Sustainable agricultural intensification in four Tanzanian villages—a view from the ground and the sky

Agnes Andersson Djurfeldt, Ola Hall, Aida Isinika, Elibariki Msuya, Genesis Tambang Yengoh

Forskningsoutput: TidskriftsbidragArtikel i vetenskaplig tidskriftPeer review

Sammanfattning

Agricultural intensification based on smallholders is among many economists viewed as a necessary developmental path to ensure food security and poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa. Increasingly, a one-sided focus on raising productivity in cereals has been questioned on environmental grounds, with the concept of sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) emerging from the natural sciences as a way of advancing environmental and social needs simultaneously. SAI approaches have, however, been criticized for being both conceptually and methodologically vague. This study combines socioeconomic survey data with remotely sensed land productivity data and qualitative data from four villages in Tanzania. By triangulating and comparing data collected through ground level surveys and ground-truthing with remote sensing data, we find that this combination of methods is capable of resolving some of the theoretical and methodological vagueness found in SAI approaches. The results show the problems of relying on only one type of data when studying sustainable agricultural intensification and indicate the poor environmental outcomes of cereal monocropping, even when social outcomes may be forthcoming. We identify land use practices that can be considered both socially and environmentally sustainable. Theoretically, we contribute to a further problematization of the SAI concept.

Originalspråkengelska
Artikelnummer8304
Antal sidor20
TidskriftSustainability (Switzerland)
Volym12
Nummer20
DOI
StatusPublished - 2020 okt. 2

Ämnesklassifikation (UKÄ)

  • Miljö- och naturvårdsvetenskap (Här ingår: Biodiversitet)
  • Ekonomisk geografi

Fingeravtryck

Utforska forskningsämnen för ”Sustainable agricultural intensification in four Tanzanian villages—a view from the ground and the sky”. Tillsammans bildar de ett unikt fingeravtryck.

Citera det här