‘Ecological

Intensification’
SWAP PESTICIDES FOR BIODIVERSITY
“ Group 4:
Andien Sahira Fitrinia
Imarayna Izzata
Nur Laily Ismi Fajriyah ”
Rizka Arinda Yuniarti
While farmers often turn
to pesticides and
herbicides to get as
much produce as
possible from their land,
but actually there are
alternatives that could
employ nature’s own
resources instead.
Intensive agriculture aims to achieve the highest yield at the lowest cost
possible.
It’s a resource-heavy practice and can cause biodiversity loss, soil degradation,
pollution of water resources, and high greenhouse gas emissions.

semi-natural habitats, a flower strip along a wrinter field in natherlands

 ”
The current trend in agriculture
is that everything should be
done on a larger scale,' said
Professor David Kleijin

According to the United Nations’

Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), the world
will need to produce 60 % more
food by 2050
 Conventional intensification
seems to be the most likely
choice

indoor farming and emerging

techniques referred to in
agricultural circles as
ecological intensification
Ecological
intensification
uses services provided by
nature to benefit farmers, like
incorporating semi-natural
habitats into farms to attract
insects
These organisms are often natural enemies
of pests that would otherwise eat cash
crops, or they are pollinators, such as bees,
that can increase yield.
‘In northwest Europe,
farming is way more
intensive and we don’t have
many semi-natural habitats,’
said Prof. Kleijn, who is the
project coordinator of
LIBERATION, an EU-funded
project that aims to provide
facts that can be used to
convince farmers to adopt
ecological intensification.
As part of the project,
researchers helped to establish
wildflower habitats on Dutch
blueberry farms to attract
pollinators and allow farmers
to see for themselves the
benefits of ecological
intensification.
‘The farmers themselves were
willing to invest in biodiversity-
enhancing measures because
they feel they can benefit
economically from higher
yields,’ said Prof. Kleijn. 
VALUABLE SPACE
the technique can work
wonders for some
farmers?
 ‘We did a series of interviews with
farmers asking if they would be
interested in practices to enhance
biological pest control and pollination. A
very obvious result came out, if they
didn’t have pollinated crops then they
weren’t interested in pollination-
enhancing measures. Pest control
scored very low across the board,
possibly because insecticides are
currently cheap and effective,’ said Prof.
Pay EUR 80.000?
Solution?
What is the soil?

Prof. Finckh said that Soil is a living

system. There are many organisms
adapted to more and less air.
 The connection between
Microorganisms and Plants
 These microorganisms are part of an ecosystem that
helps plants to :
 Control Pests. • Fight plants diseases
What species of cover crops are
they?
TO SUPPORT REDUCED TILLAGE, OSCAR HAS BEEN TESTING
DIFFERENT SPECIES OF COVER CROPS.
Clovers
They are planted
alongside or
between cash
crops where their
ecological services
boost yield and
reduce the need of
fertilisers,
pesticides and
herbicides
Legumes
They are planted alongside or between
cash crops where their ecological services
boost yield and reduce the need of
fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides
Grasses
They are planted alongside or
between cash crops where their
ecological services boost yield and
reduce the need of fertilisers,
pesticides and herbicides
How do they work?
 This is because they compete with
weeds and create ecosystems
where earthworms, bacteria and
fungi can thrive and help create
soil organic matter. It also stops
soil erosion and can lock in extra
carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere.
 OSCAR identified which species
have the biggest potential and are
developing a decision-making tool
to help farmers choose the most
suitable cover crop.
 ‘We are trying to give farmers
ideas because no one knows the
land better than them,’ said Prof.
Finckh.
 But she also warns that the first  ‘We have to change the system
few years after changing is so it becomes stable in itself
usually challenging in terms of again, but that’s not so easy and
yield and weed growth. it takes time.’