Another issue with contemporary farming methods is that they generally rely upon a few primary crops. Sustainable crop production moves away from this monoculture method of farming which can make crops more vulnerable to disease and pests.

Crop rotation and even combining different crops in the same field can reduce the need for fertilizer and pesticides compared to monoculture farming. Further, monoculture farming draws on the same nutrients from the soil which can lead to nutrient depletion in the soil which translates to a dependence on more fertilizer to grow plants.

The FAO estimates there may be as few as 60 harvests left. There are already concerns about our ability to produce sufficient food especially given that the global population is set to increase. In recent years steps have been made to move towards more sustainable farming methods.

Some of the features of sustainable agriculture may surprise you. There are many sustainable farming techniques we can employ to make farming more sustainable. One of the big ways to achieve agricultural sustainability is to reduce our global reliance on pesticides and fertilizers and focus on natural processes that can be introduced to limit pest populations.

An example of one of the components of sustainable agriculture is planting hedgerows along field edges. This encourages pest predators such as birds and other animals into the area and keeps the number of pests in check, reducing the need for pesticides.

Crop rotation, or planting cover crops, helps to improve soil fertility as different plants draw from, and give back, different nutrients to the soil. This reduces the need for fertilizers and helps eliminate pests that target specific crops thus reducing the need for pesticides too.

You may hear sustainable farming methods referred to as Agroecology. Agroecology is the name given to farming techniques that minimize the environmental impact of farming.

One of these methods is organic farming. However, achieving certified organic status can be a lengthy and expensive process that is simply not achievable for all farms. Agroecology, therefore, could be the middle path as it encompasses organic farming methods without the certification and inspection process.

Many of the above are traditional farming methods. Embracing traditional, local farming knowledge and Traditional Ecological Knowledge passed down through generations among Indigenous communities is key to improving the sustainability of the agriculture sector. Given the changing and locally-specific nature of agriculture, a diverse and adaptive knowledge base is needed and taking advice from those who know the land is vital for success.

Agtech refers to agricultural practices which are more efficient, safe and less environmentally damaging than current agricultural methods. There are also economic benefits as the increased efficiency helps save farmers money in the long run.

Agriculture and sustainability can co-exist, and a move towards a more sustainable agriculture industry will be key to food security for the long term. Reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides will help protect both soil and water sources and the rise of Agtech, combined with traditional, local knowledge, could help increase yield in a less damaging way.

Nous travaillons actuellement sur la version française du site que nous espérons lancer très bientôt! Merci pour votre patience et compréhension pendant que nous finalisons la version améliorée du site.

Thank you for your patience while we finalize the new and improved version of our website. What is sustainable agriculture? Aaron Wilson April 29, Share this article:. In addition to this, the agricultural industry can have its own environmental impact.

Why do we need sustainable agriculture? Environmental issues Agriculture often places significant pressures on natural resources and the surrounding environment.

It also sequesters carbon, which may slow climate change. CropLife International says reduced soil tillage could equal the same reduced carbon emissions as taking Rotate Crops. Biodiversity adds to the mix of soil microorganisms, improving soil health. It also helps control pests that thrive in one crop but starve out in another.

University of Wisconsin Extension research says corn following alfalfa may not need any supplemental nitrogen. Use Low-Pressure Irrigation. Pivot irrigation systems usually spew water skyward under pounds of pressure.

Low-pressure drop tubes dribble the water over the crop canopy at about 30 pounds, saving energy. Plant Cover Crops. These cool-weather plants keep the ground covered between growing seasons.

They prevent soil erosion, hold nutrients, suppress weeds and improve soil health. Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education SARE experts say cover crops can also save you money, especially if you can use them to graze livestock rather than feed hay or silage.

Dispose of Outdated Pesticides. The product label may tell you how to properly dispose of it. Or, your state may participate in a program called Clean Sweep, which collects and disposes of old pesticides from farms.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture, for instance, uses EPA funding to conduct annual Clean Sweep programs in rotating regions. Support Pollinators. Bees and butterflies pollinate flowering crops as they gather nectar.

Their numbers are in decline, partly due to loss of habitat.

Disposing of these products can be difficult. Some farmers burn them, but doing so releases furans and dioxins into the air, which contribute to pollution, harm human and animal health and can contaminate water and soil.

Alternatively, farmers may toss these plastics into landfills, but a better option exists in many communities. The nonprofit Ag Container Recycling Council ACRC heads a national effort to reduce HDPE plastic waste in landfills by offering recycling programs around the country.

Each year, the organization collects and recycles 11 million pounds of HDPE from agriculture chemical containers. After recycling, the waste can be turned into other agricultural products, such as nursery pots, landscape edging, drain pipes, industrial pallets, fence posts and cinder blocks.

Switching your lightbulbs from existing incandescent bulbs to energy-efficient light-emitting diodes LEDs saves your farm energy use while extending the life span of the bulbs. Additionally, LED lights last up to 30 times longer than incandescent bulbs and up to five times longer than compact fluorescent lights CFLs.

The reason LEDs are so energy efficient comes from their lack of heat production. Bugs that pollinate such as bees, wasps and butterflies are the key to maintaining an eco-friendly farm.

Protect them as much as possible by avoiding using pesticides that can kill them and damage their habitats. These insects need habitat space and flowers to feed on.

In unused areas of your farm, plant popular flowers for them based on your region. These flowers encourage bees and other pollinating insects to visit your farm, where they can pollinate your plants and encourage natural growth.

If you have the ability to set up hives on your farm, you benefit from the honey the bees produce, too. Expired agricultural chemicals may not work properly, and keeping outdated pesticides and herbicides on your property presents an environmental hazard.

Leaks in containers could cause the products to contaminate the soil and groundwater. Decreasing soil tillage could positively impact the environment. Because soil traps carbon in the form of soil organic carbon SOC , regular tilling of the soil releases SOC into the atmosphere.

As a solution, organic farming raises the SOC stocks naturally while improving overall soil health. In a study of European farms, researchers compared SOC stocks on organic farms with reduced tillage increased by 1. The study concluded that using reduced tillage has the potential for raising stocks of SOC when paired with organic farming practices, protecting the atmosphere from excessive carbon releases from the soil.

Instead of planting the same crops on the same plot of land year after year, change what you grow and where. Additionally, you improve the health of your soil, especially if you plant nitrogen-fixing crops, such as legumes. Additionally, the plots with legumes and their residue incorporated into the soil rotated with maize could reduce or eliminate the need for additional nitrogen fertilizer.

When planning the products you want to grow for the season, be sure to incorporate a method to rotate each crop properly. Between growing seasons, plant cover crops to enrich the soil, prevent soil erosion and stop weeds from taking hold. Depending on your cover crops, you could even save the cost of buying haylage for livestock and letting the animals graze on the cover crops.

Installing shade structures can help make your farm more sustainable by protecting workers from the intense heat of the sun. Additionally, your plants benefit from shade structures by keeping direct sunlight away from seedlings and other delicate plants or plants that require partial sun or shade for growth.

Only use shade structures with breathable materials to ensure adequate airflow that keeps the shaded area from becoming stagnant. Use low-pressure dribble irrigation systems to reduce water waste. These systems drip smaller amounts of water into the soil instead of spraying them over the crops — water spray evaporates readily, especially when irrigating during the hottest part of the day.

In comparison, drip systems use less energy for irrigation and lose less water through evaporation by not spraying the water over crops.

These methods can create sustainable growing methods, depending on what your farm produces and its location. For centuries, wind and running water from rivers have been sources of energy to power windmills and watermills for grinding grain.

Bring back the use of these or other renewable energy sources on your farm to make your operation more sustainable. For instance, install solar panels to generate electricity to operate heating or pumping systems. Choosing eco-friendly farming is good for your bottom line, your farmworkers and the environment.

The following are only a few of the numerous benefits your farm and the world can gain from sustainable agriculture and eco-friendly farms:. Environmentally friendly farming allows you to maintain or improve production with less waste and energy. Over the long term, farms that use sustainable practices have greater chances of maintaining production levels by protecting the soil from erosion and using water resources properly.

For example, diversified farms that use crop rotation have protection from weeds and pests that impact single-crop farms.

Additionally, cover crops protect and enrich the soil. Sustainable farms use less energy, less water and fewer herbicides and pesticides. The amount of money you save depends on how much you reduce waste and resource use on your farm — more reductions provide improved savings. More energy-efficient lights and the use of sustainable energy also reduce your reliance on electricity you must purchase to keep your farm running.

These savings further decrease your expenditures and raises your profit margins. Farming naturally produces waste in a variety of forms, from organic to inorganic.

The amount of waste your farm produces and how you handle it can impact the amount of time and money spent on waste handling. Eco-friendly farming cuts back on this waste. For example, when you choose to recycle HDPE or other agricultural plastics, you decrease the amount of waste that ends up in a landfill.

Using more environmentally sound practices, such as drip irrigation, reduces the impact your farm has on freshwater use. Combining better water management with soil protection practices, such as reduced tillage, can also preserve soil nutrients while reducing erosion and the need for fertilizers.

When your farm makes better use of environmental resources, the planet and your farm benefit by protecting these vital assets for future farming generations. Reducing waste is only one way of preventing pollution.

When your farm converts to more environmentally friendly operations, you cut down on the total pollution you generate. By recycling containers instead of burning them with trash, you reduce air pollution. Cutting down on soil tilling reduces carbon released into the atmosphere.

Crop rotations that let you cut down on fertilizer help prevent water pollution caused by runoff of fertilizers from the soil. Drip irrigation also reduces water waste and runoff pollution.

Using sustainable practices will reduce the resources farms today and protect the land and water use for the future. By being environmentally friendly, farms can help to preserve resources needed to feed a future world and prevent hunger in later generations.

Shade structures make your farm a more comfortable place to work and provide delicate plants with protection from excessive sun. Their many designs allow you to use them for practical and aesthetic reasons. The following are commonly used shade structures for greenhouses and other agricultural sites :.

The most budget-friendly option, rectangular and square shade structures fulfill a variety of shade needs on farms. They also offer shade over working areas or walkways to keep people protected from the sun. Options for different colors and roof designs give you flexibility when choosing the perfect shade structures for your farm.

Cantilever shade structures only require one or two support posts. When farmers are committed to protecting the natural systems and resources that they rely on, they can produce healthy products that have a minimal environmental impact.

Furthermore, the switch to sustainable farming methods and sustainable agriculture remains profitable. In fact, sustainable practices allow farms to maintain profitability and support their local economies. Some of the practices that farmers rely on include:. In addition, the benefits of sustainable farming also translate to healthier products and safe foods.

There are many different types of sustainable farming practices that range from increasing biodiversity to using quality fertilizer enhancers. Below are some of the top ways in which people can practice sustainable farming.

By using recycling and finding ways to reduce their waste, farmers can support sustainable practices. One common way in which farmers can promote biodynamics is by using animal waste to replenish their soil and promote plant growth , which is an area in which many livestock farmers have been ahead of the curve for decades.

In some areas, farmers can use the innovative technique of growing plants without the use of soil. Hydroponics and aquaponics systems use alternative sources to grow plants. While hydroponic systems grow plants directly into mineral solutions, aquaponics is a practice of raising aquatic animals to grow crops indirectly into water.

Instead of using fertilizer and soils, the plants are supported through nutrients that are added to the water. Sometimes, farmers even use live fish to provide plants with the necessary nutrients.

This innovative system can work on both smaller and commercial scales. One of the best ways to promote plant performance, soil health, and water quality is to use fertilizer enhancers.

Not only does the fertilizer enhancer balance nutrient uptake, but it also boosts plant metabolism, increases the available nutrients, supplements growth with phosphates, and shields plants from yield loss.

As the population of the world continues to increase steadily, it is projected that humans will continue to live in urban areas and may seek personal options around urban agriculture. This refers to the creation of growing techniques within cities and urban areas. For instance, populated areas can plant community gardens, build rooftop farms, create greenhouses, and support backyard farms.

While these efforts are applauded and should be encouraged, it should be noted that for the long-term future, the vast majority of bushels, tons, truckloads, or cargos of feed, food, fuel, and fiber will come from production agriculture farms rather than rooftop farms or community gardens.

Trees and shrubs can help create long-lasting and diverse land for farmers. Agroforestry refers to the process of creating a microclimate that can support soil humidity and favorable temperatures that also protects crops from extreme weather.

Not only does agroforestry help with the protection of crops, but food forests can provide an extra source of income for farmers. This sustainable farming practice can be supplemented by planting fruit-bearing trees and nut-bearing trees that create a more diverse ecosystem.

By planting multiple types of crop species in one area, the plants can support each other and produce more resilient plants. High biodiversity is important to supporting plants through extreme weather and improving soil fertility. In addition, crop rotation is equally important to promoting soil fertility because the diverse plants use natural mechanisms to preserve the soil.

Increasing biodiversity and better utilization of fertilizers, fertilizer managers, and pesticides can be achieved through the adoption of the 4Rs Principles of Nutrient Stewardship.

Making the switch to utilizing sustainable farming methods does not need to be difficult, but it is not as easy as just flipping a switch either. In fact, it can be a major mind-shift for a proud and profitable, conventional farmer.

Constant and intense field monitoring and timing are crucial to being successful. An open, exploring and innovative attitude is also brutally key to success. The good news is there are experts available to assist farmers and growers in their transition to sustainable farming or if they just have questions.

To make the switch and start protecting the environment, connect with a specialist at Verdesian today. Stay on top of the latest news about Verdesian Life Sciences, Nutrient Use Efficiency technologies, and the latest and greatest trends in agriculture.

Email Address Δ. What Is Sustainable Farming? Jun 13, by Verdesian Life Sciences. Why Are Sustainable Farming Practices so Important? Some of the practices that farmers rely on include: Building a healthy soil system. Taking steps to prevent erosion. Integrating a water management system.

CropLife International says reduced soil tillage could equal the same reduced carbon emissions as taking Rotate Crops. Biodiversity adds to the mix of soil microorganisms, improving soil health.

It also helps control pests that thrive in one crop but starve out in another. University of Wisconsin Extension research says corn following alfalfa may not need any supplemental nitrogen. Use Low-Pressure Irrigation. Pivot irrigation systems usually spew water skyward under pounds of pressure.

Low-pressure drop tubes dribble the water over the crop canopy at about 30 pounds, saving energy. Plant Cover Crops. These cool-weather plants keep the ground covered between growing seasons. They prevent soil erosion, hold nutrients, suppress weeds and improve soil health. Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education SARE experts say cover crops can also save you money, especially if you can use them to graze livestock rather than feed hay or silage.

Dispose of Outdated Pesticides. Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems.

It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking. It applies these principles in fields such as regenerative agriculture , town planning, rewilding , and community resilience.

The term was coined in by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren , who formulated the concept in opposition to modern industrialized methods, instead adopting a more traditional or "natural" approach to agriculture.

There is limited evidence polyculture may contribute to sustainable agriculture. A meta-analysis of a number of polycrop studies found that predator insect biodiversity was higher at comparable yields than conventional in certain two-crop systems with a single cash crop combined with a cover crop.

One approach to sustainability is to develop polyculture systems using perennial crop varieties. Such varieties are being developed for rice, wheat, sorghum, barley, and sunflowers. If these can be combined in polyculture with a leguminous cover crop such as alfalfa, fixation of nitrogen will be added to the system, reducing the need for fertilizer and pesticides.

The use of available city space e. Hydroponics is an alternative to agriculture that creates the ideal environment for optimal growth without using a dormant medium. This innovative farming technique produces higher crop yields without compromising soil health.

The most significant drawback of this sustainable farming technique is the cost associated with development. Certification systems are important to the agriculture community and to consumers as these standards determine the sustainability of produce. Numerous sustainability standards and certification systems exist, including organic certification , Rainforest Alliance , Fair Trade , UTZ Certified , GlobalGAP , Bird Friendly, and the Common Code for the Coffee Community 4C.

The requirements can refer to product quality or attributes, but also to production and processing methods, as well as transportation.

VSS are mostly designed and marketed by non-governmental organizations NGOs or private firms and they are adopted by actors up and down the value chain, from farmers to retailers.

Certifications and labels are used to signal the successful implementation of a VSS. According to the ITC standards map the mostly covered products by standards are agricultural products. The USDA produces an organic label that is supported by nationalized standards of farmers and facilities.

The steps for certification consist of creating an organic system plan, which determines how produce will be tilled, grazed, harvested, stored, and transported. This plan also manages and monitors the substances used around the produce, the maintenance needed to protect the produce, and any nonorganic products that may come in contact with the produce.

The organic system plan is then reviewed and inspected by the USDA certifying agent. Once the certification is granted, the produce receives an approval sticker from the USDA and the produce is distributed across the U.

In order to hold farmers accountable and ensure that Americans are receiving organic produce, these inspections are done at least once a year. Sustainable agriculture is a topic in international policy concerning its potential to reduce environmental risks. In , the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change, as part of its recommendations for policymakers on achieving food security in the face of climate change, urged that sustainable agriculture must be integrated into national and international policy.

During United Nations Climate Change Conference , 45 countries pledged to give more than 4 billion dollars for transition to sustainable agriculture. The organization "Slow Food" expressed concern about the effectivity of the spendings, as they concentrate on technological solutions and reforestation en place of "a holistic agroecology that transforms food from a mass-produced commodity into part of a sustainable system that works within natural boundaries.

Additionally, the Summit consisted of negotiations that led to heavily reducing CO 2 emissions, becoming carbon neutral, ending deforestation and reliance on coal, and limiting methane emissions. In November, the Climate Action Tracker reported that global efforts are on track to for a 2.

In May the European Union published a program, named "From Farm to Fork" for making its agriculture more sustainable. In the official page of the program From Farm to Fork is cited Frans Timmermans the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, saying that:.

The coronavirus crisis has shown how vulnerable we all are, and how important it is to restore the balance between human activity and nature. At the heart of the Green Deal the Biodiversity and Farm to Fork strategies point to a new and better balance of nature, food systems, and biodiversity; to protect our people's health and well-being, and at the same time to increase the EU's competitiveness and resilience.

These strategies are a crucial part of the great transition we are embarking upon. The New Deal implemented policies and programs that promoted sustainable agriculture.

Under the Agriculture Adjustment Act of , it provided farmers payments to create a supply management regime that capped production of important crops. The New Deal also provided a monetary incentive for farmers that left some of their fields unsown or ungrazed to order to improve the soil conditions.

The s to s was when the government switched its stance on agriculture policy which halted sustainable agriculture. The Agricultural Act of passed which supported farmers with flexible price supports, but only to commodity programs. Food Security Act of continued commodity loan programs.

From to , the number of farms in the US decreased significantly while the average size of a farm went up after In the United States, the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service USDA provides technical and financial assistance for those interested in pursuing natural resource conservation along with production agriculture.

With programs like SARE and China-UK SAIN to help promote research on sustainable agriculture practices and a framework for agriculture and climate change respectively. Currently, there are policies on the table that could move the US agriculture system into a more sustainable direction with the Green New Deal.

This policy promotes decentralizing agrarian governance by breaking up large commodity farms that were created in the s to s. In , the National Basic Research Program or Program funded research into Science and Technology Backyard STB.

STBs are hubs often created in rural areas with significant rates of small-scale farming that combine knowledge of traditional practices with new innovations and technology implementation. The purpose of this program was to invest in sustainable farming throughout the country and increase food production while achieving few negative environmental effects.

The program was ultimately proven to be successful, and the study found that the merging of traditional practices and appropriate technology was instrumental in higher crop yields.

In collaboration with the Food and Land Use Coalition FOLU , CEEW council for energy, environment and water , has given an overview of the current state of sustainable agriculture practices and systems SAPSs in India.

In idea these efforts identify 16 SAPSs — including agroforestry, crop rotation, rainwater harvesting, organic farming and natural farming — using agroecology as an investigative lens. In a conclusive understanding it is realised that sustainable agriculture is far from mainstream in India.

Further proposals for several measures for promoting SAPSs, including restructured government support and rigorous evidence generation for benefits and implementation of sustainable farming are ongoing progress in Indian Agriculture.

An example of initiatives in India towards exploring the world of sustainable farming has been set by the Sowgood foundation which is a nonprofit founded by educator Pragati Chaswal. Today many government and private schools in Delhi, India have adopted the sowgood foundation curriculum for sustainable farming for their students.

In , the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture found itself at the height of the Israeli commitment to sustainable agriculture policy. A large factor of this policy was funding programs that made sustainable agriculture accessible to smaller Palestinian-Arab communities. The program was meant to create biodiversity, train farmers in sustainable agriculture methods, and hold regular meetings for agriculture stakeholders.

In , the American author Franklin H. King discussed in his book Farmers of Forty Centuries the advantages of sustainable agriculture and warned that such practices would be vital to farming in the future.

This potential future inability to feed the world's population has been a concern since the English political economist Thomas Malthus in the early s, but has become increasingly important recently. because of growing anxieties of a rapidly increasing global population. Agriculture has long been the biggest industry worldwide and requires significant land, water, and labor inputs.

At the turn of the twenty-first century, experts questioned the industry's ability to keep up with population growth. This article incorporates text from a free content work.

Licensed under CC BY-SA IGO 3. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Download QR code Wikidata item.

Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons. Farming approach that balances environmental, economic and social factors in the long term.

Prehistory Neolithic Revolution Agriculture in Mesoamerica Austronesian expansion Ancient history Ancient Egypt Ancient Greece Ancient Rome Post-classical Agriculture in the Middle Ages Arab Agricultural Revolution Columbian exchange Modern history British Agricultural Revolution Green Revolution Organic Monoculture.

On land. Agrivoltaic Animal husbandry cattle pigs poultry sheep Dairy Dryland Extensive Fertilizer Free-range Grazing Convertible husbandry Rotational grazing Hobby Intensive animals pigs crops Natural Monoculture Orchard Organic Paddy field Ranching Sharecropping Colonia Slash-and-burn Smallholding Terrace Steam sterilization.

Aquaculture Aquaponics Hydroponics Aeroponics. Agribusiness Agricultural cooperative Agricultural supplies Agricultural science Agricultural engineering Agricultural technology Digital Biotechnology Agroforestry Agronomy Animal husbandry Animal-free agriculture Cellular agriculture Contract farming Extensive farming Farm Farmhouse Feed ratio Free range Horticulture Intensive farming animals pigs crops Mechanised agriculture Organic farming Paludiculture Permaculture Polyculture Rice-duck farming Rice-fish system Sustainable agriculture Sustainable food system Universities and colleges Urban agriculture.

Agriculturist profession Agricultural machinery Government ministries Universities and colleges. Agricultural machinery Agriculture by country Agriculture companies Biotechnology History of agriculture Livestock Meat industry Poultry farming Agriculture and the environment.

See also: Peak farmland. Main article: Urban agriculture. Main article: Intensive farming § Sustainability. Main article: Organic Farming. Main article: Regenerative agriculture. This section is an excerpt from Permaculture. A garden cultivated on permaculture principles Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems.

Peter Harper from the Centre for Alternative Technology suggests that most of what passes for permaculture has no relevance to real problems. Further information: Polyculture.

Further information: European Green Deal. Retrieved Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Retrieved 10 October Retrieved 22 April March Nature Food. doi : ISSN PMID World on the Edge. Earth Policy Institute. ISBN PMC Chelsea Green, United Nations. Retrieved 26 April Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.

Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. S2CID US Department of Agriculture. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Sociology Compass. JSTOR, www. Accessed 19 March Human Overpopulation and Food Security: Challenges for the Agriculture Sustainability.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. Retrieved 3 March Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program PDF.

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Mineral Commodity Summaries PDF. Geological Survey. World Phosphate Rock Reserves and Resources. Muscle Shoals, AL, USA: International Fertilizer Development Center IFDC. Archived from the original on 19 August Retrieved 7 April An in-depth literature review of global estimates of phosphate rock reserves and resources".

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ISSN X. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. Plant and Cell Physiology. Ciência Rural. Plant Nutrient Management in Hawaii's Soils, Approaches for Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture PDF.

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May 11, PLOS ONE. Bibcode : PLoSO.. United Nations Environmental Programm. Retrieved 24 June The Guardian. Human Ecology. One of these methods is organic farming. However, achieving certified organic status can be a lengthy and expensive process that is simply not achievable for all farms.

Agroecology, therefore, could be the middle path as it encompasses organic farming methods without the certification and inspection process. Many of the above are traditional farming methods.

Embracing traditional, local farming knowledge and Traditional Ecological Knowledge passed down through generations among Indigenous communities is key to improving the sustainability of the agriculture sector. Given the changing and locally-specific nature of agriculture, a diverse and adaptive knowledge base is needed and taking advice from those who know the land is vital for success.

Agtech refers to agricultural practices which are more efficient, safe and less environmentally damaging than current agricultural methods. There are also economic benefits as the increased efficiency helps save farmers money in the long run.

Agriculture and sustainability can co-exist, and a move towards a more sustainable agriculture industry will be key to food security for the long term. Reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides will help protect both soil and water sources and the rise of Agtech, combined with traditional, local knowledge, could help increase yield in a less damaging way.

Nous travaillons actuellement sur la version française du site que nous espérons lancer très bientôt! Merci pour votre patience et compréhension pendant que nous finalisons la version améliorée du site.

Thank you for your patience while we finalize the new and improved version of our website. What is sustainable agriculture? Aaron Wilson April 29, Share this article:. In addition to this, the agricultural industry can have its own environmental impact. Why do we need sustainable agriculture?

Environmental issues Agriculture often places significant pressures on natural resources and the surrounding environment. How can agriculture become more sustainable? Introduce more sustainable farming methods There are many sustainable farming techniques we can employ to make farming more sustainable.

Embrace traditional farming techniques Many of the above are traditional farming methods. Summary Agriculture and sustainability can co-exist, and a move towards a more sustainable agriculture industry will be key to food security for the long term.