Targeted Agronomic Research – the Mantra to Solving Food and Environmental Problems.

Holistic system studies involving (a) well planned production scale experimentation and system monitoring using a suite of performance indicators, and (b) management approaches and technology solutions are required for the world’s major grain-producing areas that must support future food and nutrition security. Two year results from four locations representing major food production systems of densely populated regions of South Asia where futuristic cropping systems and management scenarios were optimized will be presented. With best agronomic management practices (BMPs), including conservation agriculture (CA) and cropping system diversification, the productivity of rice- and wheat-based cropping systems increased substantially whereas the global warming potential intensity decreased. Positive economic returns and less use of water, labor, nitrogen, and fossil fuel energy per unit food produced were achieved. The framework along with a set of performance criteria with baseline values generated in this study will be a valuable resource for developing extrapolation domains for an effective ecological intensification program in the major cropping systems which would be urgently needed to double needed food production by 2050 in South Asia.