The next few decades are going to be particularly challenging for the agricultural industry. According to the United Nations, the world’s population in 2022 stands at 8 billion. It’s a 2 billion increase in just twenty years. By 2050, the world population is expected to reach 9.7 billion.
More land will be required for city infrastructure and housing. The agricultural industry will be expected to provide more food on less land. Could the solution to the dilemma be sustainable agriculture?
What is Sustainable Agriculture?
It enables farmers to adequately meet society’s food and textile requirements. At the same time, their agricultural methods are meant to have minimal impact on the environment. Is such a difficult balance between demand and supply sustainable?
A Lesson from the Past
One of the most notable increases in the world’s population was immediately after World War 2. The ‘Baby Boomer’ generation increased the population by 2.2% every year after 1945. Science provided the solution to the demand for more food at inexpensive prices.
The post-war era saw the introduction of chemical fertilisers and pesticides such as DDT. It took decades to assess the disastrous environmental impact of such products. How can sustainable agriculture ensure crop yields are sufficiently high?
Soil Detoxification
Intensive industrial farming in recent years has concentrated on monoculture. Vast swathes of land are often devoted to a single crop. They usually deplete the soil of particular nutrients, which are replaced by synthetic fertilisers.
Unless balanced by nature, a single crop can encourage pests and diseases in the soil. Traditional methods such as crop rotation were designed to restore lost nutrients and deter pests through the plants themselves.
A successful example of sustainable, toxin-free agriculture is the Sri Lankan tea industry. In the late 1980s, the entire island began a twenty-year programme to completely eradicate the use of artificial pesticides and fertilisers. Sri Lanka is now the world’s fourth-largest tea producer, and the only country to supply environmentally-friendly tea.
Natural Pest Control
The most sustainable method of pest control is to encourage natural predators such as birds, hedgehogs, and frogs. Replacing lost hedgerows and pools creates a sustainable, natural habitat where such creatures can thrive.
The immense, desert-like fields of North America have been proven to have a devastating impact on local wildlife. The bird population alone has decreased by 29% since the 1970s. Habitat loss and pesticides have caused three billion birds, such as insect-eating robins, to starve to death.
Sustainable agriculture should include a return to natural farming methods. Hedgerows of different plants help deter pests. They also encourage nature’s predators to replace pesticides.
Water Conservation
An expanding population combined with rising global temperatures could drastically reduce the availability of water for agriculture. Cotton is a sustainable, recyclable textile, but it’s a particularly thirsty crop. One kilogram of finished cotton requires 20,000 liters of water.
Farms located near beavers usually benefit from their dam building. They create pools that retain groundwater that would otherwise be lost. A serious threat to agricultural water loss is large-scale flooding. This in turn is instigated by deforestation at any level.
Forming extra large fields through the removal of trees and hedgerows accelerates soil erosion. Sustainable agriculture retains these natural barriers, significantly reducing the impact of heavy rainfall. It keeps water where it’s needed instead of flooding other areas.
Agriculture and Nature
Sir David Attenborough has warned that a devastated bee population would completely obliterate the earth’s food supply in just four years. Bees are nature’s pollinators of many crops, including tomatoes and apples. In the UK, bees have lost 75% of their habitats.
Wildflower meadows were once the main source of food for bees. Yet 97% of meadows have been eradicated since the Second World War due to intensive farming.
Many bees have been forced to seek refuge in suburban gardens. Unfortunately, many of these are just as desolate as industrial farmland. Planting flowers to make gardens bee-friendly is vitally important.
Energy Usage
Agricultural machinery increases the efficiency of the yearly cycle from spring ploughing to harvesting. It uses fuel, but even more, can be used in transporting fresh produce over long distances. Effective sustainability relies on finding local markets as much as possible.
Conclusion
The agricultural industry has great responsibilities. It provides food, but it also has the power to harm or safeguard the environment. Sustainable agriculture aims to combine the best of efficient farming methods with age-old techniques such as crop rotation.
Breaking the dependence on artificial pesticides and fertilisers is possible, as Sri Lanka has demonstrated. To keep pests at bay, sustainable agriculture needs to restore lost hedgerows, wildflower meadows, and ponds.
It can take years for traditional agricultural habitats to be revived. In the meantime, suburban gardens can help bridge the gap by creating wildlife-friendly, flower-filled spaces.
Author Bio:
Joe Doherty is a manager at Atkins, a garden and farm machinery business in Ireland. They sell farm parts, garden parts, garden machinery, and more.
