Regional frameworks for developing sustainable land use policies

Agricultural research is in a crisis situation, increasing global demand for food and other agricultural products is placing increasing pressure on the land. It is clear that solutions to modern agricultural problems can not be found by traditional approaches in which individual scientists conduct field pilot research and report differences in treatments. This approacch to agricultural research leads to site-and season-specific results which are difficult or impossible to extrapolate to other seasons and local situations. Repeating not practical in today's world of shrinking research budgets. In addition, contemporary agriculture and agricultural research have been widely criticized for their lack of focus on sustainability issues. This has led some cynics to suggest a back-to-the-past philosophy that rejects the possibility that modern agricultural research can help identify sustainable agricultural practices. What critics fail to realize is that the applications of science in agriculture have focused on the use of traditional reductionist technique. The challenge now is to take agricultural research to the next level. (MV)