Global sustainable agriculture and land management systems

• Ecocentric and technocentric approaches to sustainable land management are addressed. • The ecocentric may not deliver sufficient food production to meet growing demand. • Technocentric developments in Agriculture 4.0 are costly and may exclude small farmers. • Imaginative combinations of eco- and techno-centricity may offer future pathways. • The eight selected papers illustrate the diversity of research on this topic. The paper introduces a Special Issue based on presentations to the Agricultural Geography and Land Engineering (AGLE) Commission sessions of the International Geographical Union (IGU) at the IGU’s Congress in Paris in 2022. The sessions contrasted different approaches towards attaining greater sustainability in agricultural production to satisfy the need to feed the ever-increasing human population, currently expected to reach close to ten billion by 2050. After considering the multi-faceted problem of defining sustainable agriculture, this introduction systematically outlines broad strategies to attain the varied outcomes desired by agricultural systems. Presenting a contrast between ecocentric and technocentric approaches provides opportunities to synthesize recent literature addressing the pros and cons of these two broad alternatives. Recognition of the ecological and socio-cultural benefits accruing from the ecocentric has long been championed by proponents of a wide range of environmentally friendly farming systems, including organic farming, climate-smart agriculture, agroforestry, and permaculture. The technocentric lies at the heart of so-called Agriculture 4.0, in which innovations such as precision farming, digital technology, and genetic modification are applied to increase production per unit area. The potential for technology to ‘solve’ the world’s food crisis is supported by those who argue that ecocentric approaches alone cannot meet the rising demand for food. Yet, questions remain about the sustainability of new technology-based methods, so a strong and ongoing debate continues regarding how to attain greater sustainability alongside increasing agricultural output. This debate is exemplified in the contributions to the Special Issue outlined herewith.