Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Prospects for the Future

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

I think the subject matter is timely. On the other hand, a slight suggestion that many conclusions to be more credible will be reached only a few years after this situation.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic extend across the world and to all spheres of human activity. As a result, emerging and developing nations are likely to see a negative growth rate in 2020 according to the World Economic Outlook, and in the case of India, the growth rate is estimated  to  be  1.9%.The paper focuses on the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh by studying the impact of shifting 20% of the area under paddy and cotton cultivation to other crops like millets and pulses. Using FAO’s CROPWAT model, along with monsoon forecasts and detailed agricultural data, the authors simulate the crop water requirements across the study area. They simulate a business-as-usual base case and compare it to multiple crop diversification strategies using various parameters –food, calories, protein production, as well as groundwater and energy consumption. The  results  from  this  study  show  that  crop diversification can indeed be successful in reducing groundwater and energy consumption by about 9 % in the entire study area, and a calorie deficit between 4-8% -making up this calorie deficit requires a 20-30% improvement in the yields of millets and pulses. The authors also propose policy interventions to incentivize the cultivation of nutritious and climate-resistant crops as a sustainable strategy towards strengthening food and nutrition security while lowering the environmental footprint of food production.

The authors in this version considered the reviewer's comments

 

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf