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

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References

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Sources

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


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  1. ↑ Vertical Farming
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