Integrated agriculture
Integrated agriculture is a company-wide management system that aims to achieve sustainable agriculture .
It is a dynamic mission statement that can be implemented on any company and worldwide. In addition to paying attention to details, this also includes the willingness to constantly strive for improvement in all areas of the company with the help of knowledge-based management processes.
In integrated agriculture, modern tools and technologies are combined in the best possible way with traditional methods depending on the location and situation.
definition
The International Organization for Biological Control (IOBC), for example, defines Integrated Fruit Production (IFP) as an economically viable production of high-quality fruit in which ecologically safe and safe plant protection methods are primarily used. This serves to reduce undesirable side effects and the use of chemical pesticides as much as possible and thus protect the environment and human health.
In integrated agriculture, special emphasis is placed on the holistic and systematic approach with the entire farm as a unit, the central role of agricultural ecosystems, balanced nutrient cycles and the animal welfare of all farmed animals.
The preservation and improvement of soil fertility, a diverse environment and the observance of ethical and social criteria are essential components. Biological, technical and chemical methods are carefully weighed and take into account protection of the environment, economic efficiency and social requirements.
The European Initiative for Sustainable Development in Agriculture eV has published the Integrated Agriculture System, in which further explanations are given on essential elements. These include organization & planning, human and social capital, energy efficiency, use and protection of water, climate change and air quality, management of the soil, plant nutrition, plant health and protection, husbandry, health and well-being of animals, landscape and nature protection as well as waste management and environmental protection .
LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) promotes a comparable model in the United Kingdom with Integrated Farm Management. This is a farm-wide approach that makes sustainable agriculture possible.
classification
For the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO, integrated pest management is the preferred strategy for protecting crops. According to this, integrated pest management (IP or IPM - Integrated Pest Management) is an essential pillar of the sustainable intensification of crop production and helps to reduce the risks associated with the use of chemical pesticides. It is therefore a core element of integrated crop production, which is itself a decisive element of integrated agriculture as a model for sustainable agriculture.
Keller points out that integrated crop production should not be understood as a compromise between different production systems in agriculture. Rather, the term stands for a production system that is based on a goal-oriented and continuous development of all experience, knowledge and processes that are available in so-called conventional agriculture. Not only are new scientific findings continuously incorporated, but also food for thought from organic farming.
history
The integrated plant protection gives the introduction to a holistic approach to agricultural production. As early as the end of the 1950s, this approach received increasing attention in fruit growing. This development was due to the use of chemical pesticides, which was felt to be excessive at the time. In the period that followed, this approach in crop protection was taken up worldwide and adapted to the various growing conditions and crops. On the basis of the knowledge and experience gathered in this way, approaches and models for integrated plant cultivation were increasingly developed in addition to plant protection from the [19] 1980s. Initially, however, the link between plant and animal production was largely omitted.
In the years that followed, a number of national and regional initiatives and projects were launched. These include, for example, LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) in England, the FNL (Support Association for Sustainable Agriculture eV) in Germany, FARRE (Forum des Agriculteurs Responsables Respectueux de l'Environnement) in France, FILL (Support Association for Integrated Land Management Luxembourg) and OiB (Odling i Balans) in Sweden. However, there are almost no figures on the spread of integrated crop production or integrated farming in European agriculture. In February 2014, this led to the recommendation of the European Economic and Social Committee that the EU should analyze the status of integrated production in agriculture in Europe in detail in order to determine not only the current situation but also further development potential. However, there are indications that in Germany, for example, between 60 and 80% of all pome, stone and berry fruits were grown, controlled and marketed in accordance with the guidelines of integrated production as early as 1999 . Figures from the United Kingdom show that 22% of all fresh fruit and vegetables are produced in accordance with Integrated Agriculture standards as specified by the LEAF Marque certification scheme.
Livestock husbandry and integrated crop production are often two branches of an agricultural company. As early as 1998 it was established that the production of products of animal origin in agriculture cannot be considered independently of plant production with a holistic approach, since the connection in the system requires a direct interlinking of the two branches of the farm. An isolated consideration or even detachment of the keeping of farm animals from the area used and the associated excessive stocking of animals is not compatible with the principles and goals of integrated agriculture, according to the authors mentioned. Accordingly, holistic concepts for integrated agriculture such as the EISA “Integrated Agriculture System”, which take a holistic view of crop cultivation and animal husbandry, are increasingly being propagated and implemented worldwide as a model for sustainable agriculture.
With regard to the sometimes controversial goal of a 'sustainable intensification' of agriculture, resource efficiency is becoming increasingly important today. It is true that the environmental impacts of agriculture clearly depend on how efficiently all means of production are used. This applies, for example, to the input per kg of output, to the output that is achieved with every kg of input and equally to the output per unit of area. In view of the steadily growing world population, the area factor is an increasingly scarce resource. The efficiency parameters therefore provide important information on how the efficiency and environmental impact of agricultural production systems can be assessed and where appropriate approaches for improvement exist. A position paper by the DFG Senate Commission for Agro-Ecosystem Research from 2014 indicates the need to see and evaluate further developments in the context of the respective surrounding landscapes.
Against this background, documentation, certification schemes and operational audits such as LEAF Marque in the UK and 33 other countries around the world are becoming increasingly important tools for assessing and further improving agricultural practices. Even if they focus on individual products instead of the holistic view of farms, the principles and practices of the SAI Platform and Global GAP follow similar approaches.
aims
Integrated agriculture is based on attention to detail, continuous improvement and responsible use of all available resources.
Since this model is geared towards sustainable development , the three underlying dimensions of “economic development”, “social development” and “protection of the environment” are carefully considered when implementing integrated agriculture. However, EISA is convinced that the economic viability of the production process is an indispensable prerequisite for farms, because only economic success enables investments in all other areas, including measures to protect and promote nature and biodiversity, as described in are described in the EISA Integrated Agriculture System.
As a concept that is very much based on management and planning, integrated agriculture includes the regular comparison of the results achieved with the previously set goals. For example, the EISA Integrated Agriculture system clearly focuses on the fact that farmers are aware of their own results. By regularly putting their results to the test, the knowledge about the achievements and the knowledge about remaining deficits grows. By paying attention to details, farm managers can achieve improvements in management and economic results at the same time. After relevant experience in England, the organization LEAF points out that there could be saved between 2,000 and 10,000 English pounds per farm and year by reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides adapted to the actual needs.
distribution
After the first development steps in the 1950s, approaches for integrated pest management , integrated crop production, integrated production and integrated agriculture were developed around the world, for example in Germany, Switzerland, the USA, Australia and India. Since the implementation of the general model of integrated agriculture should be adapted to the situation and the location, instead of following rigid rules, this model can not only be theoretically implemented globally, but is already used to varying degrees worldwide.
criticism
Environmental associations have expressed criticism of this model. This is partly due to the fact that although there are guidelines for organic farming in Europe (such as guideline No 834/2007 or the new draft from 2014), no comparable specifications or regulations have yet been developed for integrated agriculture. While organic agriculture and z. For example, if the German organic seal is legally protected, the EU Commission has not yet considered working on a comparable framework directive on the model of "Integrated Agriculture". So if products are identified and marketed as originating from "Controlled Integrated Production", then the corresponding control mechanisms and quality seals are not based on national or European guidelines, but were established by private organizations and quality schemes such as LEAF Marque.
See also
literature
- Lütke Entrup, N., Onnen, O., and Teichgräber, B., 1998: Sustainable Agriculture - Integrated Agriculture in Germany and Europe - Study on Development and Prospects. Issue 14/1998, Fördergemeinschaft Integrierter Pflanzenbau, Bonn. ISBN 3-926898-13-5 .
- Oerke, E.-C., Dehne, H.-W., Schönbeck, F., and Weber, A., 1994: Crop Production and Crop Protection - Estimated Losses in Major Food and Cash Crops. Elsevier, Amsterdam, Lausanne, New York, Oxford, Shannon, Tokyo. ISBN 0-444-82095-7
Individual evidence
- ↑ As of February 22, 2014 ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ As of July 25, 2014 ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ As of August 22, 2014
- ↑ As of August 21, 2014 ( Memento of the original from August 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ As of July 25, 2014
- ↑ 1985, cit. von Lütke Entrup et al., 1998 1
- ↑ a b c after Lütke Entrup et al. (1998) 1
- ↑ As of September 5, 2014
- ↑ As of August 22, 2014
- ↑ LEAF's Sustainability Report, page 10, as of August 21, 2014
- ↑ As of July 25, 2014
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ As of September 15, 2014
- ↑ LEAFmarquecertification / whatis.eb LEAF's Sustainability Report page 10, as of August 21, 2014
- ↑ As of July 28, 2014
- ↑ As of July 28, 2014
- ↑ As of August 22, 2014
- ↑ As of August 22, 2014
- ↑ As of July 28, 2014
- ↑ As of July 25, 2014 ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ As of July 28, 2014
- ↑ As of July 25, 2014
- ↑ As of July 25, 2014
- ↑ As of August 21, 2014
- ↑ As of July 28, 2014 (PDF)
- ↑ As of August 22, 2014 ( Memento of the original from December 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ LEAF's Sustainability Report, as of August 21, 2014
