Recognising ignorance in decision-making

Agriculture is a complex system and a global activity that affects the lives of billions of people. Low agricultural productivity, for example, can lead to hunger or even famine, and have an impact on stock exchanges or food prices, which can themselves trigger political events. Many variables can affect agriculture and thus people’s livelihoods and the environment, such as the climate or water availability, as well as political decisions or economics. Agricultural policies therefore have serious implications for food security and safety, poverty, biodiversity loss, global warming and the availability of freshwater.