wrr-2010-11-question-7-response-1-64395964d8823a33.pdf

This briefing by Johan Rockström argues for a 'new green revolution' in agriculture to simultaneously address immediate poverty and long-term climate risks. The author proposes shifting focus from large-scale irrigation to small-scale rainfed agriculture and water harvesting, particularly in tropical regions, to increase food production and turn agriculture into a carbon sink.

• The author argues that development challenges like poverty and long-term climate risks are no longer separate issues, as earth system science shows accelerated negative trends across all disciplines, meaning vulnerable nations must invest in both short- and long-term solutions simultaneously.
• Agriculture in tropical regions is identified as the primary starting point for poverty alleviation and climate adaptation because approximately 70% of the world's absolute poor are rural farmers living in these regions, where agriculture is predominantly governed by water.
• A new green revolution is required to increase global food production by 40% by 2050. Specifically, Africa needs a revolution that doubles agricultural production within 40 years while contributing to climate mitigation and reducing impacts on biodiversity.
• The author proposes a shift from large-scale irrigation to small-scale rainfed agriculture and water harvesting. Since 80% of agricultural land worldwide is rainfed, improving the productivity of rainfall through supplementary irrigation can exponentially increase the production of basic cereals like maize, millet, sorghum, and wheat.
• Sustainable land management can transform agriculture from a source of carbon—currently responsible for one third of emissions—into a carbon sink using proven technologies and practices.
• Two primary barriers hinder the scaling of these solutions: a mainstream international policy fixation on irrigation and a governance split where 'wet' Ministries of Water Resources and 'dry' Ministries of Agriculture operate separately. The author suggests these ministries should be merged or closely integrated.
• In Africa, the author suggests that bottom-up processes have reached their limit due to land degradation. He advocates for a national top-down soil fertilization injection initiative to kickstart food production, citing Ethiopia's subsidized fertilizer supply for teff production as an example.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). wrr-2010-11-question-7-response-1-64395964d8823a33.pdf. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-7-response-1.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. wrr-2010-11-question-7-response-1-64395964d8823a33.pdf. n.d. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-7-response-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=wrr-2010-11-question-7-response-1-64395964d8823a33.pdf |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-7-response-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendwrr201011question7response164395964d8823a33pdf, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{wrr-2010-11-question-7-response-1-64395964d8823a33.pdf}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-7-response-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }