Organic Farming Basics

10 Techniques For Truly Sustainable Agriculture

Agriculture, which has become incredibly efficient thanks to the development of new technologies and techniques perfected over time, has enabled something unprecedented. Today, we humans are better nourished than ever.

But this development, to celebrate, of course, does not come without problems. The effects on the soil we use to grow crops are permanent. The emission of greenhouse gases is increasing, making caring for the environment a pending task.

Today we will focus on identifying some techniques to achieve completely environmentally friendly and sustainable agriculture.

How Does Agriculture Impact The Environment?

According to Eurostat data, the emissions generated by agriculture in Europe are mainly related to the use of land, livestock, rice production and biomass generation.

The report estimated that emissions in 2011 were equivalent to 10.1% of the total of the productive sectors.

In turn, the significant sources of emissions are gases from livestock, among which we find methane; the nitrification and denitrification of the soil, causing emissions of nitrogen oxides, and the decomposition of manure, which produces methane and carbon dioxide.

However, in the European area, the emission of greenhouse gases fell considerably between 1990 and 2011.

More recent data, as of 2017, show that the trend remains stable in Europe, where emissions from the agricultural sector were estimated at 10%, reducing by a total of 104 million tons of CO2 since 1990. Methane emissions, meanwhile, were reduced by 53 million tons, falling 21%.

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Similar data are found in the United States. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), agriculture contributed 10% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2018.

Even so, globally, greenhouse gas emissions (total, not only from agriculture) have grown, with developing countries being the most significant contributors (67% of the total).

It is not strange then to think that the agricultural techniques and methods used in these countries are less efficient and therefore more damaging to the environment, taking into account that agriculture is the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the world.

Regarding land use, the impacts of agriculture on it, and the impact on water, excess fertilizers for farmland and fertilizers for farms, although they allow other environmental benefits as we will see later, can cause soil erosion and water pollution.

Nitrogen oxides, another of the emissions produced by agriculture, is the primary source of acid rain, which results in the destruction of forests, vegetation and the fauna of an ecosystem or biome.

The following are 10 cultivation techniques to achieve truly organic farming.

1. Extending Forestry

Forestry is, in simple words, a method of managing forests to obtain different products necessary for human life sustainably, not just food.

This has been gaining strength globally, but especially in China, with examples such as the Forest Farm in the town of Liuminying, south of the capital, Beijing, and in the Philippines, where economic benefits have been granted to farmers who implement this technique.

In China, scientists suggested planting Paulownia and willow in and around the fields of the Liuminying farm while teaching local people proper planting methods.

Farmers allocated more than 11% of their land for this initiative. When the trees grew, they covered up to 17.4% of the land, compared to 6.1% before planting.

This, in turn, achieved, with only 10% of arable land, an increase in the grain harvest by 38%, attributed to the protection against the wind and storms that the crops received thanks to the trees and the improved microclimate.

Additionally, the leaves that fell from these trees fertilized the soil, a relevant factor for a better harvest.

2. Use Genetically Improved Fertilizers And Seeds

The use of genetically enhanced fertilizers and seeds (whose image is often negative) has had an indirect positive impact on the environment: the amount of soil used.

To date, in all the countries of the world with agricultural systems where the use of fertilizers and improved seeds predominates, the amount of food produced has grown exponentially. That too without the need to increase land use in the same proportion, which avoids deforestation and loss of biodiversity.

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3. Control Pests In An Integrated Way

Another example of a green solution that has been running for a long time: Integrated Pest Control. It has been used by farmers in the United States for over 20 years. It is an effective and sustainable method of pest control.

Integrated Pest Control (IPM) works by observing and studying the life cycle of pests and how they interact with the environment.

Through monitoring, pests can be accurately identified, and appropriate control decisions can be made to eliminate them.

Once the monitoring process has been carried out, the IPM considers the best method to eliminate pests, if possible, by mechanical means, such as manual eradication, traps, insect barriers, aspiration and tillage to interrupt the breeding pests. All these methods are tried before resorting to pesticides.

Other options include low-risk chemicals such as pheromones to prevent mating and breeding of pests.

The control of pests has two environmental benefits: it avoids the destruction of crops (with its consequent damage to the soil) and the proliferation of potentially invasive fauna for adjacent ecosystems.

4. Use Precision Agriculture

Another method that can be used to ensure agricultural sustainability is precision agriculture.

This method is indicated to manage crops using field operations to adapt to different local variations in yields and soil conditions.

This is done with the help of advanced technology coupled with extensive prior knowledge in field management.

Through precision agriculture, an agricultural production process is born that is both economically viable and low in environmental impact.

Precision agriculture allows farmers to change how their farm operates. At the same time, its technology, such as remote sensing, influences the decision-making process.

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5. Implement Tillage

The farm, which conserves soil by reducing erosion, is a method to account for farmers.

Utilizing this, the surplus of a crop is left on the ground after harvest, allowing an increase in the natural recycling of the crop surplus.

This sustainable farming method used in soybean, wheat and cotton fields is expected to increase considerably within the next 15 years.

6. Create Edible Forests

The food forests take advantage of the gardens and grounds unutilized of a city to grow food and whether public spaces such as parks, sidewalks, or even the gardens of the houses.

This practice, which has begun to gain strength in developed and middle-income countries, is related to permaculture. It aims to make better use of city spaces and allow more people to access food more locally, avoiding the long distances in the transport of food.

7. Promote Urban Agriculture

Another relevant example of sustainable agriculture appropriate for large cities is urban agriculture.

As free lands become valuable assets for urban development, many people have turned to homegrown crops as an economical, healthy and environmentally friendly way to grow their own vegetables.

Urban agriculture is a super-technique that involves other even more specific ones such as:

· Home gardens

· Vertical farms

· Hydroponics

· Creating homemade compost

8. Implement Crop Rotation

Crop rotation is about using the same land to grow different foods at different times of the year.

It is a technique that intuitively may seem intensive. Still, the variation of crops allows nutrients to be retained in the soils while avoiding more land to grow other products.

9. Designate Accommodation Spaces For Animals

Animal housing, or housing animals, is a technique referenced in the Survey of Agricultural Production Methods of the European Union to reduce and control gases emitted by livestock.

It consists of designating unique spaces with manure and greenhouse gas treatment systems.

10. Keep Floors Covered

Winters are particularly harsh on soils, making implementing covers over the ground or over the crops a viable option for caring for them.

This practice is linked to indoor or indoor agriculture. However, it can be applied on a large scale and allows climate conditions to have a lesser effect on the soil and production.

In Conclusion

Without any doubt, green technology in the agriculture sector can be used to generate both environmental and economic benefits. However, just because these methods are available does not mean that they are easily adopted.

The first thought that crosses the minds of producers and farmers is profitability, so if these methods are capable of generating profit, they will indeed be adopted.