In agriculture, there are the broad dimensions of STI impacts in the improvements of crop seeds and animal breeds, agro-chemicals, machinery and farming systems all leading to dramatic productivity. In industry, there are the progressive impacts in production of goods and services. Mexico can only achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 to end hunger for all and by everyone by prioritizing three types of food production interventions. First, traditional agroecological management systems, such as polycultural and agroforestry systems, are the source of dietary diversity in traditional Mexican diets and as such must be protected in the context of climate change. But with the double burden of malnutrition, whereby 12% of children under 5 years old are stunted and 30% of children and adolescents are obese, policymakers and advocates should then identify methods that enhance the sustainability and nutrient-value of food production systems while preserving the authenticity and vibrancy of traditional Mexican food culture. Third, ensuring these interventions are designed equitably will require consultation with smallholder farmers, who comprise 75% of all farmers nationwide. Because food production systems may have direct impacts on consumer food choices and nutrition outcomes, food systems interventions, particularly in food production by smallholder subsistence farmers, are a burgeoning field of policy research to reduce NCDs and achieve SDG2.
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As in many LMICs, most smallholder farmers in Mexico are net food buyers, and rural households are highly sensitive to food price shocks – representing the majority of the world’s 815 million malnourished people Smallholders also play a significant role in protecting nutritional diversity on land, the objective of SDG 15.
But diversified farms and cropping systems yield both higher quantity and quality food. Evidence suggests 53%
to 81% of key micronutrients are produced by small and medium farms, which tend to be more diverse than larger farms (Herrero et al., 2017). Food policy in countries like Mexico where smallholders are major food producers must focus investment on increasing production while maintaining crop diversity. It is also vital that policies are designed to translate food production systems into healthier diets.
Biodiversity is critical to food and agriculture systems because it provides the variety of food products, micro and macronutrients that support life. Biodiversity includes three forms of diversity: species diversity – the variety of plants, terrestrial animals, marine and other aquatic resources; genetic diversity – the variety of genes contained in all individual organisms; and ecosystem diversity – the variety of habitats and biological communities. SDG2 has highlighted the importance of agrobiodiversity, setting specific objectives in target 5.
Agrobiodiversity is also critical for food and nutrition security, acting as a: safety net against hunger; rich source of nutrients for improved dietary diversity and quality; and a foundation to strengthen local food systems and environmental sustainability. Currently, two primary challenges impede innovation in agrobiodiversity for the achievement of SDG2: species extinction, underexploited species, and limited use of interspecies variations; and the complex relationship between agrobiodiversity and dietary quality.
Under-exploited animal and plant species refer to products that may improve food security, health, income generation, and ecosystem services but remain underutilized. These crops remain underutilized due to: limited economic competition with commodity cereal crops; lack of improved varieties or enhanced cultivation practices;
processing and value addition inefficiencies, as well as disorganized or non-existent market chains; and the consumer perception of these products as undesirable or “food of the poor”.
Similarly, inter-species and intra-species crop variations represent a considerable wealth of local agrobiodiversity and could contribute to improved incomes, food security, and nutrition. They could also enhance smallholder adaptation to global climate change (Jarvis et al 2008). The benefits of crop variation include: high nutrient value; strongly linkages to cultural heritages; high adaptation to marginal, complex, and difficult environments; significant contributions to diversification and resilience of agro-ecological niches; and originating from either wild resources or traditionally produced with little or no external inputs.
Though food production systems in Mexico remain diverse, increased consumption of nutrient-poor highly processed and packaged foods linked to overweight and obesity has refocused attention on agrobiodiversity as an area with potential for nutrition interventions.
Traditional farming methods still practiced in Mexico maximize natural species diversity, enhancing the nutrient value of foods produced and dietary diversity among rural households. Polycultural systems, including home gardens and agroforestry systems (AFS), can promote sustainability in communities where economic and demographic pressures remain stable. Other agrobiodiversity methods under the umbrella of ecosystem services include pollination, fertility and nutrient enhancement, insect and disease management, and water retention. The practices used for enhancing agrobiodiversity are tied to food sovereignty, cultural diversity, and local knowledge that have supported livelihoods of agricultural communities for hundreds of years. In many Mexican indigenous societies, women have self-agency, and are often knowledgeable about plant and tree species and about their uses for nutrition, health care, fuel, and fodder for their households.
Natural agrobiodiversity techniques in Mexico have long contributed to community economic productivity, farming system resilience, income generation, improved nutrition, and food and livelihood security. Taken together, these benefits have the power to achieve the SDGs.
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Where many indigenous communities reside, researchers found that traditional management systems, including tolerance, enhancing, transplantation, and seed sowing, were the most successful techniques to preserve biodiversity and enhance resiliency of local socioecological systems
Enhancing species richness have other benefits, including increased community stability during periods of drought.
Numerous interactions that can lead to complementarity are possible, ranging from resource partitioning (whereby species of organisms use resources differently and thus reduce competition) to symbiotic and mutual interactions (whereby species facilitate the presence or success of another).
In the post-2015 era, the global nutrition community is beginning to recognize that biodiversity is fundamental to both agricultural production and food security, as well as a valuable ingredient for
environmental conservation and resiliency to climate change. All of these factors are mutually reinforcing and critically important to achieve SDG2.
However, patterns of agricultural growth in Mexico and many other countries worldwide have eroded biodiversity in plant genetic resources, livestock, forestry, insects, and soil organisms. Interventions to ensure food security for the Mexican population most notably fall under an umbrella of agrobiodiversity management techniques, including crop introduction, genetic manipulation, crop breeding, genetic resources conservation, agronomy, soil management and crop protection, as well as government provision or investment in innovative technologies and training programs for smallholder farmers, particularly indigenous populations such as the Mayans. Sound nutrition-sensitive agrobiodiversity management can provide the building blocks to bring appropriate and practical sustainable agricultural production techniques to scale – in order to promote food security for all.
Revolution 4.0
Twenty years only were enough to move most of human activities into digital worlds. Now that social media and « online » exchanges are considered fundamental, the deployment of technologies of digital manufacturing seems to redefine the modes of conception and production in our societies. The invention of tools and manufacturing processes that are screen-operated has — at the dawn of the 21st century — given way to what some describe as a third industrial revolution.
Many authors declare that the world has entered a transitional phase and proclaime the end of mass production and the arrival of the « new industrial revolution ». Such predictions take roots in the current development of new machines for digital self-manufacturing.
In present digital culture, digital data can actually « change into » physical objects.
Sending computers all across the world is not a solution then. It’s more interesting to send the components to make computers, accordingly with the realities and needs of each location.
8. STI and Private Sector for Sustained Development
To speak of sustainability is to accept a necessary, fundamental and strategic aspect in the face of risks and business opportunities. A context where a balance is mixed in economic, environmental and social issues, without giving more relevance to any of the three, but transcendence to each of them against their balance with the others to achieve a long-term benefit for all.
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