According to the scholar, depletion of agricultural resources such as fuel reserves, genetic resources, farmland and water, and related organisms, and the unprofitability of farming are some of the current issues in Agriculture around the globe. The most effective solution to overcome these negative consequences is sustainable farming and the use of such technologies. Therefore, it is recognized that environmental processes must adapt to food production systems. Sustainability is a dynamic concept. There are three main dimensions to it. That means farming should be economically viable, socially accepted, and environmentally sustainable, or sustainable agro-production system.
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| Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay |
All three of these dimensions need to be taken into account when measuring the success of a particular farming method. This means that sustainable agriculture is a combination of economic, social, and environmental factors. Then it is obvious that current production processes should not threaten future food production potential. The idea is that the total biomass that is received or harvested from the system will remain the same in the long run.
Definition of Sustainable Agriculture
"Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs."
The objective is to maintain a farming ecosystem that does not allow the natural resource to be depleted and further enhances it, while at the same time meeting human food needs.
“Sustainable agriculture is based on the utilization of all resources, such as land, water, and animals, to a sustainable extent. It further states that the ownership and control of such sustainable resources rests with the farming community that uses them. According to Vandana Shiva, sustainable farming is land use. This land-use conserves natural resources and allows them to be regenerated. At the same time, it will be gradually freed from the use of external inputs for farming. ” -Prof. Vandhana Shiva ( India )
According to the Peoples Food and Sovereignty Network, “Sustainable farming as a whole is a scientific approach. Equal rights to factors of production, technology, economic benefits and equitable distribution of food, and environmental integration are intertwined. ”
According to Professor Jules Prti of the University of Essex in the UK, "sustainable farming is the practice of making optimal use of natural products and services without harming the environment."
The definition is as follows. “Goals can be achieved by combining natural processes such as nutrient cycles, nitrogen fixation, soil regeneration, and allowing pesticides (predators and parasites) harmful to food production to grow. In addition, the removal of non-regenerative external inputs that are equally harmful (toxins) to the natural environment, the farmer, and the consumer. (Fertilizers, weed killers, pesticides, fuel-based machinery).
Guidance on practices related to sustainable agriculture
This cultivation does not release toxic or harmful substances into the atmosphere such as surface water, groundwater without depleting soil fertility. This is based on the resources available on or around the farm (manure, cow dung, previous season crop residues, mulch application, nitrogen fixation, plant extraction, plant extraction, or microbial depletion). This results in nutrient recycling, soil and water conservation.
In such sustainable farming systems, cropping is never a single crop or a single crop. A canopy place should be created in the same area, such as intercropping, mixed cropping, multi-cropping, or home gardening. At the same time crop rotation, fallowing, and crop rotation are done in this farming system.
These practices reduce soil erosion and pest infestation. The risk of crop production is reduced and it is possible to produce a variety of foods throughout the year and earn income from sales.
Another practical activity is the replacement of landscapes or habitats where no crops are grown on cultivated lands, thereby promoting natural biodiversity. Predators and pollinators thrive in these habitats. In the dry zone, the swords of the paddy fields, the groves of trees, the swamps, the gorges, the streams or the banks, the vegetation on either side are such landscapes. These have traditionally been maintained as public lands.
Another feature of a sustainable farm is the preservation and promotion of local genetic diversity (vegetables, potatoes, meat crops, coarse crops, fruits, farm animals). Furthermore, the special function of this farm is to conserve the local knowledge of the villagers and integrate it for agricultural development.
Thus, sustainable agriculture is complex and diverse. It also interacts with its components as well as provides a variety of products and services. So it is a multitasking system. Thus, the system is, in fact, an autonomous independent system. Such systems have the potential to recover even after an interruption. Therefore, this farming is also sustainable.
-DiAgri Blog Editor Panel
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