Best practices on Agriculture and Food towards the sustainable development goals | MED-Amin network | Scoop.it

The report of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) investigates best practices in food sustainability across the world. It uses the three pillars—sustainable agriculture, nutritional challenges, and food loss and waste—of the Food Sustainability Index (FSI) as a framework.

Changes to farming systems do not always come without trade-offs. For example, solar power can transform livelihoods for smallholder farmers by providing free electricity, which enables them to tap into groundwater for irrigation. “There’s been a huge expansion in solar irrigation, especially in India,” says Sri Lanka-based Soumya Balasubramanya, senior researcher in environmental and development economics at the International Water Management Institute. “But there’s a trade-off. In the longer term, you’re going to have a problem of groundwater depletion.”