Sustainable agriculture

Worldchanging has a story on how sustainable agriculture can be more productive than industrial agriculture. So, what's the difference between these two approaches? Industrial agriculture is the form we commonly know, that is, the use of pesticides, artificial fertilizers, and power driven irrigation pumps. However, sustainable agriculture can improve productivity by 79% in 4 years! Researchers from the University of Essex have identified 7 key methods for this. Quoting:

- Integrated pest management, which uses ecosystem resilience and diversity for pest, disease, and weed control, and seeks only to use pesticides when other options are ineffective. Brazil has pioneered the use of bio-pesticides and inter-cropping for pest management.

- Integrated nutrient management, which seeks both to balance the need to fix nitrogen within farm systems with the need to import inorganic and organic sources of nutrients, and to reduce nutrient losses through erosion control.

- Conservation tillage, which reduces the amount of tillage, sometimes to zero, so that soil can be conserved and available moisture used more efficiently. For example, after harvest, the crop residues are left on the field as protection against soil erosion. Similarly, rotation farming is done to never leave the oil uncovered, and suppress weeds.

- Agroforestry, which incorporates multifunctional trees into agricultural systems, and collective management of nearby forest resources.

- Aquaculture, which incorporates fish, shrimps, and other aquatic resources into farm systems, such as into irrigated rice fields and fish ponds, and so leads to increases in protein production.

- Water harvesting in dryland areas, which can mean formerly abandoned and degraded lands can be cultivated, and additional crops can be grown on small patches of irrigated land owing to better rainwater retention. Various methods like contour grass barriers, contour ploughing, and green manures are used to prevent soil erosion.

- Livestock integration into farming systems, such as dairy cattle and poultry, to feed on crop residues and minimize wastage and waste management.

Not only are these methods good for environmental reasons, but even more practical with better productivity! A similar effort is on with the use of biotechnology for non-GM techniques. The report focusses on four types of non-GM biotechnology: tissue culture, molecular markers, diagnostic techniques and microbial products.

A related article about how the farming practices in Africa have led to a rapid depletion of the soil nutrients.