Food is the primary product of agriculture, but it is just the beginning of the multiple benefits (functions) that society derives from the food growing process.  The way the land is cared for, the wildlife habitat supported by the fields, the infiltration of water into the ground, the rural employment it provides, the enjoyment and sense of well-being that farming provides to the farmers, and food to the consumers, all these aspects of agriculture are important features of every society and culture. The term, "multifunctional agriculture" has become part of the vocabulary of rural policies throughout Europe, and in Japan and Korea, where national policies explicitly acknowledge this broad view of agriculture. 

The list of functions that are considered as priorities within the agriculture sector vary from country to country but generally include environmental benefits, economic spin-offs (e.g., agro-tourism) social welfare (job security), cultural identity, landscape aesthetics and personal well-being.  The water used in agriculture can also be seen as "multifunctional" because it supports multifunctional agriculture, and also because the water that is used for irrigation continues to provide benefits as it continues its water journey and is used for bathing, drinking, irrigating more crops further downstream, or providing aquatic habitat for wildlife

The Water-Culture Institute's program on multifunctional agriculture combines research and analysis with policy advocacy.  By gaining a better understanding of the concept in diverse ecological and cultural settings, we seek to promote the concept as an integral component of agricultural development policies and projects.  Our aim is to influence agricultural development towards practices that are environmentally sustainable and culturally supportive.

The Institute has worked in partnership with the International Network for Water and Environment in Paddy Fields (INWEPF) to review lessons from European experience with multifuncationality that could be transferable to the situation of Monsoon Asia. Click on the link below to download the report:

         Multifunctional Agricultural Policies and Practices in Europe.         
         PDF 201kb,  December 2009.
 

Resources on Multifunctional Agriculture