There is no denying that the sustainability movement is on the rise and is having an impact on almost all industries. Even the agriculture and food industry haven’t remained untouched. Sustainable agriculture is currently drawing a lot of attention from all over the world, and the preliminary objective of this approach is to ensure food security by providing for the growing global population.
Poles apart, from traditional agriculture, which relies heavily on and utilizes natural resources and ecosystems, sustainable agriculture is all for soil health, water conservation, and biodiversity. The best part about sustainable agriculture is that while ascertaining food security, it also looks at adopting organic practices, reducing the use of chemical components, and promoting crop rotation so that nutritious food reaches every household.
Looking at the plus points associated with sustainable agriculture, we at the Tribhuvan College of Environment and Developmental Sciences, a renowned environmental science college in Delhi NCR, have to give this approach an applause, for it ensures food security for the ever-growing mouths. So today, in this blog post, we will shed light on how sustainable agriculture can help contribute to building up food security for the constantly growing population. Read on.
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Steady Increase in the Crop Yields:
Speaking of providing for the growing population, it is pretty much understood that there’s a growing need to give core attention to improving and boosting crop yields. Sustainable agriculture makes this possible by including practices such as crop rotation, cover cropping, and reduced tillage to back soil fertility and resilience under its purview.
The best part about this approach is that it not only ensures a steady increase in crop yields but also does so by laying sufficient weight on achieving this end sustainably. At the Tribhuvan College of Environment and Developmental Sciences, we consider this a win-win situation for the planet and the people.
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Water Conservation is Key:
You must have heard of countless situations wherein the field yields failed to go as planned due to the interference of natural calamities such as drought or flood situations. Here again, sustainable agriculture comes to the rescue.
By emphasizing efficient irrigation methods, rainwater harvesting, and offering backing to drought-resistant crops, sustainable agriculture helps water-scarce regions by upping their production output. The result is food security and provision to the masses.
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Check on Food Waste:
We at the Tribhuvan College of Environment and Developmental Sciences would like to draw your attention to the fact that the non-availability of sufficient food is not the only reason behind food insecurity. If you look deeper, you will know that food wastage is on the rise, which also means fair food distribution is not happening.
Here again, sustainable agriculture plays its part by laying down efficient supply chains, which help reduce food wastage, thus making food available to everyone without having to hike the production limits.
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Attention to Climate-Smart Agriculture:
We have already spoken about the rising threat climate change poses. However, in this regard, what many of you may not know is that traditional agriculture gets into action without really addressing the suitability of the climatic conditions for specific crop types. This leads to crop failures and heavy losses.
This is where sustainable agriculture stands tall as the knight in shining armor to ensure agricultural productivity while keeping the climatic metrics under consideration. The pivotal step here is to focus on nurturing crops that complement the climatic conditions in the region. For example, it proves to be a good idea to produce wheat in drought-tolerant areas and rice in food-resistant ones.
Let’s not forget precision farming techniques are also backed by sustainable agriculture, which relies on advanced technologies like GPS, drones, and data analytics to monitor and manage farm functioning and outcomes. Now that food insecurity is becoming prominent, this by-product of sustainable agriculture is not worth missing.
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Urban and Vertical Farming:
Speaking of food security and providing for the rising demands of the growing population, sustainable agriculture opens another card called urban and vertical farming.
This concept revolves holistically around bringing agriculture to the cities while promoting food production in highly dense indoor environments. It all begins by shortlisting community gardens, vacant lots, and rooftops to carry out farming.
Vertical farming does its job by making farming space-efficient as it involves growing crops in stacked layers, often in indoor, climate-controlled environments. It is definitely a perfect solution to grow fresh, local produce within city limits.
Sustainable Agriculture – The Answer to Food Security for a Growing Population
All this while, if you have been worried about the planet reaching a point wherein food insecurity will become a bitter reality, it’s time for you to heave a sigh of relief for sustainable agriculture is the answer we all have been looking for.
We at the Tribhuvan College of Environment and Development Sciences, a renowned environmental science college in Delhi NCR, understand that it isn’t an overnight job to initiate a shift from traditional to sustainable agriculture. However, completely overlooking this solution isn’t an option either. Hence, education and awareness become crucial, with sustainable agriculture taking a front seat in a phased manner.