Guiding the pursuit for sustainability by co-developing a sustainable agriculture matrix

• Grant number: 21/03087-6
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: September 01, 2021
• End date: August 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy
• Agreement: Belmont Forum
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Antonio Martinelli
• Grantee: Luiz Antonio Martinelli
• Principal researcher abroad: Xin Zhang
• Institution abroad: University of Maryland, Frostburg (UMCES), United States
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Jean Pierre Henry Balbaud Ometto

Abstract

The Sustainable Agriculture Matrix (SAM) consortium will be a transdisciplinary and transnational network to guide pathways for sustainable agriculture by co-developing an indicator system and associated products that 1) measure agriculture sustainability from environmental, social, and economic dimensions and improve the accountability of countries' commitment to sustainable agriculture; 2) engage conversations and possible coordination among stakeholders and countries; 3) identify the interlinkages among Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to agriculture and improve the understanding of the socioeconomic and ecological dynamics in agricultural systems and beyond; 4) identify strategies for advancing sustainable agriculture and informing policies. Expanding upon a three-year effort on developing an initial set of global SAM indicators on national scales, this project will establish novel transdisciplinary teams in each of six regions with diverse socioeconomic and environmental profiles. It will cultivate cross-country partnerships to investigate the historical trajectories of agriculture sustainability and to analyze trade-offs between SAM indicators and SDGs in each region and the globe (AU)