
×
Page R14
Next: Executive Summary »
Toward Sustainability: A Plan for Collaborative Research on Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $40.00
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

Toward Sustainability recommends a design for a new Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP) for the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID). Currently, eight CRSPs operate under legislation that supports long-term agricultural research of benefit to developing countries and the United States.

This book defines a process by which knowledge from all relevant AID-supported programs could be integrated and applied to advance profitable farming systems that improve local conditions and contribute to environmental goals. It makes recommendations on the types of competitive grants that should be made available under a new program, institutional participation, content of research proposals, and administrative procedures.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!