In order to address the broader goals of sustainability in crop production intensification, social, economic and environmental aspects need to be considered when planning to intensify crop production. The guiding principles can be divides into social and political; economic; and environmental guidelines.

To this effect, a set of guiding principles are provided to address the multiple dimensions of sustainability - the point of these guiding principles is not to set up an unattainable list of ideals, but rather help design a basis against which to assess the current status and to measure future changes.  A tool that has been developed to assist in assessing the guiding principles for sustainability of crop production intensification is a short checklist associated to each element of sustainability – again, the aim of the checklist is to provide guidance and is not an exhaustive list of possible questions.

Guiding Principle 1 - Social and Political

1. Laws and Policies: Appropriate policies must be implemented to promote sustainable crop production intensification, respecting all applicable laws of the country in which they occur, and all international treaties, conventions and agreements to which the country is a signatory.
2. Food Security: Sustainable crop production intensification should contribute to the goals of Food Security and be consistent with national programmes on Food Security.
3. Human and Labour Rights: Sustainable crop production intensification must respect human and labour rights by promoting: decent and fair work and the well-being of farmers and agricultural workers along the agricultural value chain; and fair and decent distribution of labour between genders.
4. Human Health: Sustainable crop production intensification must contribute to human health by ensuring that: agricultural practices are carried out under safe conditions; inputs used in agricultural production have the least possible negative impact on human health; and result in agricultural produce of good nutritional quality and accepted safety standards.   
5. Knowledge Creation and Validation. Sustainable crop production intensification must facilitate a process that promotes continuous learning and exchange of knowledge between different actors (from local indigenous to scientific knowledge) and disciplines (from technical to social domains).
6. Collaboration: Sustainable crop production intensification is of multidisciplinary nature and therefore an opportunity for strengthening collaboration between different sectors, institutions and their development priorities and agendas. In addition, sustainable crop production intensification must engage as far as possible different segments of society .
7. Community Participation: Sustainable crop production intensification must include open and transparent discussion among communities and other stakeholders in order to solve shared problems and arrive at decisions to increase opportunities for production.

Checklist 1 - Social and Political Sustainability

Is the envisaged crop production intensification likely to:

1. Contribute to increasing understanding, through a policy analysis/review, of congruent/conflicting laws and policies?
2. Contribute to the implementation of a national Food Security Programme?
3. Enhance food security in terms of self-reliance and self-sufficiency, food availability, quality and safety of food, stability of food supply, and / or food affordability?
4. Contribute in alleviating poverty for a significant portion of the rural poor population?
5. Ensure that potential human health hazards do not occur?
6. Establish or support institutional mechanisms (policy, legislation, regulations, commissions and institutions) which ensure stability of medium and long-term efforts?
7. Allow and encourage people's participation, women in particular, in decision-making that directly or indirectly affects them?
8. Increase local, national, regional and international understanding and knowledge of sustainable crop production intensification processes?
9. Improve local management and technical capabilities?
10. Involve all relevant stakeholders in development, introduction and establishment of agricultural approaches, practices, and technologies choices?

Guiding Principle 2 - Economic

8. Livelihoods: Sustainable crop production intensification must constitute an option to improve living conditions in rural areas by providing alternative livelihoods throughout the value chain, wider access to markets and a better income while contributing to the preservation of the resource base.
9. Markets: Sustainable crop production intensification should contribute to the economic development of farming communities and seek to stimulate local economies through understanding and development of local, national and regional markets

Checklist 2 - Economic

Is the envisaged crop production intensification likely to:

1. Lead to profitability, livelihood support?
2. Consider economic dimension – input/output and support a better understanding of market and farm management options among farmers and communities?
3. Facilitate the development and uptake of agricultural approaches, practices, and technologies including mechanization in an integrated way, i.e. embedded in market driven economy and supported with knowledge creation/dissemination and provision of services?

Guiding Principle 3 - Environmental

10. Ecosystem function: Sustainable crop production intensification must not impair, but stabilize or enhance ecosystem structure and function, thereby leading to improved ecosystem services  to increase opportunities for production.
11. Soils: Sustainable crop production intensification must be managed to enhance soil ecosystems, improving soil health and fertility and reversing degradation and pollution of land. 
12. Water: Sustainable crop production intensification must contribute to maintaining and improving, and efficiently utilizing, water resources (quantity, access, stability and quality), especially promoting practices that minimize risks of water pollution from agrochemicals.
13. Biodiversity: Sustainable crop production intensification must respect the integrity of areas of high conservation value, and enhance the management of agricultural biodiversity (e.g. plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, seeds, pollinators, soil biodiversity, natural enemies as well as wildlife).
14. Climate Change and Air Quality: Sustainable crop production intensification must be managed to increase adaptation to climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ozone-depleting substances to a minimum possible and seek to minimize contributions to air pollution and reductions in air quality.
15. Energy and Waste Management: Sustainable crop production intensification must be managed to ensure reduction in fossil fuel-based inputs, efficient application of energy and energy-based inputs, recycling of waste and the use of appropriate renewable energies where possible. It should promote appropriate waste management, safe storage of agricultural inputs, minimize non-usable wastes and dispose of them responsibly.