Successful Stewardship: Taking Macro and Micro Approaches
CropLife International’s Festival of Stewardship, now in its third year, brought together the widest range yet of the dedicated teams and individuals who make up the rich tapestry that is stewardship in action. We asked agricultural writer and editor Joan Conrow to listen in and put together her key takeaways from the sessions. Her report is below.
Attending the inspiring and energizing CropLife International Festival of Stewardship recently, I was struck by how best practices in agriculture now extend from nurturing the tiny microorganisms that support plant and soil health right through to collecting plastic packaging on a global scale. From the micro to the macro and everything in between. A tall order? I set out to find out what success looks like for the dedicated teams bringing stewardship to life.
“Stewardship is an effective tool for sustainable change, and it is at its most successful when we bring together voices from across the world that represent the diverse agriculture value chain,” said Andrew Ward, Director of Stewardship for CropLife International.
To that end, Ward launched the Festival of Stewardship three years ago for stakeholders to share success stories, challenges and models based on lived experiences across the globe. This year it expanded to include the public on the first day, with 377 farmers, researchers, sector experts and others joining to hear presentations on the theme “Unlocking the Potential of Sustainable Agriculture.”
The second day was reserved for CropLife International members and partners, with 199 people attending to discuss specific stewardship experiences and ways to amplify the local, regional, and international impact of their activities.
“Stewardship is all about communication and benefitting from others’ experience,” Ward told participants. “Change starts with the farmer. She/he is facing complex and multiple challenges. Sustainable agriculture needs support and development. It can’t be done alone. The private sector can contribute to sustainability by playing this pivotal role of putting the right teams together and helping to steer projects and programs towards tangible outcomes.”
CropLife International Chairman of the Board Livio Tedeschi of BASF set the scene with this guiding principle, noting in his opening address that “smart stewardship is a fundamental element of sustainable agriculture. As no one isolated party can meet the challenge of bringing stewardship principles to all stakeholders involved, collaborations are critical for scale-up, outreach and credibility. CropLife International plays a vital role in stewardship by harmonizing best practices and working to tackle industry-wide issues.”
The numbers alone told an impressive story of collaboration, with CropLife International’s stewardship program doubling its training in the last three years to achieve a record number of 20 million farmers reached. Training focused on risk management, integrated pest management and strategies for preventing insect resistance to crop protection products, an issue that now globally costs farmers US$10.5 billion annually. Container management efforts also grew, with 140,000 tonnes of empty pesticide packaging, much of it plastic, taken out of the environment in 2022.
“I’m proud to be presenting a picture of such tangible progress,” Croplife International President and CEO Emily Rees said. “We have a deep commitment to research and development, equipping farmers and agricultural communities with multiple innovations to fulfill their potential. These innovations need support in the field and that’s where sustainability comes in. From pest management to risk management through to waste disposal, every action under our stewardship programs is designed to enhance the security and productivity of the farmers and their lands. And these are relatively new programs with great ambition. There’s so much more to come.”
Drones, for example, hold tremendous potential. Sarah Hovinga of Bayer Crop Science reported on a Thailand study that found a 90% reduction in human pesticide exposure when products were applied via drone rather than a backpack sprayer. The technology and regulations are still evolving, she said, and best practices are being developed.
Biologicals—including bio-pesticides, bio-stimulants and bio-fertilizers—and their regulations are rapidly evolving, and are expected to comprise 25% of the market by 2035, said Corteva’s Roydean Armstrong. Though “early entries sometimes seemed to over-promise and under-deliver,” significant advances with biologicals have been made in terms of effectiveness, consistently providing the promised level of crop protection. On the horizon, “more research to increase the number of consistently effective products and to improve their shelf life and lifecycle management”.
Siang Hee Tan, Executive Director of CropLife Asia, noted that “stewardship and biodiversity go hand-in-hand. We need to train farmers to be entrepreneurs and re-invest in their fields.” Stewardship activities deployed across the region, including pollinator protection that involved beekeeping, resulted in a 25-40% increase in profits for farmers in India, China and the Philippines—money they can re-invest in their farms.
In China, drones are supporting a new entrepreneurial service that is also bringing more young people—and women—into agriculture, Tan said. The first certified drone operator was a woman, and 45% of Asian agriculture is now driven by female farmers.
Virtual reality is another innovation with applications for agriculture, especially training, said Dana Farbo, co-founder of the Immersive Learning and Development Foundation. He adapted CropLife International’s traditional farmer safety training to the VR format with positive results, including better retention and shorter times to competency.
Yvonne Pinto, the incoming Director-General of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), reported on revolutionary new research into soil microbiomes. These extremely diverse micro ecosystems are found in topsoil, which is very precious because it is generated at the rate of just .25 to 1.5 millimeters per year. Scientists are gaining a clearer understanding of the critical role of soil microbiomes in biodegradation and soil formation, as well as controlling plant pests and diseases and stimulating plant growth and crop quality.
“It’s important to understand how inputs are affecting soil and the potential impacts on humans and animals,” Ward explained. “Effective stewardship can help maintain the microbiome or minimize impacts.”
Innovations in plant breeding are also supporting sustainability by producing crops that address climate change impacts, such as drought, while utilizing nutrients more efficiently and delivering better nutrition to humans and livestock, said Corteva’s Scott Mundell, who chairs the Global Stewardship Group.
“It’s important to talk about all the good work we do and speak proactively to the general public,” he added, noting that many urban dwellers and children have forgotten the role of farmers in providing sustainable fiber, fuel, and food. “Agriculture can be a huge component in finding solutions to the world’s problems.”
Patience Koku, a Nigerian farmer who is also Global Farmer Network’s regional lead for Africa, urged participants to talk with farmers before developing new products and practices. The roll out of innovations should focus on peer-to-peer knowledge transfer, including webinars. “Extension is a missing link for us, so we rely on our peers,” she said.
Ingrid Oliveira, Communications Coordinator at Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS), echoed that concept. “People don’t use what they don’t understand, so co-creation is very important.”
James Clarke, Research Director for ADAS, concurred. “Farmers are great innovators. We need to harness that and bring it back into the science. This is about person-to-person interaction. Trust is so important, and local initiatives.”
“There is no blueprint for stewardship,” Ward concluded, as he recognized the diversity of stewardship activities developed in response to the unique needs of farmers in various locales. “We have to be adaptive.”
Want to know more about CropLife International’s stewardship programs? Please don’t hesitate to contact Andy: andrew.ward@croplife.org