You must be wondering what sustainable agriculture means. This term may be new to most of you. Don’t worry here, we are going to discuss this term and its benefits.
Many people think of shifting their conventional farming to a sustainable one. A current survey says that indeed organic farming gives a 25% lower yield than conventional farming. But many are moving towards that to make it sustainable.
In this discussion, we will dig into the benefits of sustainable agriculture. You can also visit the website pmkisan.gov.in query for more information and Question-solving.
Benefits Of Sustainable Agriculture
Though chemical fertilizers and pesticides boosted productivity and industrialization of agricultural yield. But it comes at a high price and causes many health hazards by polluting water and air. Thus sustainable agriculture came into practice.
Let us discuss some benefits of sustainable agriculture
Staves Off Pollution
The application of pesticides and nitrogen fertilizers increases the amount of nitrous oxide and pollutes air quality. Sustainable agriculture prevents air pollution by absorbing agricultural remnants into the soil. Using improved tillage practice, planting windbreaks, planting native perennials and covering the crops help to prevent dust.
Energy Saver
Nowadays agriculture depends on non-renewable sources of energy, mainly petroleum. This is harming our heritage as non-renewable energy sources are limited. Sustainable farming systems minimize the use of non-renewable or fossil fuels by swapping them with renewable sources.
Soil Erosion Prevention
One of the important drawbacks of traditional agriculture practices like tillage is soil erosion. It is a very severe problem that threatens the world as we are losing around 10-12 million hectares of cropland per year due to soil erosion.
Soil erosion can be prevented by eliminating tillage, proper irrigation to minimize runoff and planting more plants. Sustainable agriculture and agroforestry enhance farms’ economic stability.
Facilitates Biodiversity
Sustainable farming is earth friendly practice that includes crop rotation and organic farming that helps to enrich soil nutrition and increases fertility. It also helps to prevent diseases and pest infestation. Practicing such farming allows farmers to plant a wide variety of plants and increases biodiversity.
Using pesticides not only kills pests but also pollinators. Using pesticide-free farming increases the population of pollinators such as bumble bees suffered due to universal toxins which have plunged over the years.
Cattle Friendly
Selecting proper animal species, reproduction practices, animal nutrition, herd health and grazing management all comprise sustainable livestock production.
In sustainable agriculture, animals are reared with proper care. They are kept in a natural habitat so that they grow more naturally. In sustainable farming, farmers use livestock husbandry techniques that protect the health of the animals.
Cost Effective
Sustainable farming prevents the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and harsh chemicals farming. It only promotes the use of manure and organic waste that is decomposed and used as fertilizers. Many New machines are developed to make sustainable farming easier. You can find it on www agrimachinery nic in.
Organic farming also recovers soil fertility and lessens the use of synthetic fertilizers. Another cost-effective farming technique is hydroponics. This allows you to maximize your plant growth all year round.
Improving Food Production
There are around 8 billion people across the globe and providing food to everyone is a challenging task. But with sustainable and smart farming practices waste can be lessened and food can be provided to more people without jeopardizing the assets of future generations.
Improves Health
Less use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers gives a positive impact on human health. It prevents nose irritation, nausea, diarrhea, blisters pesticide poisoning, etc. Long-term exposure causes chronic disorders like brain damage, birth defects, infertility, liver, kidney, and lung disease, and cancer of the prostate, testes, and ovaries. Children are most vulnerable to its toxicity which can be prevented by sustainable agriculture.
