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===Soil treatment=== | ===Soil treatment=== |
Revision as of 14:17, 29 October 2012
Soil treatment
Soil steamingW can be used as an ecological alternative to chemicals for soil sterilization. Different methods are available to induce steam into the soil in order to kill pests and increase soil health. Community and farm composting of kitchen, yard, and farm organic waste can provide most if not all the required needs of local farms. This composting could potentially be a reliable source of energy.
Off-farm impacts
A farm that is able to "produce perpetually", yet has negative effects on environmental quality elsewhere is not sustainable agriculture. An example of a case in which a global view may be warranted is over-application of synthetic fertilizer or animal manuresW, which can improve productivity of a farm but can pollute nearby rivers and coastal waters (eutrophication). The other extreme can also be undesirable, as the problem of low crop yields due to exhaustion of nutrients in the soil has been related to rainforestW destruction, as in the case of slash and burnW farming for livestock feed.
Sustainability affects overall production, which must increase to meet the increasing food and fiber requirements as the world's human population expands to a projected 9.3 billion people by 2050W. Increased production may come from creating new farmland, which may ameliorate carbon dioxide emissions if done through reclamation of desert as in PalestineW, or may worsen emissions if done through slash and burnW farming, as in BrazilW. Additionally, Genetically modified organismW crops show promise for radically increasing crop yields, although many people and governments are apprehensive of this new farming method.
Some advocates favour sustainable agriculture as the only system which can be sustained over the long-term. However, organic production methods, especially in transition, yield less than their conventional counterparts and raise the same problems of sustaining populations globally.
Urban planning
There has been considerable debate about which form of human residential habitat may be a better social form for sustainable agriculture.
Many environmentalists advocate urban developments with high population density as a way of preserving agricultural land and maximizing energy efficiency. However, others have theorized that sustainable ecocities, or ecovillages which combine habitation and farming with close proximity between producers and consumers, may provide greater sustainability.
The use of available city space (e.g., rooftop gardensW, community gardens, garden sharingW, and other forms of urban agriculture for cooperative food production is another way to achieve greater sustainability.
One of the latest ideas in achieving sustainable agricultural involves shifting the production of food plants from major factory farming operations to large, urban, technical facilities called vertical farms. The advantages of vertical farming include year-round production, isolation from pests and diseases, controllable resource recycling, and on-site production that reduces transportation costs. While a vertical farm has yet to become a reality, the idea is gaining momentum among those who believe that current sustainable farming methods will be insufficient to provide for a growing global population.[1]
See also
- Agroforestry
- Aquaponics
- Biomass
- Composting
- Ecological sanitation
- Forest gardening
- How to practice sustainable agriculture
- List of sustainable agriculture topics
- Organic farming
- Organic food
- Permaculture
- Sustainable development
- Urban agriculture
References
Sources
- Dore, J. 1997. Sustainability Indicators for Agriculture: Introductory Guide to Regional/National and On-farm Indicators, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Australia.
- Gold, Mary. 1999. Sustainable Agriculture: Definitions and Terms. Special Reference Briefs Series no. SRB 99-02 Updates SRB 94-5 September 1999. National Agricultural Library, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
- Hayes, B. 2008. Trial Proposal: Soil Amelioration in the South Australian Riverland.
- Jahn, GC, B. Khiev, C. Pol, N. Chhorn, S. Pheng, and V. Preap. 2001. Developing sustainable pest management for rice in Cambodia. pp. 243–258, In S. Suthipradit, C. Kuntha, S. Lorlowhakarn, and J. Rakngan [eds.] “Sustainable Agriculture: Possibility and Direction” Proceedings of the 2nd Asia-Pacific Conference on Sustainable Agriculture 18–20 October 1999, Phitsanulok, Thailand. Bangkok (Thailand): National Science and Technology Development Agency. 386 p.
- Lindsay Falvey (2004) Sustainability - Elusive or Illusion: Wise Environmental Management. Institute for International Development, Adelaide pp259.
- Hecht, Susanna and Alexander Cockburn (1989) The Fate of the Forest: developers, destroyers and defenders of the Amazon. New York: Verso.
- Netting, Robert McC. (1993) Smallholders, Householders: Farm Families and the Ecology of Intensive, Sustainable Agriculture. Stanford Univ. Press, Palo Alto.
- Dedicated double issue of Philosophical Transactions B on Sustainable Agriculture. Some articles are freely available.
Further reading
- Laki, G. (2002): Added value as the basis of sustainable agriculture’s subsidy system. In: (Eds. Trebicky, V. - Novak, J.) "Rio+10 Transition from Centrally Planned Economy to Sustainable Society? (Visegrad Agenda 21)", Institute for Environmental Policy, Prague, 2002, 49. p.
- Laki, G., Szakál, F. (2002): Added Value as a key indicator for sustainable agriculture. In: A mezőgazdasági termelés és erőforrás-hasznosítás ökonómiája - VIII. Nemzetközi Agrárökonómiai Tudományos Napok, SZIE Gazdálkodási és Mezőgazdasági Főiskolai Kar, Gyöngyös, 6 p.
- Madden, Patrick (March/April 1986). "Debt-Free Farming is Possible". Farm Economics (Pennsylvania: Cooperative Extension Service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture [and] The Pennsylvania State University). ISSN 0555-9456
- Pender J., Place F., Ehui S. (2006) Strategies for Sustainable Land Management in the East African Highlands
- Pollan M. (2007) The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by
- Roberts W. (2008) The No-Nonsense Guide to World Food by Roberts W. (2008)
External links
- Africa Project 2020 An Effort to Eradicate Hunger in Africa by empowering Farmers through Sustainable Agriculture.
- Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis
- Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Promoting the practice and understanding of the Biodynamic system of sustainable agriculture.
- Center for Environmental Farming Systems
- WSU Center for Sustaining Agriculture & Natural Resources
- Food Alliance The most credible and comprehensive certification for sustainable agriculture and food handling in North America.
- A special issue of the Journal of Environmental Management focuses on farm management and sustainable agriculture.
- Greenpeace Sustainable Agriculture campaign
- The Land Institute Research on sustainable perennial crop systems
- National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
- National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture
- What is Sustainable Agriculture? (from SAREP: University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program)
- Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
- SAREP: University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program
- Sustainable Commodity Initiative
- Industry-based initiative promoting sustainable agriculture for the production of mainstream agricultural materials
- Rainforest Alliance's Sustainable Agriculture program
- The Vertical Farm Project Envisioning the future of human food production as a mechanism for environmental restoration, protection from infectious disease, and a source of sustainable energy
- SANREM CRSP Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Collaborative Research Support Program at Virginia Tech
- Self Help Development International SHDI is an Irish agency engaged in promoting long term sustainable development projects in Africa.
- Spade & Spoon: Localizing the Way Westerners Eat
- SAFECROP Centre for research and development of crop protection with low environment and consumer health impact
- Sustainable Agriculture, Biodiversity and Livelihoods Programme, part of the Natural Resources Group, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
- Research on Agriculture and its role in international development from the Overseas Development Institute
- A Natural Step Case Study: Planning for the future harvest: Sustainability in the food industry - The Organically Grown Company
- Sustainable Agriculture Portal on WiserEarth
- List of Sustainable Agriculture Organizations on WiserEarth
- Center for Sustainable Energy Farming