least by previous AKST approaches, i.e., resource-poor farm­ers, women and ethnic minorities.1 Such development would depend also on the extent to which small-scale farmers can find gainful off-farm employment and help fuel general eco­nomic growth. Large and middle-size farmers continue to be important and high pay-off targets of AKST, especially in the area of sustainable land use and food systems.
     It will be important to assess the potential environmen­tal, health and social impacts of any technology, and to implement the appropriate regulatory frameworks. AKST can contribute to radically improving food security and en­hancing the social and economic performance of agricul­tural systems as a basis for sustainable rural and community livelihoods and wider economic development. It can help to rehabilitate degraded land, reduce environmental and health risks associated with food production and consumption and sustainably increase production.
     Success would require increased public  and private investment in AKST, the development of supporting poli­cies and institutions, revalorization of traditional and local knowledge, and an interdisciplinary, holistic and systems-based  approach to  knowledge  production  and  sharing. Success also depends on the extent to which international developments and events drive the priority given to develop­ment and sustainability goals and the extent to which requi­site funding and qualified staff are available.

Poverty and livelihoods
Important options for enhancing rural livelihoods include increasing access by small-scale farmers to land and eco­nomic resources and to remunerative local urban and export markets; and increasing local value added and value cap­tured by small-scale farmers and rural laborers. A power­ful tool for meeting development and sustainability goals resides in empowering farmers to innovatively manage soils, water, biological resources, pests, disease vectors, genetic di­versity, and conserve natural resources in a culturally appro­priate manner. Combining farmers' and external knowledge would require new partnerships among farmers, scientists and other stakeholders.
     Policy options for improving livelihoods include access to microcredit and other financial services; legal frameworks that ensure access and tenure to resources and land; re­course to fair conflict resolution; and progressive evolution and proactive engagement in intellectual property rights (IPR) regimes and related instruments.2 Developments are needed that build trust and that value farmer knowledge, agricultural and natural biodiversity; farmer-managed me­dicinal plants, local seed systems and common pool resource management regimes. Each of these options, when imple­mented locally, depends on regional and nationally based mechanisms to ensure accountability. The suite of options to increase domestic farm gate prices for small-scale farmers includes fiscal and competition policies; improved access to AKST; novel business approaches; and enhanced political power.

¹  Botswana.
² USA.

Food security

Food security strategies require a combination of AKST approaches, including the development of food stock man­agement, effective market intelligence and early warning, monitoring, and distribution systems. Production measures create the conditions for food security, but they need to be looked at in conjunction with people's access to food (through own production, exchange and public entitlements) and their ability to absorb nutrients consumed (through ad­equate access to water and sanitation, adequate nutrition and nutritional information) in order to fully achieve food security.
     AKST can increase sustainable agricultural production by expanding use of local and formal AKST to develop and deploy suitable cultivars adaptable to site-specific condi­tions; improving access to resources; improving soil, water and nutrient management and conservation; pre- and post-harvest pest management; and increasing small-scale farm diversification. Policy options for addressing food security include developing high-value and underutilized crops in rain fed areas; increasing the full range of agricultural ex­ports and imports, including organic and fair trade prod­ucts; reducing transaction costs for small-scale producers; strengthening local markets; food safety nets; promoting agro-insurance; and improving food safety and quality. Price shocks and extreme weather events call for a global system of monitoring and intervention for the timely prediction of major food shortages and price-induced hunger.
     AKST investments can increase the sustainable produc­tivity of major subsistence foods including orphan and un­derutilized crops, which are often grown or consumed by poor people. Investments could also be targeted for institu­tional change and policies that can improve access of poor people to food, land, water, seeds, germplasm and improved technologies.

Environmental sustainability
AKST systems are needed that enhance sustainability while maintaining productivity in ways that protect the natural resource base and ecological provisioning of agricultural systems. Options include improving nutrient, energy, wa­ter and land use efficiency; improving the understanding of soil-plant-water dynamics; increasing farm diversification;