TESS Our Research Sustainable tropical agriculture

Sustainable tropical agriculture

By 2050, more than half of the world’s population will live in the tropics, and livelihoods will largely depend on agriculture.

Growing populations, wealth, and urbanisation are driving the expansion and intensification of agriculture in the tropics. At the same time, there is widespread degradation of soil and ecosystems, on farm, in the surrounding landscape, and downstream.

As we move into a future with more people and less hospitable climate, the condition of the land and resilience of our agricultural management systems have never been more important.

JCU researchers are embedded in and understand the tropics, with all its unique biophysical, social, economic, governance, land tenure and infrastructural characteristics. The Sustainable Tropical Agriculture project provides supports to farmers, their advisors and regulators to fulfil the potential of agriculture to provide sufficient healthy food, livelihoods, clean water and clean atmosphere, and pass the land on to future generations in better shape than it was received.

Together with farmers, through this flagship we aim to improve:

  • Understanding of agroecological processes
  • Management strategies and tools for improving productivity, resistance to pests, diseases and climate extremes, and condition of soil, water and the atmosphere
  • Methods for assessing agroecosystem condition and functions and informing land use and management decisions

Collaborators

CASEST (“Anthropogenic constraints to Tropical Savanna Social-ecological systems”)

CASEST logo

The CASEST project aims to investigate the interfaces between nature and society particularly between wildlife and agricultural practices around protected areas (PAs). Biodiversity conservation has become a main human-community issue at a regional, state or worldwide scale.

LETG-Angers (Littoral - Environement - Télédétection - Géomatique) Université d’Angers, France

Research team