Achieving transformational sustainable land Intensification: Integrated general equilibrium and portfolio analysis for Senegal

Feeding a growing global population while conserving natural resources remains a central challenge of Sustainable Intensification (SI). Despite decades of SI efforts, cropland expansion in many developing countries continues to accelerate, contributing to deforestation and biodiversity loss. Even wi...

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Main Authors: Pradesha, Angga, Siddig, Khalid, Pauw, Karl, Thurlow, James
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175341
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author Pradesha, Angga
Siddig, Khalid
Pauw, Karl
Thurlow, James
author_browse Pauw, Karl
Pradesha, Angga
Siddig, Khalid
Thurlow, James
author_facet Pradesha, Angga
Siddig, Khalid
Pauw, Karl
Thurlow, James
author_sort Pradesha, Angga
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Feeding a growing global population while conserving natural resources remains a central challenge of Sustainable Intensification (SI). Despite decades of SI efforts, cropland expansion in many developing countries continues to accelerate, contributing to deforestation and biodiversity loss. Even with observed increases in crop yields, studies suggest that farmers continue to expand cropland, underscoring the need to consider market dynamics and the economywide effects of productivity gains. This study offers a new perspective on achieving transformational sustainable land intensification by treating farming activities as investment decisions shaped by risk and return under production and markets uncertainties. Unlike the traditional SI strategies that focus on efficiency gains through improved inputs or agronomic practices, we apply an optimal portfolio analysis to cropland allocation, aiming to enhance farming efficiency by considering market interconnections across sectors. Using Senegal as a case study, we demonstrate that adopting an optimal diversification strategy on new cropland investment could reduce land expansion needs by up to 68 % by 2030. This strategy not only helps mitigate emissions and reduce water footprint but also enhances crop biodiversity. Socioeconomic and environmental benefits are found to be greater when the country promotes high-value crops in its portfolio, such as fruits and vegetables, compared to grain crops. Our findings also contribute to ongoing debates around land-sparing versus land-sharing strategies and offer new insights into the drivers of cropland expansion in light of current global land use patterns.
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spelling CGSpace1753412025-10-26T12:56:47Z Achieving transformational sustainable land Intensification: Integrated general equilibrium and portfolio analysis for Senegal Pradesha, Angga Siddig, Khalid Pauw, Karl Thurlow, James sustainable intensification farmland land allocation computable general equilibrium models modelling sustainability Feeding a growing global population while conserving natural resources remains a central challenge of Sustainable Intensification (SI). Despite decades of SI efforts, cropland expansion in many developing countries continues to accelerate, contributing to deforestation and biodiversity loss. Even with observed increases in crop yields, studies suggest that farmers continue to expand cropland, underscoring the need to consider market dynamics and the economywide effects of productivity gains. This study offers a new perspective on achieving transformational sustainable land intensification by treating farming activities as investment decisions shaped by risk and return under production and markets uncertainties. Unlike the traditional SI strategies that focus on efficiency gains through improved inputs or agronomic practices, we apply an optimal portfolio analysis to cropland allocation, aiming to enhance farming efficiency by considering market interconnections across sectors. Using Senegal as a case study, we demonstrate that adopting an optimal diversification strategy on new cropland investment could reduce land expansion needs by up to 68 % by 2030. This strategy not only helps mitigate emissions and reduce water footprint but also enhances crop biodiversity. Socioeconomic and environmental benefits are found to be greater when the country promotes high-value crops in its portfolio, such as fruits and vegetables, compared to grain crops. Our findings also contribute to ongoing debates around land-sparing versus land-sharing strategies and offer new insights into the drivers of cropland expansion in light of current global land use patterns. 2025-08 2025-06-26T19:50:39Z 2025-06-26T19:50:39Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175341 en https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.134814 Open Access Elsevier Pradesha, Angga; Siddig, Khalid; Pauw, Karl; and Thurlow, James. 2025. Achieving transformational sustainable land Intensification: Integrated general equilibrium and portfolio analysis for Senegal. Journal of Cleaner Production 519(10 August 2025): 145929. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.145929
spellingShingle sustainable intensification
farmland
land allocation
computable general equilibrium models
modelling
sustainability
Pradesha, Angga
Siddig, Khalid
Pauw, Karl
Thurlow, James
Achieving transformational sustainable land Intensification: Integrated general equilibrium and portfolio analysis for Senegal
title Achieving transformational sustainable land Intensification: Integrated general equilibrium and portfolio analysis for Senegal
title_full Achieving transformational sustainable land Intensification: Integrated general equilibrium and portfolio analysis for Senegal
title_fullStr Achieving transformational sustainable land Intensification: Integrated general equilibrium and portfolio analysis for Senegal
title_full_unstemmed Achieving transformational sustainable land Intensification: Integrated general equilibrium and portfolio analysis for Senegal
title_short Achieving transformational sustainable land Intensification: Integrated general equilibrium and portfolio analysis for Senegal
title_sort achieving transformational sustainable land intensification integrated general equilibrium and portfolio analysis for senegal
topic sustainable intensification
farmland
land allocation
computable general equilibrium models
modelling
sustainability
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175341
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