Sustainable Agriculture: Future of farming
Agriculture is the world’s largest sector. Intensive agriculture, as has been practiced since the 1960s, has very high yields, but it depletes the soil and pollutes the environment: greenhouse gas pollution, habitat loss, and ocean acidification. Recent awareness of the limits of natural resources and soil, air, and water pollution is pushing for sustainable agriculture.
Sustainable Agriculture (SA) can be defined as a system of ecological farming practices based on scientific advances through which it is possible to produce healthy food that respects the health and rights of the soil, air, water, and farmers. The basic principles are used to meet human needs for nutritious food, to enhance the quality of the environment, to protect the natural resources base, to allow the most productive use of non-renewable and on-farm resources, to introduce natural biological cycles, and to promote rural economic growth and the quality of life of farmers. This style of agriculture aims to find a reasonable balance between the need for food production and the environmental protection of the ecological system.
Several agricultural techniques are used to help make farming more sustainable. To reduce the use of fertilizers and rotating crops in fields, some of the most common methods involve growing plants that can generate their nutrients, which minimizes the use of pesticides since the crops change regularly. Sustainability-high systems aim to make the best use of environmental goods and services while not harming these assets and need to be adapted and equipped locally. Crops grown by sustainable agriculture are healthier for people in terms of human health. Because of the absence of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, synthetic products are not exposed to or eaten by humans. This reduces the possibility that exposure to these chemicals could make people sick. Also, since the overall crops are healthier and more natural, the crops produced by sustainable agriculture can be more nutritious.
Sustainable agriculture address different current issue which the world is facing right now. Food security and climate change are some of the emerging issues. With a rising population and a persistently high level of hunger and malnutrition, sustainable agricultural yields need to resolve the issue of food security by producing more in less time while using less natural resources. Truly sustainable agriculture is healthy for humans, the world, and profitable. Thus, Sustainable agriculture is a must and we must adopt sustainable farming practices.
