Can agriculture be sustainable in its present industrial and high tech form or must it “return to the past”?

Inhalt

1 ABSTRACT

2 Introduction

3 Issues in agriculture
3.1 Effects of agriculture on the environment
3.2 Global issues affecting agriculture

4 Way forward

5 Conclusion

6 References

1 ABSTRACT

There are many environmental and social costs associated with conventional agriculture or what may be termed as industrial or high tech agriculture. There is now general agreement that conventional agriculture is not sustainable. The paper considers the way agriculture can produce enough food for the rising global population and at the same time maintain environmental quality. Effects of agriculture on the environment and issues which affected agriculture are considered. The paper concludes that sustainable agriculture probably relies on a combination of farming systems - both organic and a more sustainable form of conventional agriculture relying on green technologies. Certification systems play an important role in achieving sustainability objectives as do ecological taxes. The issue of trade liberalisation and North-South relations is likely to remain much more contentious and harder to resolve in the future, particularly equitable food distribution.

2 Introduction

There is now general agreement that conventional agriculture, or what may be termed as industrial or high tech agriculture, is not sustainable (Ho and Ulanowicz, 2005; Soule and Piper, 1992). If conventional agriculture is not sustainable, then how will enough food be produced for the rising global population, which is expected to reach 8.27 million by 2030, according o Bruinsma (2003)? It is through the use of technologies, particularly pesticides and fertilisers, the we have been able to increase land productivity and per-capita food availability despite a reduction in per-capita agricultural land (Smith et al. 2007). So far, food production has kept pace with demand (Eickhout et al., 2006). This was achieved at great environmental and social cost, however.

Environmental and social costs associated with conventional agriculture include loss of soil resources (erosion, waterlogging, salinisation), surface and groundwater contamination due to the application of fertilisers and pesticides, pest resistance, lower biodiversity, decline of family farms, poor working conditions of farm labourers, increasing costs of production, and the disintegration of economic and social conditions in rural communities (UCLA, 1997; Ruttan, 1994). With rising global population and therefore higher demand for food, meat products in particular, pressure on the environment will continue to increase.

The United Nations’ Millennium Development Goal (MDG) seeks to reduce the number of people suffering from hunger as well as ensure environmental sustainability (Toledo and Burlingame, 2006). The question is what form of agriculture can produce enough food for the rising global population and at the same time maintain environmental quality? Is the answer a “return to the past” or is there a new way forward?

3 Issues in agriculture

Increasing food production to meet the demand of current and future population will be difficult as there are many issues in agriculture, both in terms of agricultural impacts on the environment and the impact of the environment on agriculture.

3.1 Effects of agriculture on the environment

One of the key issues to consider is the availability of arable land and the way this land is used for agriculture. Increased land use allocation conflicts are expected in the future. Loss of agricultural land to urban land uses is a concern in some states, for example in California according to UCLA (1997) as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina where the author resides. There is also a loss of agricultural land due to soil erosion and desertification. With rising global population, there will also be a further conversion of natural habitat into agricultural land, primarily in developing countries (Hole et al. 2005). Due to increasing meat consumption, most of the arable land expansion will be used for the production of animal feedstuffs (Eickhout et al., 2006; Smith et al. 2007). Much of this new arable land will come from the clearing of rainforests which conflicts with environmental goals of the MDG (Eickhout et al., 2006; Smith et al. 2007). Land use pressures will be particularly high in India and China (Eickhout et al., 2006). Accompanying these land use changes, will probably be an increase in the use of water, fertilizers and pesticides (Hole et al. 2005). This in turn has other consequences that are well documented in the literature, and will only be briefly discussed here.

- Water use

There are many issues associated with increased use of water for irrigating crops, including: waterlogging, salinisation, reduction in riparian habitat and degradation of water quality (Wichelns and Oster, 2006; Soule and Piper, 1992). A study by Wichelns and Oster (2006) showed that environmental costs of irrigation in parts of California and Arizona are now even exceeding social and economic benefits. Yet, both Wichelns and Oster (2006) as well as others, such as Mwakalila (2006), suggest that the world cannot meet the future demand for food without irrigation. Irrigation, if managed properly, can increase farmer’s productivity and income, thus alleviating rural poverty (Mwakalila, 2006). The challenge is to use water in a much more efficient manner to ensure sustainability of the resource as well avoidance of environmental problems that often accompany regions with significant areas under irrigation.

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