Sustainable Agriculture-(maintaining natural ecology for

future generation).

INTRODUCTION
Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile
needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It
can be based on an understanding of ecosystem services. There are many methods to increase the
sustainability of agriculture. When developing agriculture within sustainable food systems, it is
important to develop flexible business process and farming practices. Sustainable agriculture
provides a potential solution to enable agricultural systems to feed a growing population within
the changing environmental conditions.
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES
Over decades of science and practice, several key sustainable farming practices have emerged—
for example:
Rotating crops and embracing diversity: Planting a variety of crops can have many benefits,
including healthier soil and improved pest control.
Planting cover crops. Cover crops, like clover or hairy vetch, are planted during off-season
times when soils might otherwise be left bare.
Reducing or eliminating tillage. Traditional plowing (tillage) prepares fields for planting and
prevents weed problems, but can cause a lot of soil loss
Applying integrated pest management (IPM). A range of methods, including mechanical and
biological controls, can be applied systematically to keep pest populations under control while
minimizing use of chemical pesticides.
Integrating livestock and crops. Industrial agriculture tends to keep plant and animal
production separate, with animals living far from the areas where their feed is produced farms.
Adopting agroforestry practices. By mixing trees or
shrubs into their operations, farmers can provide shade
and shelter to protect plants, animals, and water resourc
es, while also potentially offering additional income. 3
REQUIREMENTS OF
SUSTAINABLEAGRICULTURE:
 It should be economically sustainabe.

 It should be environmentally sound.

  It should be socially sustainable.

Benefits of Sustainable Farming

1 . Environment Preservation
2. Economic Profitability
3. Most efficient use of non-renewable resources
4. Protection of Public Health
5. Social and Economic Equity

Sustainable Farming Methods or Practices

1. Make use of Renewable Energy Sources
2. Integrated pest management
Integrated pest management is a combination of pest control
techniques for identifying and observing pests in the initial stages
3. Hydroponics and Aquaponics

In these innovative farming techniques, plants grow without soil and

get nourished through specialized nutrients that are added to water.
4. Crop Rotation
Crop rotation is a tried and tested method used since ancient farming
practices proven to keep the soil healthy and
nutritious. Crop rotation has a logical explanation
to it – the crops are picked in a pattern so that the
crops planted this season replenish the nutrients
and salts from the soil that were absorbed by the
previous crop cycle. For example, row crops are
planted after grains to balance the used nutrients.
5. Polyculture Farming
It involves growing multiple crop species in one
area.
6. Permaculture
Permaculture is a food production system with intention, design, and smart farming to reduce
waste of resources and create increased production efficiency.
7. Avoid Soil Erosion

8. Crop Diversity
Farmers can grow varieties of the same crop yielding small but substantial differences among the
plants. This eases financial burdening. This process is called crop
diversity, and its practical use is on a downslide.
9. Agroforestry
Agroforestry has become one of the powerful tools of farmers in
dry regions with soils susceptible to desertification.

10. Better Water Management

The first step in water management is the selection of the right
crops. One must choose the local crops as they are more adaptable to the weather conditions of
the region. Crops that do not demand too much water must be chosen for dry areas. Irrigation
systems need to be well planned otherwise,
they lead to other issues like river depletion,
dry land and soil degradation.

11. Urban Agriculture

Since most of the global population is
predicted to live in cities in the future, there is
tremendous scope for urban agriculture to
make a significant positive impact on how we
produce our food around the world.

Conclusion- Sustainable agriculture is the way to maintain a parity between

the increasing pressure of food demand and food production in the future. As
population growth, change in income demographics, and food preference
changes, there are changes in the demand of food of the future population.

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