Chapter 8 - Revisiting sustainable systems and methods in agriculture

Abstract

Global climate change and population growth are two key issues that are currently the subject of discussions around the world. Currently, there are around 7.5 billion people on the planet Earth, and it is estimated that the population will grow by over 12 billion, the majority of whom will be living in mega cities in 2100. This means we need to produce more agricultural food while the global temperature increases. Molecular agriculture, hydroponics, or aquaponics indoor production through sky farming and nursery businesses are among the current topics on feeding, the planet Earth. In this chapter, we revisit some sustainable systems and methods used in agriculture. Different strategies of sustainable agricultural systems and methods seek to develop a sustainable environment and food production to increase crop productivity and soil health. This reduce the impacts of global climate change, through the adaptation and building of crop resilience, as well as conserving biodiversity, capturing carbon in the soil, and reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. Sustainability can be defined as the avoidance of the depletion of natural resources to maintain an ecological balance at a certain rate and it finds its exact definition in the biological systems where there exists exchange, but no waste is produced. Sustainable agriculture can be defined as desired type of agricultural activity to supply society's food and textile needs in the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. From this definition, it is clear to note that an agricultural system cannot be sustainable if it causes environmental damage. Therefore, the environmental sustainability of agriculture is related to the preservation, restoration, and improvement of all natural elements such as air, water, soil, and their proper recycling along with the biodiversity of plant, animal, and microorganisms. Environmental sustainability and sustainable agriculture include the intentional practice of maintaining (engineering or mimicking the nature) healthy soil; managing water wisely; reducing food waste; minimizing pollution of air, water, and soil; promoting biodiversity; reducing tillage; integrating pest management; integrating livestock and crops; adopting sustainable practices, while enhancing the quality of life for communities of agriculture. To date, several sustainable agricultural systems and methods have been developed. In this chapter we revisit several dominant sustainable agriculture systems and methods practiced in agriculture. Each system has advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, we need to use more than one system in sustainable agriculture. The key to sustainable agriculture is finding the right balance between the need for food production and the preservation of environmental ecosystems. However, today's majority of conventional agriculture and biotechnology are in directions as in the 20th century and before which focused on only more productions. Production-oriented agriculture already caused significant global climate change, water scarcity, land degradation, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity including agrobiodiversity. Grafting was added to the list of methods that could be used in all systems as a method of sustainable agriculture. We also provided definitions for individual systems and briefly explained the most common methods.