from Part III - The Big Ideas
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 August 2026
Mindless destruction of nature in the name of economic development is making the impact of climate change far worse. We can ally with nature to improve food security among the most vulnerable people. The debate around regenerative farming is somewhat pointless: while using fewer chemicals can improve soil health and biodiversity, it can also reduce yields. The trick is to strike a balance based on the local soil health and nutrient levels. In general, farmers in productive areas of the world overuse fertilisers, while in Africa yields need to improve urgently. Numerous low-cost techniques such as agro-forestry, composting, cover cropping, and managed grazing can reduce the need for expensive chemical inputs. Their effective implementation requires sustained organisation, education, and coordination, best conducted by local organisations. These organisations need to be supported by small amounts of capital for long periods of time. Nature can be restored with perseverance and patience.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.