Crop production is not the only element to consider when looking to meet increased food demand. Sustainable intensification of crop production is of reduced value if optimising one component in a complex larger ecosystem results in inefficiencies elsewhere. Larger ecosystems, for example, could include important components, such as livestock, fish and/or forests. In seeking to intensify crop production sustainably, one important entry point using the ecosystem approach is to examine ways to reduce waste of production inputs and improve efficiency in the use of key resources in agriculture, including horticulture.

Agricultural practices and adapted production systems which manage ecosystem services to improve productivity and reduce environmental impact have developed over time. These have evolved through a large number of local decisions made by farmers (including smallholders), regarding their use of ecological knowledge and inputs and/or culturally/traditionally established practices. Gender specificities play an important role, for example with regards to the use and dissemination of such knowledge – including from cultivation to processing stages of the food chain.