Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century (2010) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 3-14
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From page 3... ...
Growing awareness of unintended impacts associated with some agricultural production practices has led to heightened societal expectations for improved environmental, community, labor, and animal welfare standards in agriculture. The question arose as to whether U.S.
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DEFINING AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY Sustainability has been described as the ability to meet core societal needs in a way that can be maintained indefinitely without significant negative effects. Accordingly, development of a sustainable agricultural production system requires defining the core societal needs from agriculture, a process that will require a collective vision of what the future characteristics of agriculture should be.
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From page 5... ...
SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION FOR IMPROVING SUSTAINABILITY Science -- including biophysical and social sciences -- is essential for understanding agricultural sustainability. Science generates the knowledge needed to predict the likely outcomes of different management systems and expands the range of alternatives that can be considered by farmers, policy makers, and consumers.
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From page 6... ...
INCREMENTAL APPROACHES TO IMPROVING SUSTAINABILITY OF U.S. AGRICULTURE The proposed expanded incremental approach would include focused disciplinary research on production; environmental, economic, and social topics; and policies (such as expanded agricultural conservation and environmental programs)
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From page 7... ...
Since the publication of the report Alternative Agriculture, research has increased understanding of how different farming practices maintain or increase productivity while enhancing natural resources and addressing environmental concerns. Box S-2 lists examples • se of manure, compost, and green manure, as often used in organic systems, can reduce the need for U synthetic fertilizer and hence reduce the energy used for fertilizer production.
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From page 8... ...
Research on the economic and social dimensions of agricultural sustainability complementary to the research on productivity and environmental sustainability is scarce despite its importance in providing farmers with knowledge to design systems that balance different sustainability goals and improve overall sustainability. Studies on economic and social sustainability are complicated by the fact that economic viability is influenced by market and policy conditions and that social acceptability of farms is influenced by the behavior of key actors (including farmers and consumers)
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From page 9... ...
Examples suggested in the report include organic cropping systems, lowconfinement livestock systems, management intensive rotational grazing, enhanced local food systems, developing perennial grain systems, regional planning and implementation of farming system changes that reduce water overdraft and environmental loading leading to larger hypoxic zones, and planning for production of new products such as cellulosic biofuels.
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From page 10... ...
The alternative livestock production systems were designed to enhance environmental quality, animal welfare, and social acceptability. However, few systematic research studies assess the ability of confined animal systems and other alternatives to address public concerns of production efficiency, food safety, environmental impacts or risks, animal welfare, and labor conditions.
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From page 11... ...
In addition, effective public policy tools that are politically viable and effective in shaping patterns of the agricultural practices or land use at the landscape level are needed. No single agricultural landscape pattern is likely to work in every location; effective landscape patterns would have to be tailored to local conditions and meet particular community needs.
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From page 12... ...
Those emerging markets can motivate farmers to transition to farming systems that balance and meet multiple sustainability goals. The use of marketing tools, such as certification and branding of products produced using particular farming practices and systems that increase sustainability, can enhance the value of those farm products and contribute to environmental, social, and economic sustainability of the farm.
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From page 13... ...
RECOMMENDATION: Because of the critical importance of macro-structural or institutional drivers of farmer behavior, the U.S. Department of Agriculture should increase investment in empirical studies of the ways that current and proposed market structures, policies, and knowledge institutions provide op portunities or barriers to expanding the use of farming practices and systems that improve various sustainability goals so that the department can implement changes in policies and institutions that are identified as effective to meeting those goals.
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From page 14... ...
• Promising technologies and approaches include soil organic matter management, reduced tillage, integrated fertility management, water harvesting, drip irrigation, stress-resistant crop varieties, improved animal breeds, integration of crops and livestock, and use of global information systems for landscape and regional analy sis and planning. • Expanding market access will be essential to increase productivity and enhance livelihoods in rural Africa.
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