Incentives can be used to support the transition to more sustainable practices for food and agricultural produciton systems. These can include incentives such as improved varieties of seeds and breeds, finance to support soil conservation measures, training to improve land management and livestock husbandary, payments for ecosystem services to support the protection of forests upstream, etc. Incentives that support improved production and yields can support soil fertility, more effective use of resources, profitable yields, and access to markets. This can reduce the need for farmers to expand agricultural land or degrade ecosystem services.

The IES approach seeks to provide incentives that first protect and restore natural resources before improving the sustainability of production practices. Incentives, and the removal of perverse incentives, can reduce negative impacts from poor practices as well as provide an economic value to natural resources. These can include removal of perverse incentives supporting intensive use of pesticides and fertilizers, providing financial and labour incentives to implement soil conservation measures to protect soil properties and fertility, and improved market access to enable strong value chains that support biodiverse production.

Different stakeholders (including men and women) have different incentive needs to overcome different adoption barriers. The integrated approach through IES can provide a diversity of incentives to encourage active participation in production from a diversity of stakeholders. Improved production practices can, over time, improve yields. When combined with incentives that link this production to higher value markets and greater engagement with value chains, this approach can contribute significantly to reducing poverty and food insecurity in rural areas.

Healthy ecosystems are more resilient ecosystems. Incentives can support the restoration and protection of landscapes to increase the provision of beneficial ecosystem goods and services that not only support improved production, but enable greater resilience to shock events. Supportive enabling environments and cross-sectoral integration can also build policies, technologies and practices that support producers and increase human and natural resilience.

Packages of incentive measures combine both public programmes and private sector investment. Partnership between sectors can maximize finance as well as impact on sustainable agricultural production and protection and restoration of ecosystem services. Development of effective enabling environments to support the provision of incentives can promote the right incentives that support the adoption of appropriate practices on the ground.