Stabilisation agriculture: Reviewing an emerging concept with case studies from Afghanistan and Iraq

Abstract

Stabilisation Agriculture has been defined as a focus on enhancing the ecological and social resilience of agricultural communities to withstand and respond to adverse conditions in countries affected by disasters, ranging from climate events to conflict and complex emergencies. However, in this review paper, rather than taking a broad disaster risk management approach to the topic, a focus is made on the nexus between agriculture, food security and conflict. Food insecurity, for example, can trigger instability and conflict, leading to the collapse of agricultural infrastructure, the loss of farm labour, and local farming knowledge through loss of life and forced migration. This cycle becomes endemic and reinforcing, often resulting in chronic food shortages and eventually conflict-driven famine. Hence, why an emphasis on post-conflict "stabilisation"is made in this examination of the emerging concept of Stabilisation Agriculture. Case studies from Afghanistan and Iraq are used to illustrate the benefits of elevating agriculture as a critical response tool in post-conflict and stabilisation settings, and following a subsequent discussion that explores the critical synergies in this emerging field, a redefined definition of Stabilisation Agriculture is proposed along with recommendations for future development through policy inclusion and mainstreaming, post-conflict programming and applied research.