How does agroecology contribute to the achievement of the SDGs?
Global food systems, driven by intensive and industrial-scale agriculture, are failing to meet sustainable development needs, contributing to deforestation, water scarcity, biodiversity loss, soil degradation, and climate change. To achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we need a fundamental shift toward sustainable food and agriculture systems.
The FAO report, „FAO’s Work on Agroecology: A Pathway to Achieving the SDGs“, highlights agroecology as a transformative approach that directly contributes to multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Agroecology not only promotes sustainable farming practices but also addresses the root causes of hunger, poverty, and inequality. By integrating ecological principles with local knowledge and innovative practices, agroecology supports SDGs related to zero hunger (SDG 2), good health and well-being (SDG 3), clean water (SDG 6), climate action (SDG 13), and life on land (SDG 15), among others.
The report outlines how agroecology enhances food security and nutrition, fosters social and economic equity, and conserves biodiversity and ecosystem services essential for agriculture. It demonstrates how agroecology empowers family farmers, indigenous peoples, and local communities, providing them with tools and knowledge to build resilient and inclusive food systems. The FAO advocates for scaling up agroecological practices through supportive policies, partnerships, and investments, to realize the full potential of this people-centered approach in achieving a sustainable and equitable future for all.
Modelling Results with the Integrated Sustainable Development Simulator (iSDG)
The Millennium Institute has developed a simulation model to assess the achievements of the Sustainable Development Goals. This iSDG modelling analysis presents and compares the results for the 17 SDGs under two different scenarios: the Business As Usual (BAU) and the Agroecology (AE) scenario for a typical semiarid African country. In the BAU scenario, it is assumed that current policies will be continued.
The interventions implemented in the AE scenario are inspired by Andhra Pradesh’s Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) approach [2] and cover the FAO’s 10 agroecological principles [1] . With the selection of ZBNF-related interventions, it is ensured that the interventions have been successfully tested and applied in a real context on a large scale by hundreds of thousands of farmers in India [3].
Simulating the model allows us to:
- assess the level of achievement of the SDGs;
- reveal the underlying causal relations and interactions;
- identify the individual contributions of each policy as well as emerging synergies.
Based on the analysis provided in the full report, this summary focuses on the key findings related to the implementation of Agroecology to improve the SDGs. The explorative scenarios are not to be taken as precise forecasts – which are not feasible over the time horizon considered. They have been designed with the purpose of informing a comprehensive policy process to support SDG achievement.
Download the Full Report: iSDG Report and SDGs
Key findings of the report:
1 — Significant Improvement
The Agroecology scenario AE generates significant improvements in SDG achievement compared to the Business as Usual BAU scenario
The overall performance is improved by the AE scenario.
For example, in 2050 achievement is 41% in the BAU, while it is 50% assuming the implementation of the AE scenario.
Three goals have their performance more than double
in the AE scenario compared to the BAU: SDG 2, 11 and 13.
Eight goals show performance increases between 10 and 35 per cent in the AE scenario compared to the BAU.
For three of these goals (SDG 6, 7, 8) the advantage decreases at some point between 2030 and 2050, but for five goals (SDG 1, 5, 12, 16, 17) the advantage persists.
2 — Feasibility
The implementation of the AE scenario and the resulting generated improvements seem to be feasible.
The assumed interventions have been inspired by ZBNF, an approach that has been successfully tested and applied in a real, large-scale context in India. Further, the simulation reveals that the AE scenario does not necessarily require additional government expenditure but can even facilitate its reduction.
3 — Circumstantial
The precise scale of improvement and the concrete changes necessary to generate improvement must be analysed based on country circumstances.
Consequently, the scale of improvement depends on the country, and specifically on the scale of changes, meaning that smaller changes (for example because the application of agroecological principles is already widespread) also generate smaller improvements, and vice versa.
4 — Synergies
Synergies contribute to the Agroecology improvements, revealing that it is composed of concerted interventions building a comprehensive scenario in which policies support rather than counteract one another.
Synergies emerge when the joint implementation of different policies is higher than the sum of achievement of each single policy, and they have been identified, for example with SDG 2 (Zero Hunger).
5 — Intersectoral
Additional policies in other sectors are necessary to fully achieve or at least improve SDG attainment.
This is true for SDGs with rather remote connections to agriculture as well as those with close connections. For example, even by tripling the achievement of SDG 2, it is 66 per cent in 2050 in the AE scenario, indicating the necessity of additional policies addressing, for example, unemployment and poverty in other sectors.
6 — Generfication
The generated improvements are caused by generic interconnections, so their existence can be expected in other countries and dynamics can be generalized.
The interventions (based on agroecological principles and presented in the green and purple circles) affect key variables of the system that pass the change to further variables, some of which are used to measure the SDG achievement levels. The figure shows the interlinked nature of the system and that changes in agriculture spread to economic, societal and environmental spheres and to various indicators of nearly all SDGs. In addition, the figure shows the inherent positive feedback loops that can be activated by changes in agriculture, starting a process of positively reinforcing developments.
7 — Quick Action
The analysis reveals significant delays between policy and effect, indicating the need for quick action.
For example, a strong increase of expenditure for reforestation starting in 2019 only leads to a very small improvement of SDG 15 (Life on Land) in 2030, while improvement is significant in 2050, indicating the time needed for changes in specific intervention areas such as forest growth and regeneration of land and soil, as well as education and training.
8 — New Needs
To assess SDG impacts, there is a need for comprehensive long-term analysis that integrates the interaction between different spheres, feedback loops and time delays, and that enables the identification of synergies.
Such integrated analysis demonstrating potential widespread and long-term impact can be helpful to increase acceptance for interventions that first need effort and that generate positive effects only with a long delay, fostering the implementation of policies that truly increase sustainability.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals
In September 2015, the UN Assembly adopted the 2030 Development Agenda that outlines the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), acomprehensive framework designed to guide development efforts over the following 15 years. In contrast to the former Millennium Development Goals, these goals apply for the first time to industrialised as well as developing and emerging countries.
The Agenda 2030 also aims to fight root causes rather than just symptoms. It is an agenda that forces humanity to break out of its silo mentality.
Agriculture, with its multiple connections to key aspects, such as food security, livelihoods – especially for the rural poor –, ecosystems, climate change and health, is a crucial sector for the achievement of these goals. However, it has been highlighted that a transformation towards sustainable agriculture is necessary to improve the achievement of the SDGs (FAO 2018, Caron et al. 2018).
Policy planning and assessment of policy impact is very challenging in the context of the SDGs due to the multi-disciplinary, interconnected and complex nature of the Agenda 2030. The fact that policies in one sector can have an effect on several other sectors and other goals and targets, but not necessarily in a linear way, highlights the need for integrated planning across sectors to develop coherent policies (O’Connor et al. 2016).
References
Caron, P., Ferrero y de Loma-Osorio, G., Nabarro, D. et al. (2018): “Food systems for sustainable development: proposals for a profound four-part transformation”. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 38(41).
FAO (2018): “Transforming food and agriculture to achieve the SDGs – 20 interconnected actions to guide decision-makers”. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome, FAO.
O’Connor, D., J. Mackie, D. Van Esveld, K. Hoseok, I. Scholz, N. Weitz (2016): “Universality and Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development: Early SDG Implementation in Selected OECD Countries”, WRI Working Paper, World Resources Institute, Washington D.C..
