The risk of the ‘producing more with less’ narrative

Nevertheless, the slogan ‘producing more with less’ has gained ground for conveying a simple and compelling narrative. It implies that productivity and environmental protection goals can be attained simultaneously, without any consideration of potential consequences. This slogan matches the idea that innovation alone can solve complex agricultural problems regardless of disruptive changes in governance, resource allocation or public behaviour.

In the policy arena, such a slogan aligns with the usual prioritization of short-term outcomes aiming for voters’ support over long-term strategies for enhanced resilience. In the scientific community too, producing more with less has been increasingly adopted as the logic behind many research projects, shaping and justifying research questions across disciplines. Although greater production efficiency may be a well-intended aspiration, it might have negative consequences when treated in isolation. Also, research integrity and the long-term impact of agricultural science might be compromised when associated with private research funding focused on commercially profitable technologies or projects that claim to contribute to sustainability and resilience but are primarily focused on efficiency. Incremental improvements in agricultural traits can be exaggerated to secure funding and stakeholder support, creating unrealistic expectations and undermining the credibility of the scientific community when transformative promises fail to generate substantial real-world impacts.