Trade-Offs and Synergies for Agriculture and Environmental Outcomes in the Tropics

Global population is projected to continue increasing until 2100. With or without increasing incomes, feeding a growing population will require more land, more machinery, more agricultural inputs, and continued innovation in agricultural technology. The relationship between increased agricultural production and environmental degradation is a central challenge to human well-being. This article compiles available evidence on the relationship between agriculture and the environment, focusing on the tropics, where potential trade-offs between food production and environmental quality are particularly acute because much larger shares of the population depend upon agriculture for work and subsistence. Although our main focus is on land use, we also touch on associated environmental services, such as soil and air quality, and attempt to catalog policies that highlight synergies and trade-offs between agricultural livelihoods and environmental quality.