Foreword

estoring carbon into the soil, where it belongs,

and out of the atmosphere, where it is causing
havoc, is one of the few win-win solutions to
global (as well as local) problems and is the underlying
theme of this book.
The timing of the publication of this book could not
have been better planned. It arrives at a crucial point in
time, just after the Paris Climate Summit, or COP21, held
early in December, 2015. The summit was well prepared
with a number of pre meetings. Of particular interest to
the readers of this book is the 4 pour 1000 initiative
launched by the French government, in an effort to both
reduce emissions from agriculture as well as to start the
sequestration of surplus atmospheric carbon, originating both from agriculture and other industrial activities.
The pressure from civil society on the Paris negotiators
was loud and clear, articulating the need to deliver this
time around, given the accelerated melting of the ice
cap and CO2 atmospheric concentrations increasing to
dangerous and nonreversible levels.
Some of the very valuable and vast information
that the books author has collected, analyzed, and
presented, in a format that is easy to read, understand,
and set into practice, has been put forward in many
side events and panel discussions in Paris and served as
a basis for much of the progress made in pushing the
agriculture and food system agenda in the climate discussions. Clearly, attention is now being paid to some
workable alternative solutions to the usual energy transition ones in the discussion on how to deal with climate
change. Is it enough? No, not yet, but with this book
being available to both practitioner and policy constituencies, the excuse of lack of evidence to get started has
been removed from the negotiation table. That there
is need for more research, analysis, and discussion on
the agriculture and food system transformation to live

up to the needed results on climate change mitigation

and actual reversal, while caring for the food nutrition,
feed, and fiber needs of a growing population remains
unchallenged. But here a strong scientific and field
experience is documented, to build upon and stop the
damage, while further solutions are being investigated.
The fact that we are navigating a very narrow range
before reaching irreversible tipping points should tell
us that the time to act on what we know is now. The
safest option would be to restrict our atmospheric CO2
to 350 ppm and end up with a 0- to .5-degree Celsius
temperature change, which is without doubt a challenge. But as indicated in this book, this is an achievable
goal if we get started now by implementing what is
known already while we look for more and better
options to sequester carbon under ground and also in
biomass. Additional efforts in energy conservation and
transitions to more sustainable energy sources will also
be needed, but the evidence presented of a multifaceted
and multifunctional agriculture linked to a less wasteful
food system is already very convincing and worthy of
inclusion in any policy discussion on the transformation
of our food-production-to-consumption systems, as a
major contribution to climate change mitigation and
better, reversal.
The organization of this book will please all readers
with a short but much needed introduction and introductory chapters on the basics of climate change and
agricultural production systems, followed by practical
examples, e.g., the evidence, and closing with an
implementation roadmap. The described agricultural
system examples are universal; one can draw the basic
principles and adapt them to any part of the world. The
examples need to be seen as points of departure for
the transformation, for the learning process that must
accompany any implementation, given that agriculture

xii

is extremely location specific in its details, while remaining quite general on a larger scale. One can also draw the
conclusion that the food systems in their wider sense
will need to be more localized and respond to the agricultural and local cultural needs. Agroecology is what
would come to mind as a description of what is expected
as an end result of the transformation exercise. Carbon
farming and regenerative/organic agriculture are variations on the same theme of sustainable agriculture and,
more often now, the entire food system because clearly
we cant separate one from the other. In fact, the main
driver for a transformation toward carbon farming will
come from the demand side, both for a climate change
reversal and for quality and nutritious food.
Key to the transformation process is an enabling
policy environment, addressing and including all actors
in the system. The call is for a long-term, holistic, and
systemic approach to planning as well as an adaptive
implementation model where new knowledge, science,
technology, and experience are activating a positive
implementation spiral. The final section of the book
admirably addresses these needed policy measures.

The future of agriculture and food systems is certainly

not a world of corn, soybeans, and oil palms. As Eric
Toensmeiers eloquent and extremely well-documented
book demonstrates, the future lies in more diversity at
all organizational levels in the three sustainable development dimensions (environment, society, and the
economy). Smart use of nudging mechanisms, such as
reassigned subsidies, ecosystem service payments (carbon sequestration being one of them), and true pricing,
will help the transformation process, as well as a rethink
of how we manage our agriculture and food systems
now and how they should be redesigned to fulfill the
ambitions set in the Sustainable Development Goals to
which all governments have subscribed. Knowing that
today we produce at global levels enough food for some
14 billion people, our primary concern needs to be how
will a world of 9.5 billion people sustainably and for the
long haul nourish itself. Again, Eric Toensmeiers brilliant book supports the case that this is well within the
realm of the possible, if not the neededto both nourish
the world and reverse climate change.
Dr. Hans Herren