Agricultural sustainability: concepts, principles and evidence

Abstract

Concerns about sustainability in agricultural systems centre on the need to develop technologies and practices that do not have adverse effects on environmental goods and services, are accessible to and effective for farmers, and lead to improvements in food productivity. Despite great progress in agricultural productivity in the past half-century, with crop and livestock productivity strongly driven by increased use of fertilizers, irrigation water, agricultural machinery, pesticides and land, it would be over-optimistic to assume that these relationships will remain linear in the future. New approaches are needed that will integrate biological and ecological processes into food production, minimize the use of those non-renewable inputs that cause harm to the environment or to the health of farmers and consumers, make productive use of the knowledge and skills of farmers, so substituting human capital for costly external inputs, and make productive use of people's collective capacities to work together to solve common agricultural and natural resource problems, such as for pest, watershed, irrigation, forest and credit management. These principles help to build important capital assets for agricultural systems: natural; social; human; physical; and financial capital. Improving natural capital is a central aim, and dividends can come from making the best use of the genotypes of crops and animals and the ecological conditions under which they are grown or raised. Agricultural sustainability suggests a focus on both genotype improvements through the full range of modern biological approaches and improved understanding of the benefits of ecological and agronomic management, manipulation and redesign. The ecological management of agroecosystems that addresses energy flows, nutrient cycling, population-regulating mechanisms and system resilience can lead to the redesign of agriculture at a landscape scale. Sustainable agriculture outcomes can be positive for food productivity, reduced pesticide use and carbon balances. Significant challenges, however, remain to develop national and international policies to support the wider emergence of more sustainable forms of agricultural production across both industrialized and developing countries.

Promoting nature conservation by Dutch farmers: a governance perspective

“…was conducted in order to explore other arrangements and to characterize the arrangements identified. The focus was on Buizer et al (2015), Dedeurwaerdere et al (2016), De Snoo et al (2013, Driessen (2005), Hall et al (2015), Horlings (1994), Lokhorst et al (2011), Meijer, Catacutan, Ajayi, Sileshi, andNieuwenhuis (2015), Mitrokostas and Apostolakis (2013), Pretty (2008), Runhaar et al (2015), Smits, Driessen, and Glasbergen (2008), Van Dijk, Lokhorst, Berendse, and de Snoo (2015).…”

“…Termeer, Dewulf, Breeman, & Stiller, 2015) and refers to being in possession of resources and skills, needed for nature conservation. A particular type of resource that is often discussed in literature about nature conservation by farmers is social capital, that is, shared norms and relations of trust among farmers and other actors as preconditions for cooperation and collective action (Pretty, 2008). In the Netherlands, cooperating groups of farmers in so-called environmental cooperatives are often considered as important for building social capital (e.g.…”

Regional suitability for agricultural intensification: a spatial analysis of the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania

“…During the last century, food production increased with demand through advances in agricultural production and seed technologies, especially during the Green Revolution. Per capita agricultural production outpaced population growth and there is 25% more food available for each person compared to 1960 (Pretty, 2008). Similarly, global grain production doubled during the past 50 years while arable land increased by only 9% (Pretty, 2008).…”

“…Per capita agricultural production outpaced population growth and there is 25% more food available for each person compared to 1960 (Pretty, 2008). Similarly, global grain production doubled during the past 50 years while arable land increased by only 9% (Pretty, 2008). However, these increases in agricultural production have levelled off in recent years due to diminishing returns of fertilizer inputs and a lack of new crop varieties (Royal Society, 2009;Tilman, Balzer, Hill, & Befort, 2011).…”

Topographical Chemical Properties of Paddy Soils in Gyeongnam Province

“…공익적 기능을 가지고 있다 (Eom et al, 1993;Pollock et al, 2008;Pretty, 2008;Zhao et al, 2008). 우리나라 일 반농경지 양분관리에 대해서 예전에는 토양 비옥도를 증진 시켜 작물의 생산성을 높이는데 중점을 두었지만 (Hur et al, 1997;Kim et al, 1963) 최근에는 양분불균형 해소와 집적된 양분의 관리 및 2차 오염을 예방하는 것이 중요하게 되었다 (Cho et al, 2002;Tang et al, 2008) Table 1.…”