Nature-Positive Agriculture—A Way Forward Towards Resilient Agrifood Systems

Manoj Kaushal (), Mary Atieno, Sylvanus Odjo, Frederick Baijukya, Yosef Gebrehawaryat and Carlo Fadda
Additional contact information
Manoj Kaushal: Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Nairobi P.O. Box 823-00621, Kenya
Mary Atieno: Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Sylvanus Odjo: International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Mexico City 56237, Mexico
Frederick Baijukya: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Dar es Salaam 34441, Tanzania
Yosef Gebrehawaryat: Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Nairobi P.O. Box 823-00621, Kenya
Carlo Fadda: Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Nairobi P.O. Box 823-00621, Kenya

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-25

Abstract: Current food production systems rely heavily on resource-poor small-scale farmers in the global south. Concomitantly, the agrifood systems are exacerbated by various a/biotic challenges, including low-input agriculture and climate crisis. The recent global food crisis further escalates the production and consumption challenges in the global market. With these challenges, coordinated efforts to address the world’s agrifood systems challenges have never been more urgent than now. This includes the implementation of deeply interconnected activities of food, land, and water systems and relationships among producers and consumers that operate across political boundaries. Nature-positive agriculture represents interventions both at the farm and landscape level that include a systems approach for the management of diverse issues across the land-water-food nexus. In the present article, we focus on the history of traditional farming and how it evolved into today’s nature-positive agriculture, including its limitations and opportunities. The review also explains the most impactful indicators for successful nature-positive agriculture, including sustainable management of soil, crops, seeds, pests, and mixed farming systems, including forages and livestock. Finally, the review explains the dynamics of nature-positive agriculture in the context of small-scale farming systems and how multilateral organizations like the CGIAR are converting this into transformative actions and impact. To address the climate crisis, CGIAR established the paradigm of nature-positive solutions as part of its research and development efforts aimed at transforming food, land, and water systems into more resilient and sustainable pathways.

Keywords: nature-positive agriculture; soil biodiversity; crop production; seed systems; livestock systems; agrifood systems; aggregated farms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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