Reciprocity is considered the exchange of something between people or groups of people when each person or group gives or allows something to the other. The norm of reciprocity requires that we repay in kind what another has done for us. It can be understood as the expectation that others will respond favourably to each by returning benefits for benefits, and responding with either indifference or hostility to harms.
To quote Bill Mollison – ‛The Earth demands a return for every gift received for life in all its forms to continue and multiply.’
The social norm of reciprocity often takes different forms in different socio-cultural areas or in different societies. All of them, however, are distinct from related ideas such as gratitude, standard expectations, or mutual goodwill. The norm of reciprocity mirrors the concept of reciprocal altruism in evolutionary biology. However, evolutionary theory and therefore sociobiology, was considered to be not well received by mainstream psychologists. This led to the revitalisation of reciprocal altruism underneath the new social psychological concept, norm of reciprocity. Reciprocal altruism has been applied to various species, including humans, while mainstream psychologists use the norm of reciprocity to only explain humans. An underlying norm of reciprocity is by itself a powerful engine for motivating, creating, sustaining, and regulating the cooperative behavior required for self-sustaining social organizations, controlling the damage done by the unscrupulous, and contributing to social system stability. The power and ubiquity of the norm of reciprocity can be used against the unwary, however, and is the basis for the success of many malicious confidence games. Minor, usually less malicious examples are techniques used in advertising and other propaganda whereby a small gift of some kind is proffered with the expectation of producing a desire on the part of the recipient to reciprocate in some way, for example by purchasing a product, making a donation, or becoming more receptive to a line of argument.
The Reciprocity Cycle
People – Planet – Prosperity and Mindset – Method – Management
(Earth Sustaining Sciences, 2000)
To quote Harry Deft – Denison University.
Although animal-environment reciprocity is central to ecological psychology, one facet of this viewpoint remains underappreciated: organisms alter environments so as to better function in them. In many species this activity of “niche construction” includes coordinated actions by individuals jointly working toward common ends. Mounting paleontological and archaeological evidence indicates that human evolution should be viewed in the light of such social considerations. The environment of our immediate human ancestors was marked by, among other things, group settlements, manufactured stone tools, and extensive migration. An emerging species such as ours, whose distinctive psychological qualities offered a selective advantage relative to these conditions, would flourish particularly if it could preserve the gains of prior generations even as its members continued to transform econiche features in functionally significant ways. This evolutionary perspective, with its due recognition of sociocultural processes, highlights three factors of importance for ecological psychology:
TO QUOTE THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANISATION,
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
Production systems and the policies and institutions that underpin global food security are increasingly inadequate. Sustainable agriculture must nurture healthy ecosystems and support the sustainable management of land, water and natural resources, while ensuring world food security. To be sustainable, agriculture must meet the needs of present and future generations for its products and services, while ensuring profitability, environmental health and social and economic equity. The global transition to sustainable food and agriculture will require major improvements in the efficiency of resource use, in environmental protection and in systems resilience. Sustainable agriculture requires a system of global governance that promotes food security concerns in trade regimes and trade policies, and revisits agricultural policies to promote local and regional agricultural markets.
OVERVIEW
Persistently high levels of hunger and malnutrition – 793 million (2015) chronically hungry people in the world in 2014–2016 – and unsustainable human activity on the earth’s carrying capacity present a major challenge for agriculture. To meet the growing food demand of the over nine billion people who will exist by 2050 and the expected dietary changes, agriculture will need to produce 60 percent more food globally in the same period. At the same time, roughly one-third of food produced – 1.3 billion tonnes per year – is lost or wasted globally throughout the supply chain, with enormous financial and environmental costs. A striking link exists between growth in agriculture and the eradication of hunger and poverty. Agriculture broadly understood – crop and livestock production, fisheries, and forestry – provides income, jobs, food and other goods and services for the majority of people now living in poverty. As a result, overall GDP growth originating in agriculture is, on average, at least twice as effective in reducing poverty as growth generated in non-agriculture sectors, and up to five times more effective than other sectors in resource poor low-income countries.
KEY CHALLENGES
The current trajectory of growth in agricultural production is unsustainable because of its negative impacts on natural resources and the environment. One-third of farm land is degraded, up to 75 percent of crop genetic diversity has been lost and 22 percent of animal breeds are at risk. More than half of fish stocks are fully exploited and, over the past decade, some 13 million hectares of forests a year were converted into other land uses. The overarching challenges being faced are the growing scarcity and fast degradation of natural resources, at a time when the demand for food, feed, fibre and goods and services from agriculture (including crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture) is increasing rapidly. Some of the highest population growth is predicted in areas which are dependent on agriculture and already have high rates of food insecurity. Additional factors – many interrelated – complicate the situation:
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?
The challenges outlined above give rise to five key principles for guiding the strategic development of new approaches and the transition to sustainability:
Principle 1: Improving efficiency in the use of resources is crucial to sustainable agriculture,
Principle 2: Sustainability requires direct action to conserve, protect and enhance natural resources,
Principle 3: Agriculture that fails to protect and improve rural livelihoods and social well-being is Unsustainable,
Principle 4: Sustainable agriculture must enhance the resilience of people, communities and ecosystems, especially to climate change and market volatility,
Principle 5: Good governance is essential for the sustainability of both the natural and human systems.
In order to cope with the rapid pace of change and increased uncertainty, sustainability must be seen as a process, rather than a singularly defined end point to be achieved. This, in turn, requires the development of technical, policy, governance and financing frameworks that support agricultural producers and resource managers engaged in a dynamic process of innovation. In particular:
