NMRL: Issues raised by anthropogenics, IAASTD and Convergence of Sciences Research

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NMRL Issues raised by anthropogenics, IAASTD and
Convergence of Sciences Research

• Niels Röling
• Emeritus Professor Communication and Innovation
  Studies, Wageningen University, the Netherlands

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OVERVIEW

• Anthropogenicsthe current state of the earth (my
  retirement project)
• IAASTD (International Assessment of Ag. Science
  and Technology for Development), report approved
  by 61 countries last week
• Convergence of Sciences Research Project in West
  Africa

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Anthropogenics
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• Humans have become a major force of nature
  (Jane Lubchenco of Resilience Alliance)
• Anthropocene current geological era in which
  rock formations, sediments, deposits are affected
  by people (Krusken, Nobel Prize Winner)
• Anthropogenic climate change has been accepted as
  real and as a major threat to society
• Sustainable society is the emergent property of
  human interaction (Sri et al. at Hawksbury)
• Human behaviour is the major driver of change in
  the flimsy and vulnerable biosphere

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• Key challenge 1 not to adapt the world to
  ourselves through technology but to change our
  behaviour so that it regenerates vital ecosystem
  services and creates a sustainable society

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Morbidity Mortality (e.g., chronic
diseases, malaria, genetic defects)
Genetic causes
Behavioural Causes smoking, Unhealthy foods,
Overeating
Transmission of Infections
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State of the Earth (e.g., climate change,
degradation of ecosystems, loss of ecosystem
services)
Natural science
Anthropogenic change
Beta/gamma science
Natural causes (e.g., meteor, earthquake, Gaja
adjustments)
Collective impact of Human activities
Natural science
Social Science
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• Proposition 1 scientists concerned about
  sustainability must straddle the social, the life
  and the earth sciences (beta/gamma science)
• Example irrigation and drainage engineering

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Current collective perspective on human
behaviour economics

• Assume people to make rational choices optimise
  utility
• Methodological individualism macro phenomena are
  emergent property of individual pursuit of
  preference satisfaction
• Preferences (wants) and technology (gets) are
  extraneous. Their development drives wealth
  creation and growth
• Leave the market free to achieve most growth
• Relative advantage produce goods and services
  where they can be produced most cheaply

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• Key Challenge 2 Economics as the major body of
  knowledge that guides the design of future
  society is geared towards wealth creation, not
  sustainability. So far market liberalisation has
  failed to deal with poverty and climate change
• Example Relative advantage and small farmers
• Proposition 2 All students of NRML must
  understand economic thinking and its dangers

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• Proposition 3 We need anthropogenics, the
  science of how humans affect the biosphere and
  can adaptively manage it to generate human
  opportunity
• Focus not on wealth creation but on
  sustainability of human opportunity
• Instead of methodological individualism, focus on
  governance, institutions, agreed and negotiated
  rules of the game
• Change assumptions about human nature not only
  selfish and greedy, but capable of reciprocity,
  generosity and altruism IF CONDITIONS PERMIT IT!

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MINI-EXCURSION INTO MEDITATION PRACTICE

• Most religions and life styles oriented towards
  enlightenment recognise that humans are capable
  of reaching states of great happiness if they can
  drop the self and become one with the world.
  First step to recognise that craving is the
  source of human suffering. So in this view,
  exposing kids to advertising is to

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• Key Challenge 3 If we reject methodological
  individualism and do not give primacy to a
  boundless aggregation of preferences, we must
  become serious about institutions the
  supra-individual rules of the game that reduce
  uncertainty in human interaction.
• Proposition 4 Institutions are a key area for
  research in beta/gamma science

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Examples of Institutions

• The Plimsoll Line
• Without institutions tragedy of the commons
  (Hardin)
• With institutions common property resource
  management (Ostrom)
• Limit seize of group that can use common pool
  resource
• Communication to allow members to solve
  conflicts, explain issues, agree, etc.
• Agreed limitation to take less or give more
• Agreed surveillance mechanism
• Agreed sanctions

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IAASTD

• International Assessment of Agricultural Science
  and Technology for Development

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The IAASTD Process

• 7-11 April in Johannesburg Inter-Governmental
  plenary at which 61 out of 65 countries approved
  IAASTD reports
• Was the end of 4-year unique multi-stakeholder
  process including governments, private companies,
  and civil society organisations and comprising
  two peer reviews
• Evidence-based reports written by more than 400
  scientists and professionals
• Co-sponsors WB, FAO, UNEP, UNESCO, GEF, UNDP
• Director Bob Watson (also IPCC)

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Unique lens of IAASTD

• Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology
  (AKST) is not only technical scientific
  knowledge, but also social science and farmer
  knowledge
• How AKST can be used to reduce hunger and
  poverty, to improve rural livelihoods, and to
  facilitate equitable, environmental, socially and
  economically sustainable development
• This lens gives IAASTD its political weight
• Proposition 5 NRML scientists cannot escape
  commitment to such goals

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Main Outcomes 1

• Report sets new tone business as usual is not
  an option
• IAASTD developed an approach which is an
  alternative to current emphasis on highly
  specialised, large scale mono-cropping based on
  science-based technologies sold by increasingly
  concentrated global life science companies in a
  context of global capitalism
• For losers (small farmers) social safety nets
• Proposition 6 NRML researchers need to
  understand current global system, including IPR
  regimes, Doha, and the global companies.
• There is a battle on!

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Main Outcomes 2

• Agriculture is multi-functional not just the
  production of food commodities but also ensuring
  vital ecosystem services
• Key challenge 4 Agricultural science must take
  on board multi-functionality, not just
  productivity and resource use efficiency

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Main Outcomes 3

• Technology, science and knowledge of scientists,
  farmers, workers, rural communities and others
  who guide agriculture in following direction
• Efficient use of water
• Maintaining biodiversity
• Significant reduction of pollution through loss
  of nutrients
• Regenerating soil health and sequestering carbon
• Reduce use of very toxic pesticides

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Main Outcomes 4

• Costs must reflect real cost of production
  (internalise costs)
• IAASTD connects global food security to lagging
  productivity of smallholders in developing
  countries best strategy is to improve
  smallholder productivity.
• Three issues
• Mechanisms to redress current very unfair
  international agricultural trade and markets
• Institutional development
• Appropriate technology development
• Proposition 7 NRML scientist cannot afford to
  focus on technology only

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Convergence of Sciences Research
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How can agricultural research reduce rural
poverty? 1

• Conventional answer Develop innovations that
  feed the agricultural treadmill
• Treadmill farmers are relatively small firms
  that all produce the same commodity. They are all
  price takers
• A new technology allows early adopters to capture
  a windfall profit
• As diffusion begins, increasing pressure on
  prices, diffusion become market-propelled
• Tail enders lose out, their resources are aborbed
  by winners scale enlargement

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How can agricultural research reduce rural
poverty? 2

• Treadmill frees labour for the rest of the
  economy
• Farmers cannot hold on to gains from
  technological change food becomes cheaper
• Country improves competitive position on world
  market
• Farmers do not complain
• Investment in RD and extension has high IRR
• Treadmill becomes normative policy model now
  global treadmill

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How can agricultural research reduce rural
poverty? 3

• BUT Global treadmill pits very poor small
  farmers against farmers who have captured huge
  economies of scale
• Proposition 8 NRML scientists need to thoroughly
  understand the treadmill mechanism and the
  policies based on it
• We need new thinking about the process of
  agricultural innovation and the role of AKST in
  it

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How can agricultural research reduce rural
poverty? 4

• New answer 1 Develop appropriate technology!
• What is appropriate cannot be determined by
  scientists but is the empirical outcome of
  multi-stakeholder interaction
• We tested this in CoS research project in Benin
  and Ghana 2002-2006

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How can agricultural research reduce rural
poverty? 5

• CoS followed deliberate pathway for poverty
  impact
• Technography
• Diagnostic Studies
• Farmer experimental groups
• Embedded in multi-stakeholder process
• Result Within very small windows of opportunity
  that farmers have, only marginal improvement can
  be achieved through appropriate technology
  development
• New answer 2 Need to stretch windows of
  opportunity through institutional development

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How can agricultural research reduce rural
poverty? 6

• Examples from CoS at local level
• Weighing scales of Licensed Cocoa Buying Agencies
• Neem seed processing
• New tenure arrangements between landowners and
  immigrants
• Create organic cocoa export chain
• CoS2 Proposes Innovation System Research
• Proposition 9 Institutional development is key
  frontier of NRML research
• Key Challenge 5 How are we going to go about it?