Sustainable farming
Sustainable farming
Sustainable farming (pronunciation: /səˈsteɪnəbəl ˈfɑːrmɪŋ/) is a method of farming that focuses on producing food in a way that preserves the environment and promotes healthy living.
Etymology
The term "sustainable farming" is derived from the word "sustainable", which comes from the Latin sustinere (to hold up, sustain), and "farming", which comes from the Old English feormian (to supply, provision, fortify).
Definition
Sustainable farming is a method of farming that aims to meet society's food and textile needs in the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It involves the use of techniques that protect the environment, public health, human communities, and animal welfare.
Techniques
Some of the techniques used in sustainable farming include:
- Crop rotation: This is the practice of growing different types of crops in the same area in sequenced seasons to improve soil health and reduce pest and disease pressures.
- Cover crops: These are crops planted primarily to manage soil erosion, soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity and wildlife in an agroecosystem.
- Soil management: This involves practices that seek to protect soil and enhance its performance, such as controlling soil erosion, improving soil structure, and managing nutrients.
- Integrated Pest Management: This is a pest control strategy that uses an array of complementary methods: mechanical devices, physical devices, genetic, biological, legal, cultural management, and chemical management.
Related Terms
- Organic farming: This is a method of crop and livestock production that involves much more than choosing not to use pesticides, fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, antibiotics, and growth hormones.
- Permaculture: This is a set of design principles centered on whole systems thinking, simulating, or directly utilizing the patterns and resilient features observed in natural ecosystems.
- Agroecology: This is the study of ecological processes applied to agricultural production systems.
- Regenerative agriculture: This is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to food and farming systems. It focuses on topsoil regeneration, increasing biodiversity, improving the water cycle, enhancing ecosystem services, supporting biosequestration, increasing resilience to climate change, and strengthening the health and vitality of farm soil.
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