FOOD: The Lifeline of Humans
Can you live without food??? Then how can one be so greedy so as to not replenishing the soil in which it is grown in the most appropriate manner!
Ola Amigos!
With the influx of all sorts of chemicals in today’s farming processes, the food that you eat creates more harm to your body than any other thing. It also hurts the soil and is a bane to “SUSTAINABILITY”. To our respite, there are many agricultural practices that have been developed lately to create a sustainable agricultural environment.
Now since in the previous section I had introduced to varied terms, Sustainable and Agriculture, let us connect the dots and find out what wonders can they do together, if collated.
According to USDA, A whole-systems approach to food, feed, and other fiber production that balances environmental soundness, social equity, and economic viability among all sectors of the public, including international and intergenerational peoples.
This definition beautifully throws the idea that sustainability is not a global term rather it is more cohesive including all the living organisms including us, the humans.
“Sustainable agriculture is the successful management of resources for agriculture to satisfy changing human needs, while maintaining or enhancing the quality of the environment and conserving natural resources” CGIAR/TAC, 1988.
Once, the definition is clear, it becomes necessary to look upon the different methods/practices of sustainable agriculture.
METHODS OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
Permaculture
Is it a hype or the ultimate answer to farmers’ plight, food shortage, and environmental challenges posed by industrial agriculture?
Permaculture is made up of two words, PERMAnent and AgriCULTURE. This agricultural method was ideated to create an intentional agricultural system and settlement which would be an epitome of interrelationships and environmental sustainability. It was christened in the 1970s by Bill Mollison and David Holmren (Australians) to come up with a sustainable way of land usage. Even though they coined the term, still the practice was practiced remotely earlier too.
Why something like this was needed in the Industrial Era 4.0?
The intensive agricultural practices are being followed today do more harm than benefit in the sense that its perennial usage makes the farming land unfit, and later unfit for human settlement too. Hence, a breakthrough was required. In permaculture, the land is optimally used so that even the future generation of ours can use that piece of land in a productive way. This in turn also leads to personal subsistence. It is that agricultural practice that can be followed for ages.
Industrial agriculture moreover cannot be used for ages. The reason being it simply deteriorates the quality of land over time and the practice of growing high-density or crops leads to loss of nutrients from the soil leaving the land strips barren! Also, the usage of artificial fertilizers leads to salination of the soil which in turn leaves the land infertile and highly saline.
How does it work?
This agricultural practice considered land to be holistic which acts as a thread to connect both the plants and animals who survive on it. This makes it a long-lasting agricultural practice. All the elements of the food cycle get distributed into requirements and contributions which ultimately leads to a self-supporting ecosystem when joined together.
There are three ethics that are to be followed while persuing this agricultural practice i.e. Care for People, Care for Earth, and Fair Share. The whole system of permaculture is based on these ethics. Also, one of the most interesting facts is that this system resonates with the ideology of the traditional societies that we had. Even though it is based on traditionalism, still it is beyond the mechanical aspect, it is more about designing sustainable systems.
Principles of Permaculture:
- We can observe nature and then come up with a mutual solution that touches the twin problems of food and sustainability.
- One needs to keep in mind that every place has some or the other energy resources and tapping and storing them efficiently is also very very important.
- Without yield there is no point in putting al the efforts, so make sure that you get a good yield as your reward.
- Prevent yourself from dwelling into the old industrial practices for the smooth functioning of the system.
- Nature has a plethora of renewable resources that farmers can use optimally. Depending upon these resources would help us to reduce the use of non-renewable resources.
- What is the point of using this technique if you produce waste??? Hence, it is essential that one uses resources efficiently without wasting them.
- It is important to integrate rather than segregate. This can be done by putting the right thing at the right place and then developing relationships amongst the same so that a conducive environment is created.
- India is a diverse nation and hence this diversity helps the nation to accept permaculture by reducing the vulnerability to distinct threats and also helps in tapping the advantage of the unique environmental factors.
We all know that the industrial food systems are receiving a huge backlash due to the myriad of factors, be it the pest or locusts attack on the monoculture crops to sky-touching prices or the decreasing supply of fossil fuels that are essential to produce these industrial foods and also transport it. All this has led to a rise in popularity for the Permaculture which is gaining community trust too. Communities are taking up permaculture because they look at permaculture from the perspective that they would not lose their lands and also be financially stable. In all this one thing that comes up is that the food supply will also become sustainable even when there is a global food crisis.
How to create a Permaculture Farm?
Below are two different sources that tell the ways of creating a Permaculture Farm and its reality. The first one is an infographic and the second one is the real-life example of Hyderabad-based Aranya Agricultural Alternatives.
Polyculture
Under this practice, instead of growing a single crop on the field during the harvest season, polyculture focuses on growing multiple crops together or in crop rotation. It is labour-intensive and hence is a preferred choice amongst the farmers. Also, this practice benefits the environment as well as the soil.
Advantages:
- It helps in utilizing the nutrients optimally in the sense that the nutrient which is not used by one crop would be used by the other just like what happens in crop rotation.
- Soil is used throughout the year which leads to natural replenishment of soil.
- Less usage of water and land as on a single farmland one can grow multi crops which also makes the task of irrigation easy. This also reduces soil erosion.
- The crops that are grown in polyculture are less prone to pests and they in themselves buildup immunity.
- It meets the food demands sustainably with less usage of land.
In a nutshell, polyculture minimizes risks and stabilizes quality yield. High biodiversity makes the framework stronger to climate change, advances a reasonable eating routine, and applies regular components for keeping up soil richness.
Agroforestry
Agroforestry is the interaction of agriculture and trees, including the agricultural use of trees.
Made up of AGRiculture and FORESTRY, it focuses on combining both the concepts as when combined both of them provide a practice that is long-lasting, productive, and diversified too along with being a sustainable solution. Agroforestry has turned out to be a boon and an amazing tool for farmers of the dry and arid regions that have soil susceptible to desertification and other factors. It majorly focuses upon growing trees, shrubs, and other plantations along with food crops and building up of grazing lands.
The standards of agroforestry offer a practical situation for a more incorporated way to deal with the future farm management issues, which can keep up or improve creation potential, while likewise protecting ranches against potential future ecological and environmental change.
This framework can offer different advantages regarding creation yet requires just an insignificant contribution to affect change. What’s more, when the trees are planted, the advantages related to this methodology will keep on developing year on year.
Interested in this sustainable practice? Then read a detailed version of it form the link mentioned below.
Biodynamic Farming
Biodynamic farming incorporates ecological and holistic growing practices based on the philosophy of “anthroposophy.”
This sustainable agricultural method is based on organic farming, wherein the emphasis is on HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT and the interrelationship between the plants, animals, and soil. This interrelationship leads to the making of a self-sustaining system. It is also considered to be one of the first modern ecological farming systems. The reason being simple, it focuses on a sustainable method of farming. Biodynamics uses composts and manure rather than artificial chemicals. It uses herbal and minerals filled compost and field sprays. It is basically a pseudoscience.
Found by Rudolf Steiner, it is characterized as “Spiritual Science” which takes into account a holistic view rather than a reductionist one. Recently, it has started to gain huge popularity amongst the farmers as it frees the produce from the detrimental effects of chemical-dependent conventional agriculture. Studies have also revealed that this sustainable farming method rejuvenates the soil quality, gives a good yield, and good returns too.
The main focus of this practice is to implement practices like the application of animal manure from farmed animals, composting, cover cropping, or rotating complementary crops. This generates a good, healthy, and fertile soil for the production of food. Biodynamic practices can be applied to farms that grow a variety of produce, gardens, vineyards, and other forms of agriculture.
CONCLUSION
In a nutshell, sustainable agriculture is the thread that links and maintains a parity amongst the ever-rising food demand and food production. It turns out to be a method that touches upon some serious issues like soil erosion, soil fertility, good yields and returns, etc. Sustainable Agricultural practices are a one-stop solution of integrating the whole concept of an integrated ecosystem and turning it into a reality. It focuses on holistic food development which is very much required in today’s time!
Till the next time,
Au Revoir!
