Area of Focus: Sustainable Agriculture

Created: Jan 06, 2007
Updated: May 31, 2007

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Sustainable Agriculture

Photo source Sustainable agriculture and farming is the science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock that is economically viable, socially responsible, and ecologically sound, renewing the land for continued agricultural use in the long term. In practice, agricultural sustainability may also include budgetary and politically acceptable policies of governmental aid to help transition farming to more sustainable practices, control prices of food in poorer nations, and prevent environmental harms. On a global level, two trends are on a crash course: there is a steady increase in the consumption of food and fiber, and a steady decline in the quality and productivity of agricultural soils. In addition, farming is the single greatest threat to the planet's biodiversity and ecosystem services. Sustainable agriculture requires the reorganization of producers, buyers, investors, regulators, traders, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers as well as commodity financial agents. Sustainable world agriculture works toward breaking perverse incentives and practices that encourage soil depletion and agribusiness favoritism, promotes water conservation, higher producer incomes, and protection of biodiversity.

Change In Action

The mission of Citizens for the Environment and Future in Eastern Ontario is to: preserve our rural communities and our quality of life in East Hawkesbury and surrounding areas;
advance the interests of residents in these areas; assure protection of the environment in these areas; and to facilitate the collection of information related to these purposes.

Discussion Forum

Passionate about sustainable agriculture? Find or start a discussion forum here and share your stories with like-minded people

Related WiserEarth Portals

Agricultural Water Conservation and Management, Agroecology, Biological Control, Composting, Conservation Biology, Farm Ecosystem Management, Economic Development, Environmental Ethics, Ethnobotany, Food Supply, Gardening, Local Food Systems, Organic Farming, Natural Capitalism, Permaculture, Plant Ecology, Precision Farming, Rural Farming Communities, Social Development, Soil Ecology, Soil Conservation and Management, Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Communities, Sustainability Education, Sustainable Energy Development, Sustainable Livestock Husbandry, Sustainable Living, Water and Sustainable Development and Watershed Management

Keywords

sustainable world agriculture, sustainable agriculture education, alternative agriculture, organic agriculture, permanent agriculture, permaculture, biodynamic agriculture, ecological agriculture, ecosystem agriculture, perennial polyculture, agroecology, bioagriculture diversified farming, low-input farming, precision farming, agro-livestock farms, agroforestry, agro-sylvo-pastoral farming, diversified land use, crop diversity, crop rotations, time-of-planting practices, organic manures, closed nutrient cycles, crop rotations, low energy input, no agrochemical inputs, biological disease and pest control, renewable resources, holistic farming, ecosystem stability, soil stewardship, energy efficiency, food quality, animal welfare, no GMOs, green market products, certification, nonindustrial agriculture, agroecological zones, apiculture, shifting agriculture, swidden agriculture, land tenure, staple crop, terracing, usufruct right, agricultural tariffs, duties, quotas, nation state agricultural policy, international commodity agreements, food security, agricultural regulatory controls, farm labor costs and incomes, biotechnology, farm location and transportation costs, boycotts, buycotts, food health, culturally significant foods, better management practices, agricultural, soil conservation

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tnchig 7 months ago

To what extent can sustainable agriculture be achieved in an environment of contnual transformation (inorganic development)? Organic elements and processes only occurred at the inception and since then any development has been a transfomation of the original organic elements.

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