ABSTRACT
Modern food supply systems (production and distribution) are heavily dependent on fossil energy [1] and other non-renewable resources [2]. The global environmental crisis [3,4] and foreseeable constraints on the supply of energy [5] and fertilizer [6,7] clearly show that there is a need to develop food supply systems that conserve biodiversity and natural systems and rely less on non-renewable resources. A similar conclusion is drawn in a report initiated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and The World Bank. It emphasizes the need to maintain productivity, while conserving natural resources by improving nutrient, energy, water and land use efficiency, increasing farm diversification, and supporting agro-ecological systems that take advantage of and conserve biodiversity at both field and landscape scale [8].
