Sustainable agriculture is a system of farming that strives to provide resources necessary for present human populations while conserving the planet’s ability to sustain future generations. Sustainable agriculture seeks to prioritise ‘planetary health’ and the idea that stability of the planet determines human well-being. Its basic tenets include promoting socio-economic equity, earning profit, and maintaining ecosystem health. Because modern agriculture has played a substantial role in precipitating an extinction of plant and animal species on Earth, sustainable agriculture actively endeavours to protect and support biodiversity.
Sustainable agricultural practices are methods of farming that prioritise long-term health and productivity of the land as well as the well-being of farmers and their communities. By this, factors like environmental stewardship, soil conservation, water conservation, biodiversity, food safety and quality and the likes come to play. Sustainable agriculture emphasises planting varieties of crops, including heirloom plants, which are often suited to a region’s particular climate. Sustainable agriculture advocates the use of polyculture rather than monoculture in which multiple crops are grown together although polyculture is frequently more labour-intensive than industrial monoculture, polyculture can reduce the need for chemical pesticides and fertilizers and generally improves soil quality.
Similarly, crop rotation can help preserve soil productivity and lessen the need for agricultural chemicals for fertilization and pest control. The use of nitrogen-fixing cover crops, smother crops, and green manures can help restore soils and reduce erosion. Composting crop residues and other agricultural wastes helps recycle nutrients back to the farmland. Additionally, adopting sustainable agriculture practices by farmers helps ensure long term health and productivity of the land as well as well-being of farmers, communities and its environment. As a result of this, farmers devise this method for reasons such as soil conservation to prevent soil erosion, water conservation in order to reduce water and conserve the vital resource, market demand, which is meant to meet consumer demand for sustainably-produced food. By adopting sustainable agriculture practices, farmers are able to ensure a thriving agriculture sector that benefits both people and the planet in minimising exposure to harmful chemicals and the promotion of human health.
