As population growth and rising incomes combine, food security and production become so critical. World leaders from a recent G-8 Summit recognized that ‘food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture must become a priority,’ including stakeholders at all levels of society. A $20-billion pledge to agriculture was made toward that end. Increasingly, food insecurity has arisen partly because of climate change-related issues such as drought and pollution. But soil degradation from agricultural and industrial practices are also large contributors to the problem of feeding people, especially in countries with particular hardships related to water, soil, or simply political or institutional instability.

Governments, businesses and the agricultural community are changing their methods of managing, feeding people and advancing economies. Many countries want to adopt business models of sustainability that are more rational, efficient, and considerate of resource usage and in turn, mitigate negative impacts. But sustainability practices do not occur uniformly across countries, continents, or companies for that matter. The challenges for a specific region— even within one country —require targeted, well-conceived, holistic solutions. Addressing seemingly small problems related to agricultural production in one community can have large impacts across the country, creating a new model that can be measured and replicated for growth, stability, and development in other parts.