Cultivating Biodiversity to Transform Agriculture

Foreword.- Introduction.- 1. Biodiversity has always been at the heart of agricultural activity.- 2. The challenges of agricultural transformation.- 3. Intensifying ecological processes to transform agricultural performance.- 4. Agrobiodiversity, the main lever of this ecological intensification.- 5. Ecological intensification, a strategic priority for CIRAD.- 6. A book with six viewpoints.- 7. Bibliographical references.- Chapter 1 The diversity of living organisms: the engine for ecological functioning.- 1. Diversity and unity of living organisms: the successive revolutions of the biological sciences.- 2. A history closely linked to man’s.- 3. Documented risks of erosion of agrobiodiversity.- 4. Why ‘cultivate’ biodiversity?.- 5. What is the best way of understanding the extraordinary complexity of living organisms and agroecosystems?.- 6. Agrobiodiversity: a development issue?.- 7. Conclusion.- 8. Bibliographical references.- Chapter 2 From artificialization to the ecologization of cropping systems.- 1. The impasses in the artificialization of cropping systems.- 2. Opportunities and limitations of cropping systems that promote biodiversity.- 3. Towards new ‘ecologically innovative’ cropping systems.- 4. Conclusion.- 5. Bibliographical references.- Chapter 3 Rethinking plant breeding.- 1. Plant breeding: the past and the present.- 2. Recent changes and developments.- 3. The challenges of ecologically intensive agriculture.- 4. Mechanisms to help meet the challenges of ecological intensification5. Conclusion.- 6. Bibliographical references.- Chapter 4 Ecological interactions within the biodiversity of cultivated systems.- 1. Biodiversity and pest control.- 2. Hidden soil diversity: what potential for agriculture?.- 3. Biodiversity and agriculture-livestock interactions.- 4. Conclusion.- 5. Bibliographical references.- Chapter 5 Conserving and cultivating agricultural genetic diversity: transcendingestablished divides.- 1. History of the conservation of genetic resources in agriculture.- 2. International strategies and policies in favour of mobilizing genetic diversity.- 3. Need for in situ conservation and complementarities with ex situ conservation.- 4. Conclusion: hybridization or co-evolution of conservation models.- 5. Bibliographical references.- Chapter 6 Towards biodiverse agricultural systems: reflecting on the technological, social and institutional changes at stake.- 1. Co-evolution between technical dynamics and social dynamics: an analysis which starts upstream of agriculture.- 2. Recent changes in agriculture and food systems: market dynamics and new directions.- 3. Conclusion.- 4. Bibliographical references.- List of authors.