SiteMap View

SiteMap Hidden

Main Menu

About Us

Notice

Our Actions

E-gen Events

Our Actions

Published Research Paper on Sustainable Intensification in Agriculture: An Approach for Making Agriculture Greener and Productive¡¯

by Meena Pandey | 11-05-2021 17:39



 I am glad to share that our research paper on ¡®Sustainable Intensification in Agriculture: An Approach for Making Agriculture Greener and Productive¡¯ has been published under Journal of Nepal Agriculture Research Council.
Sustainable intensification of agriculture is a good approach for reducing the yield gap without exacerbating the current condition of the environmental components, which is a big challenge for agriculture in the
modern world. This review provides a summary of the role and approaches of sustainable intensification in agriculture which offer ways to increase crop production and create long-term sustainability in agriculture production. The current demand for food has continued to rise as a result of the world's rapidly increasing population. In order to increase crop/food production, agricultural systems should be intensified by more sustainable practices, as well as by reforming existing production systems/techniques and diversifying them into newer and more profitable enterprises. Despite the heavy use of inputs, farmers have recently been
unable to achieve optimal crop yields. The judicious use of agricultural inputs, combined with improved management techniques, is important for advancing sustainable intensification. New scientific techniques in
agronomic practices, as well as improved farm mechanization, are helping to boost resource use efficiency in sustainable crop production. The sustainable agricultural intensification is necessary to increase the
agricultural productivity under the changing and adverse climatic conditions while maintaining healthy production practices.

Agricultural intensification is a technique for increasing per-hectare yields rather than expanding the area of land under cultivation by making better use of inputs (Angelsen and Kaimowitz 2001). Since arable land is limited and will be reduced in the near future, most of the additional production will have to come from sustainable agricultural intensification (FAO 2019). The major ways to increase the productivity of land sustainably are by increasing crop yields above the baseline and applying double-cropping practice (Filho et al 2018). Double cropping increasingly allows farmers to increase the harvested area on shrinking agricultural areas (Szabo 2015). The environmental costs of intensification have received increasing attention over the last decade. The negative impacts of fertilizers, pesticides, and the huge amounts of water needed for irrigation, are well advertised. This has led to calls for ¡®sustainable intensification¡¯ (Evans 2019). Sustainable intensification (SI) is described as an agricultural process or system that maintains or improves valued outcomes while maintaining or improving environmental outcomes (Pretty et al 2018). It is a strategy for increasing productivity on existing agricultural land with positive environmental and social impacts (Donovan 2020). Both the terms "sustainable" and "intensification" are equally essential (Donovan 2020). Sustainable intensification has recently received a lot of attention as a way to deal with the problem of feeding a growing population in a world with limited resources (Cook et al 2015). It is a method or system for increasing yields while reducing environmental impact and allowing for the cultivation of more land (The Royal Society 2009). Sustainable intensification is responsible for increasing biomass availability without harming the environment, which is needed for increased bio-energy, food, feed, and fiber production. Food security and sustainable agriculture are inextricably related. Sustainable agricultural practices tend to make a significant contribution to food security by increasing food supply and nutrient quality (Paciello 2015). Agriculture becomes greener and productive as a result of sustainable intensification. The word "green" refers to products that are environmentally friendly and long-lasting, i.e., have a low negative effect on the environment and ecosystems (Struik and Kuyper 2017). Importantly, sustainable intensification lowers the ecosystem's greenhouse gas emissions. One reason for limited agricultural intensification is that land pressure and market demand may not be inducing farmers to intensify how they produce their crops (Nin-Pratt and McBride 2014). However, in areas with significant land pressure and good access to agricultural markets, the concern is that farmers are not able to access the inputs and infrastructure necessary to intensify their crop production (Diao and Silver 2016).

To access full paper please
Click here to dowload