Methods of Sustainable Agriculture

The word sustainable has become very popular in recent years, and it is now used to describe a lot of things. But what is sustainable agriculture? Simply put, sustainable agriculture is the production of plant and animal products, including food, in a way that uses farming techniques that protect the environment, public health, communities, and the welfare of animals.
Sustainable agriculture allows us to produce and enjoy healthy foods without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same. The key to sustainable agriculture is finding the right balance between the need for food production and the preservation of environmental ecosystems.
Sustainable agriculture also promotes economic stability for farms and helps farmers to better their quality of life. Agriculture continues to be the biggest employer in the world, with 40% of the world’s population working in it.
If given a choice, I’m sure we would all choose to consume natural chemical-free food instead of food that is sprayed with pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Sustainable agriculture differs greatly from industrial agriculture, where large volumes of crops, as well as livestock, are produced for sale using industrial techniques.

Industrial agriculture relies heavily on pesticides and chemical fertilizers and other chemical enhancers. In the past decade, the majority of the food we ate has been grown in this manner. However, in the last couple of years, due to the negative aspects of the technique, there has been a slight shift towards the use of sustainable agricultural methods.

Methods of Sustainable Agriculture

1. Crop Rotation
Crop rotation is one of the most powerful techniques of sustainable agriculture. Its purpose is to avoid the consequences that come with planting the same crops in the same soil for years in a row. It helps tackle pest problems, as many pests prefer specific crops. If the pests have a steady food supply, they can greatly increase their population size.
Rotation breaks the reproduction cycles of pests. During rotation, farmers can plant certain crops, which replenish plant nutrients. These crops reduce the need for chemical fertilizers.

2. Permaculture
Permaculture is a food production system with intention, design, and smart farming to reduce waste of resources and create increased production efficiency. Permaculture design techniques include growing grain without tillage, herb and plant spirals, hugelkultur garden beds, keyhole and mandala gardens, sheet mulching, each plant serving multiple purposes, and creating swales on contour to hold water high on the landscape.
It focuses on the use of perennial crops such as fruit trees, nut trees, and shrubs all together to function in a designed system that mimics how plants in a natural ecosystem would function.

3. Cover Crops
Many farmers choose to have crops planted in a field at all times and never leave it barren; this can cause unintended consequences. By planting cover crops, such as clover or oats, the farmer can achieve his goals of preventing soil erosion, suppressing the growth of weeds, and enhancing the quality of the soil. The use of cover crops also reduces the need for chemicals such as fertilizers.

4. Soil Enrichment
Soil is a central component of agricultural ecosystems. Healthy soil is full of life, which can often be killed by the overuse of pesticides. Good soils can increase yields as well as help create more robust crops.
It is possible to maintain and enhance the quality of the soil in many ways. Some examples include leaving crop residue in the field after a harvest, and the use of composted plant material or animal manure.

5. Natural Pest Predators
In order to maintain effective control over pests, it is important to view the farm as an ecosystem as opposed to a factory. For example, many birds and other animals are, in fact, natural predators of agricultural pests.
Managing your farm so that it can harbor populations of these pest predators is effective as well as a sophisticated technique. The use of chemical pesticides can result in the indiscriminate killing of pest predators.

6. Bio intensive Integrated Pest Management
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an approach, which essentially relies on biological as opposed to chemical methods. IMP also emphasizes the importance of crop rotation to combat pest management.
Once a pest problem is identified, IPM will ensure that chemical solutions will only be used as a last resort. Instead, the appropriate responses would be the use of sterile males and biocontrol agents such as ladybirds.

7. Polyculture Farming
This technique is similar to crop rotation that tries to mimic natural principles to achieve the best yields. It involves growing multiple crop species in one area. These species often complement each other and helps produce a greater diversity of products at one plot while fully utilizing available resources.
High biodiversity makes the system more resilient to weather fluctuations, promotes a balanced diet and applies natural mechanisms for maintaining soil fertility.

8. Agroforestry
Agroforestry has become one of the powerful tools of farmers in dry regions with soils susceptible to desertification. It involves the growth of trees and shrubs amongst crops or grazing land, combining both agriculture and forestry practices for long-lasting, productive, and diverse land use when approached sustainably.
Trees have another important role that maintains the favorable temperature, stabilizes soils and soil humidity, minimizes nutrient runoff and protects crops from wind or heavy rain. Trees in this farming system are additional sources of income for farmers with the possibilities for product diversification.

9. Biodynamic Farming
Biodynamic farming incorporates ecological and holistic growing practices based on the philosophy of “anthroposophy.” It focuses on the implementation of practices such as composting, application of animal manure from farmed animals, cover cropping or rotating complementary crops for generating the necessary health and soil fertility for food production.
Biodynamic practices can be applied to farms that grow a variety of produce, gardens, vineyards, and other forms of agriculture.

10. Better Water Management
The first step in water management is the selection of the right crops. Local crops that are more adaptable to the weather conditions of the region are selected. Crops that do not demand too much water must be chosen for dry areas.

There should be well-planned irrigation systems; otherwise, other issues like river depletion, dry land and soil degradation will develop.
The application of rainwater harvesting systems by storing rainwater can be used in drought prevailing conditions. Apart from that, municipal wastewater can be used for irrigation after recycling.