For the rural population, food production primarily involves the consumption of available natural resources. Whether they produce for their own consumption or for the market, they are contributing to food security. One thing is clear: investment in agriculture and rural areas produces impressive – and often quick – results in the fight against poverty.

Environmental destruction and erosion are progressing in many countries
The destruction of natural resources constitutes a threat to poor people’s survival. However, the poor are often forced by necessity to overexploit nature. Environmental protection and the preservation of natural resources, along with sustainable agriculture, are important elements in poverty reduction. Non-sustainable economic activities generally lead to desertification, deforestation, soil erosion and declining agricultural yields. More than 1.9 thousand billion hectares of land around the world suffer the effects of soil erosion. Farming on plots that are too small, combined with difficult growing conditions and a lack of market access, leads to the overuse of land and declining soil fertility.

Sustainability is the key
Sustainable agriculture and extensive development of rural areas form the basis of sustainable development as a whole. GTZ helps people in its partner countries to implement plans for sustainable agriculture. In practice this means putting the resources of land, water and air to optimum use while simultaneously maximising yields. Here, social and economic sustainability criteria are just as important as ecological factors. Cooperative approaches enable the farming community to improve their living conditions by their own efforts and to exploit agricultural potential without destroying it past the point of regeneration.

Sustainability is multi-faceted
Crucial to implementing sustainable projects is support for research and development, reviewing and making use of local knowledge, and the transfer of expert knowledge. Other significant aspects are strengthening state-run and private rural service providers and advising national decision-makers in order to create the appropriate framework.

GTZ fosters in particular:

• sustainable use concepts
• local agricultural service providers
• frameworks for implementing sustainable agriculture.