Sustainable agriculture encompasses technological advancements and improved agricultural management methods; it is a concept rather than a particular approach. Conventional agriculture is confronted with declining yields, rising costs, or both. One of the main concerns is the growing amount of fertilizer and pesticide needed, together with the energy needed for tilling the soil to aerate it and rising irrigation costs. These days, the need for sustainability is becoming more and more intertwined with the need for productivity. The best possible use and management of soil fertility and its physiochemical properties are necessary for improvements in sustainable agriculture.
The conservation of soil, water, and wildlife as well as a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on fossil fuels are the main objectives of sustainable agriculture. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA), another name for sustainable agriculture techniques, is a multilevel approach that involves stakeholders at all levels, from local to national, in designing agricultural tactics that are appropriate for the local environment. It also contributes to food security.
In order to maintain food security in a changing climate, CSA assists in modifying agricultural systems. In particular, women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists, and fishers should have equal and secure access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets, and opportunities for value-adding and nonfarm employment. By 2030, agricultural productivity and the incomes of small-scale food producers should be doubled.
By 2030, make sure that food production systems are sustainable and put in place resilient agricultural practices that boost output and productivity, support ecosystem maintenance, strengthen capacity to adapt to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding, and other disasters, and gradually improve the quality of land and soil. Widespread SA deployment is an ongoing, changing process. It necessitates constant pathway selection, constant barrier and obstacle removal from both new and old situations, and constant optimization.
Dr. J .P. Thakur
Associate Professor, School of Agriculture
