What Constitutes Sustainable Farming And Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainable farming is a goal to which the human race must aspire if any quality of life is to be maintained into the future. The chemical technologies which have temporarily allowed conventional farming to increase its yields are contaminating both the food and the soil in which it is grown. Unless this trend is reversed, it is going to prove impossible for us to sustain the levels of food production we have today. Even without the heavy chemical processes which are used all too frequently today, there is still a possibility that a process is not fully sustainable.

The components of sunlight and air are fully renewable, but farming requires other components which may well not be. Water is the most obvious of these. Although water is in plentiful supply across the Earth's surface, certain farming processes can still use it in such a way that it is dissipated, and these farming methods cannot therefore be considered as sustainable. Each different process also removes nutrients from the soil, meaning that there is a limit to the amount of food which can be produced from any given plot of land. Replenishing these nutrients is essential if an overall process is to become sustainable.

Nitrogen is a crucial factor in a sustainable farm, and a method of producing it in a sustainable way must be found. One possibility which has often been touted is that of recycling crop waste and manure from livestock, or even from human beings. Although this could play a major part in a fully sustainable system, these resources are only limited and some other source of nitrogen needs to be found. One strong possibility is to generate nitrogen from hydrogen, which could be produced from the electrolysis of water.

Another factor which needs to be taken into account when assessing a sustainable agricultural policy is the end location of the food. Food which is grown for export to richer nations has to be transported, and in the world today that inevitably means the consumption of fossil fuels and the emission of copious amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The more food which can be grown locally, the less the damage which will be done to the environment. This damage can also be reduced by using a far more sustainable method of transportation, for example a railway powered by renewable energy.

Organic farming represents the only truly sustainable agriculture, but the switch to organic farming will result in lower yields. Consideration needs to be given to how the resources we have can be best used, especially in urban areas. Using flat rooftop space, for example, to grow more food is one possibility which may help to compensate for reduced rural yields. One thing is for sure – the current system is definitely not sustainable, and unless an alternative is found, the human race will be facing serious problems very soon. We simply must find the answer to sustainable farming.

 

 

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