Benefits of Sustainable Agriculture

Adopting sustainable agricultural practices opens up formidable opportunities for food production with the world population and the demand for food elevating on an increased scale.                                                                        

FREMONT, CA: With the global population increasing on a rapid scale, sustainable agriculture has emerged as an effective practice in the food sector, slowing down the critical impact of climate change in the arena. Global greenhouse emissions have increased exponentially in recent times, where agriculture accounts for nearly 30 per cent, following emissions through transportation, planting, harvesting, and efficient processing of crops, in addition to the production of livestock. Additionally, harnessing elements like pesticides, herbicides, and fertilisers is elevating the risk of water pollution seamlessly.

As a result, the need to reduce agriculture’s impact on the environment and increase productivity on a critical scale to feed the world's population is growing exponentially. Sustainable agriculture has emerged as one potential domain in recent times in terms of knowledge and career advancement, addressing the efficient challenges and their impacts in the agricultural space. The global population has already surpassed 7.7 billion in the current scenario and will likely account for nine billion by 2050, with a seamless expansion in urban regions and climate changes.

Meanwhile, the number of agricultural lands is decreasing, underscoring the food scarcity that has likely risen in recent times. The World Bank predicts that food production, with the implementation of sustainable agriculture practices, will rise by 70 per cent in the future, thereby filling up the rising demands all around the globe.

Often defined as a practice to protect the environment, expand Earth’s natural resource base, and maintain and improve soil fertility, sustainable agriculture favours the global arena with varied integrated outcomes. That is, adopting an effective sustainable agriculture practice satisfies human food and fibre needs on an efficient note while enhancing environmental quality and the natural resource base that effectively reshapes the agriculture economy.

Similarly, the very practice aids in critically leveraging non-renewable and on-farm resources and integrating them with appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls. It also aims at sustaining the economic viability of farm operations and enhancing the quality of life for farmers and society. Opting for elemental sustainable agriculture methods helps reduce the crucial environmental impact of farming via various reversible opportunities. One such approach is adopting a no-till farming approach that aims to maintain carbon in the soil rather than releasing it into the air. That is, in this process, farmers leave crop detritus in the field after the harvest period rather than ploughing the soil. This also extends to planting, with the farmer dropping seed on the ground gradually rather than submerging it under the soil surface, reducing the number of passes through a critical field of machinery.