Sustainable agriculture for food security (original) (raw)
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Sustainable Development is commonly defined as the "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." This definition covers two main aspects of sustainable development-the provision of the "essential needs" of humanity, especially the poor, and the limitation of the "environment's ability to meet present and future needs" (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). This concept treats the world as a one big system composing of complex and interrelated sub-systems. The connection of these sub-systems transcends time, distance and quantity. Hence, even the smallest part of this sub-system has direct or indirect effect to the parts of other sub-systems and definitely of the whole system. (https://www.iisd.org/sd/)
The Concept of Sustainable Agriculture: Challenges and Prospects
Agriculture has changed dramatically, especially since the end of World War II. Food and fibre productivity raised due to new technologies, mechanization, increased chemical use, specialization and government policies that favoured maximizing production. Sustainable agriculture is a subject of great interest and lively debate in many parts of the world. Most agriculturalists agree that the concept of sustainable agriculture is of paramount importance to the sustainability of our biosphere and its ever increasing human population. This paper is an effort to identify the ideas, practices and policies that constitute concept of sustainable agriculture.
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE - THE INDIAN WAY
If soil is dried so one ounce become one-quarter ounce, Abundant yields will not require a single handful of fertilizer. Thirukkural (Verse 1037) The five natural elements (earth, water, fire, air, and sky), the sun and the moon, plants, trees, birds, and animals, came into existence much ahead of the human beings. In fact, man, as a part of nature, was the last creation in the universe. Though, we (human beings) have been created with the superlative degree of intellect, there is so much that can be learnt from nature; traditions of wisdom from the world teach us that a divine essence flows through all creations. Together with nature, man can co-create groundbreaking ideas that would help create wealth and well-being, for nature offers solutions for inclusive growth and sustainable development. Food scarcity is the major issue concerning the developing countries these days; one out of every 8 person in the world goes to bed without food (FAO, 2012). Of the several hundred million hungry people in the world, 98 percent are in developing countries. There were several things done to alleviate this problem, but the consequences of those actions are even more costly. Usage of heavy machines, pesticides and chemical fertilisers in the soil created a lasting impact causing imbalance in ecosystem, degradation of soil, soil erosion and land degradation. Natural farming is an ancient form of agriculture which follows the principles of nature to develop systems for raising crops, and livestock that are self-sus taining. The present paper attempts to explicate the sustainable nature of natural farming, as against the quick fix solution agriculture of using fertilisers, and chemicals. This holistic learning outlook also tries to bring out the role of farm animals (and remain of farm animals, and farm produces), microorganisms in the soil, in creating food abundance, concerns about food loss and food wastage and its global impact.
Sustainable Development for Agriculture and Environment
Anu Books H.O. Shivaji Road, Meerut, 0121-2657362 H-48, Green Park Extension, New Delhi-16, 9997847837 Glasgow (UK) +447586513591, 2018
This book “Sustainable Development for Agriculture and Environment” has been design to provide overall understanding of all aspects related to the study of environment protection for sustainable development. Persistently high levels of hunger and malnutrition – 793 million (2015) chronically hungry people in the world in 2014–2016 and unsustainable human activity on the earth’s carrying capacity present a major challenge for agriculture. To meet the growing food demand of the over nine billion people who will exist by 2050 and the expected dietary changes, agriculture will need to produce 60 percent more food globally in the same period. The goal of sustainable agriculture is to meet society’s food and textile needs in the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Practitioners of sustainable agriculture seek to integrate three main objectives into their work: a healthy environment, economic profitability, and social and economic equity. Every person involved in the food system growers, food processors, distributors, retailers, consumers, and waste managers can play a role in ensuring a sustainable agricultural system.There are many practices commonly used by people working in sustainable agriculture and sustainable food systems. Growers may use methods to promote soil health, minimize water use, and lower pollution levels on the farm. Consumers and retailers concerned with sustainability can look for “values-based” foods that are grown using methods promoting farm worker wellbeing, that are environmentally friendly, or that strengthen the local economy. And researchers in sustainable agriculture often cross disciplinary lines with their work: combining biology, economics, engineering, chemistry, community development, and many others. In order to perform a balanced assessment of the progress incurred by agriculture on its path to sustainable development, we must identify and analyze in detail all social, environmental and economic factors characterizing sustainability. This requires identification and monitoring of the factors that influence the sustainable development of agriculture. In order to devise a strategy appropriate for this field, we need know the trend of individual indicators that are specific for the sustainable development of agriculture; these indicators must be carefully analyzed and interpreted in order to draw conclusions regarding the stage and the trends of sustainability in this field of activity.
Sustainable Agriculture: Towards Holistic Overview
Journal of Sustainable Agricultural Sciences, 2017
I t is well known that, agriculture is an important industry that helped and provided the humanity with the necessary food, feed, fibre and fuel from the ancient centuries. So, a crucial role for agriculture and its sustainability should be identified. Concerning the sustainable agriculture, it means how to supply the humans with previous essential living supplies without any compromising of needs for future generations. This needs definitely the integration among the environment and its quality, economic profitability, social and economic equity as well as maintaining or conservation of the water and land resources. Moreover, farming systems should use fewer inputs and natural resources without any reducing of agricultural yields in order to reach economic profitability, the safety of the environment and social fairness. Therefore, this review will focus on the sustainability of the agriculture from a holistic overview.
Green Revolution’s Role and Impact: Organic Farming Potential for Indonesian Sustainable Agriculture
Forum penelitian Agro Ekonomi
In 1960s, Indonesia experienced serious rice insufficiency and was one of the largest rice importing countries. The government was encouraged to achieve rice self-sufficiency, i.e. implementing the green revolution (GR) technology through promoting modern agricultural inputs adoption. GR had helped Indonesia to achieve rice self- sufficiency in 1984. However, such technology deals with some problems, e.g. environmental destruction and farmers’ dependence on agrochemical industry. Many consider organic farming system is the solution to address this issue as its practice offers the best way toward sustainable food production and resources use. Demand for organic rice is expected to increase in the future along with the population and income growth. However, prospect of organic rice farming is still uncertain as its adoption is very low. The main challenge is farmers’ unease on yield reduction. Other crucial problems are lack of technical know-how and government supports as well as in...
What is Sustainable Agriculture? Overview
Agriculture has changed dramatically, especially since the end of World War II. Food and fiber productivity soared due to new technologies, mechanization, increased chemical use, specialization and government policies that favored maximizing production. These changes allowed fewer farmers with reduced labor demands to produce the majority of the food and fiber in the U.S. Although these changes have had many positive effects and reduced many risks in farming, there have also been significant costs. Prominent among these are topsoil depletion, groundwater contamination, the decline of family farms, continued neglect of the living and working conditions for farm laborers, increasing costs of production, and the disintegration of economic and social conditions in rural communities. A growing movement has emerged during the past two decades to question the role of the agricultural establishment in promoting practices that contribute to these social problems. Today this movement for sustainable agriculture is garnering increasing support and acceptance within mainstream agriculture. Not only does sustainable agriculture address many environmental and social concerns, but it offers innovative and economically viable opportunities for growers, laborers, consumers, policymakers and many others in the entire food system. This paper is an effort to identify the ideas, practices and policies that constitute our concept of sustainable agriculture. We do so for two reasons: 1) to clarify the research agenda and priorities of our program, and 2) to suggest to others practical steps that may be appropriate for them in moving toward sustainable agriculture. Because the concept of sustainable agriculture is still evolving, we intend the paper not as a definitive or final statement, but as an invitation to continue the dialogue.