by Natalia Franca Rocha, New Ag International
by Natalia Franca Rocha, Conference Producer - New Ag International
When we think of agriculture, it is only natural that we link agricultural practices to food production, which are alarmingly responsible for up to 13% of environmental harm caused by us, humans, according to WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature). Our planet has never been the same since the Holecene era, when temperatures were stable, season conditions consistent and reliable. All of us at some point experienced the side effects caused by climate change; witnessing summers too hot or winters too cold: an instability in weathers and seasons. It is common knowledge that deforestation is a major contributor to climate change and is of critical concern worldwide. Another major contributor to climate change is farming, whose effects need to start being treated with concern. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO, estimates that 36% of the Earth’s land deemed fit for food production is already being used for farming. Furthermore, according to WWF, about 50% of our Planet’s liveable lands are occupied by agricultural practices, including pasture and cropland. And if critical changes are not made now, this already immense amount of farmed land shall continue to expand, leading to increased levels of deforestation and other detrimental modifications on our ecosystem.
Agriculture is the biggest industry worldwide, employing billions of people and creating an estimated yearly economic revenue of food worth over 1.3 trillion USD, according to WWF. Moreover, despite COVID-19 and its implications, the agriculture industry has remained stable and FAO further estimates an increase of 60% in food production to sustain a larger number of people by 2050.
Agriculture has drastically changed since the industrial revolution, allowing farmers to utilize new technologies, appliances, chemical products and governmental policies to enhance food production whilst minimising its prices. As M. Altieri highlights in his book, The Science of Sustainable Agriculture: second edition, an agroecosystem determinants and factors have a great influence and impact on how crops are cultivated. These determinants include the following:
In order to define sustainable agriculture, we must weight in aspects of environmental health, economic profitability and, social equity. The idea here would be to explore interlinkages on how agricultural practices can be used to implement a more sustainable and regenerative approach to farming and food sector delivery.
Figure 1: Sustainable agriculture divides weight equally between environmental, social and economic aspects of agriculture. Diagram taken from: https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/sustainable-agriculture-23562787/
Over the years, the detrimental environmental and societal impact of agriculture have been realised. To name a few, adverse effects of agriculture include impoverished soils and water supplies, species extinction and halting in biodiversity, desertification and deforestation, labour exploration and diminished numbers of family owned farms. These are serious issues that must be addressed at the root of the problem and farmers are already trying to ameliorate these effects by limiting water usage, rotating crops plantation to promote soil health, utilizing herds to enhance natural grazing, and avoiding employing pesticides where possible1.
However, more needs to be accomplished to best address the negative impact agricultural practices has on the stability and sustainability of our planet. As Kate Raworth highlighted in her book, Doughnut Economics, there are still areas where people worldwide are falling short on social foundations: climate change, nitrogen and phosphorus loading, land conversion and biodiversity loss. It is integral to remember that countries all around the world are going to be constantly affected if we do not act now, with climate change hitting particularly close to home in the UK as the National Farmer’s Union (NFU) predicts that the wheat harvest will decline due to climate change and severe weather.
Thus, it is pivotal that the industry, farmers and growers act now and adopt new practices and technologies that best emulate nature’s course of action and preserve limited resources such as water.
As the demand for environmentally friendly products is rising from the consumers, food chain stake holders and regulators, it brings on a great opportunity for the industry, governmental bodies and all those involved in agricultural practices to work together towards a better future. Innovation in agriculture is needed and it is a great time to adopt entrepreneurial ideas to minimise the gap between sustainable agricultural practices and environmental degradation. For instance, in Ghana, a group of ‘agripeneurs’ with different backgrounds are transforming the way in which farming is perceived. They work to demonstrate the appeal of this career path, particularly with the application of exciting and novel methods and ideas within the industry. Furthermore, concepts of combining technology with agriculture, for example, the development of vertical farming, implementation of Precision Ag, AgTech, biological solutions and products for plant nutrition and protection such as specialty fertilizers etc, can have direct impact implementing better regenerative sustainable agricultural practices. Hence, here at New AG International, we aim to bring together like-minded experts who all have a passion for developing the industry’s cutting-edge products for farmers. Our events have a key focus to facilitate meaningful connections between industry leaders, researchers, governmental bodies, distributors and all the key players active in agricultural practices!
Figure 2: Social Foundations dimension of human welfare and ecological ceiling. Red labels represent where people are falling behind on foundations in a global scale. Diagram taken from: https://www.kateraworth.com/doughnut/
To conclude, by looking at agriculture in a temporal relation, the industry can learn from its past and apply the best sustainable agricultural practices to the present in order to ensure food security and a better future for our planet. AlgaEnergy, for example, is an exemplary company leading the way on their commitment to ensure a more sustainable development to the future, contributing directly to 11 out of 17 sustainable development goals set by the United Nations.
1 Brodt, S., Six, J., Feenstra, G., Ingels, C. & Campbell, D. (2011) Sustainable Agriculture. Nature Education Knowledge 3(10):1
