The Agriculture Programme has undertaken research on the sustainability and resilience of food systems at a global level. “What price resilience?” sets out that the resilience that is required within food production systems to cope with increasingly severe and frequent shocks is also a prerequisite for economic, social and political security.
“What price resilience?” highlights the need to develop a comprehensive understanding of the true costs of agriculture once ‘externalities’ associated with pollution, water depletion, soil degradation, biodiversity loss and greenhouse gases have been taken into account. The results of an economic analysis of the costs and benefits of eight conventional food production systems and sustainable alternatives are presented