Sustainable agriculture
As a sustainable agriculture (Engl. Sustainable agriculture ) is called the ecological and future-oriented management of an agricultural area. Sustainable agriculture aims to preserve land, water and genetic resources for future generations. This applies to both agriculture and animal husbandry. The standards of Demeter farming , as described by Rudolf Steiner in his “Agricultural Course”, are an example .
history
The term sustainability in relation to agriculture and forestry appeared in Germany as early as the middle of the 18th century. In particular, Hans Carl von Carlowitz , author of the text " Sylvicultura oeconomica , or haußwirthliche message and natural instruction for wild tree cultivation" (1713) is considered to be the founder of the concept of sustainability. In his treatise, the then chief miner of the Ore Mountains demanded to be respectful of nature and its raw materials and criticized the overexploitation of the forests. Instead, one should operate “sustainably”. Because of this choice of words, von Carlowitz is now considered to be the creator of the term “sustainability”.
Areas of application
Sustainable agriculture
The aim of sustainable arable farming is to preserve the natural fertility of the soil. In particular, the leaching of the soil, which, in the opinion of the sustainable agricultural operators, loses its usability through the aids mentioned above, as well as the accumulation of pollutants and degradation products (e.g. nitrate ), which in the second step also influence the quality of the soil, should be avoided Groundwater.
Sustainable agriculture relies on avoiding the dynamic of dependency between intensive fertilization and the use of pesticides and herbicides . Instead, sustainable agriculture promotes growth processes using natural methods and resources. This includes, in particular, compliance with the crop rotation .
Proponents of sustainable agriculture see this cyclical use of the soil as an opportunity to preserve the natural balance. The regulations of the EU organic agriculture are regarded as insufficient in sustainable agriculture, since agents and substances are still permitted that lead to an imbalance in the long term and thus limit sustainability.
Sustainable animal husbandry
Part of the cycle concept of sustainable agriculture is that a farm should only keep as many animals as it can provide for by cultivating its own agricultural land. When it comes to sustainable animal husbandry , sustainable agriculture tries in particular to achieve the lowest possible CO 2 balance while adhering to ecological standards. In addition, animal welfare is taken into account. To further develop the sustainability of European animal husbandry, the European Research Initiative for Sustainable Farm Animal Husbandry (Cofund ERA-NETs Sustainable Animal Production - SusAn) was launched. Here, too, the requirements common in Demeter agriculture - such as not dehorning cows or docking pigs' tails - are worth striving for. For species-appropriate husbandry and minimization of CO 2 emissions, species-appropriate and consequently organically grown forage from the region should be used.
Sustainable world food
The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development expressly points out the need to switch agriculture to sustainable agriculture. “For agricultural production, this means that in the future, natural resources must be preserved in the long term, without which agriculture would not be possible: soil, water and biological diversity. To achieve this, agricultural production, including animal husbandry, must be made more sustainable - both in industrialized and developing countries. "
Contrary to the conventional opinion that only extensive agriculture using conventional methods is able to produce enough food for the growing world population, proponents of sustainable agriculture, such as the Swiss agricultural scientist and director of the Research Institute for Organic Agriculture (FiBL) , Urs Niggli , for a fallacy. The author of “Alle satt?” Particularly considers the preservation of organically farmed small areas to be the solution to the growing need for food, but also points out that ecological farming has to leave the niche for this. For large farms, the scientist points to the successful use of innovative technologies, such as agricultural robots, which can be used to remove weeds.
Sustainable farming and modern technology
The "Campo Laguna Blanca" project launched by the married couple Kris and Doug Tompkins [1] (founders of " The North Face ") as well as Dolores Peréa-Muñóz and Eduardo Chorén is an example of the combination of large-scale, organic farming using modern agricultural technology the Tompkins Conservation in Argentina. On the approximately 2,800 hectare land in the Entre Ríos province , which was acquired in 2007, the transition from monoculture to ecological mixed culture is to be demonstrated. When the areas were restructured, game zones were set up in order to regain the natural diversity of birds, insects and other animals on the site.
literature
- Book series Landwirtschaftlicher Kurs: (Humanities basics for the prosperity of agriculture: agricultural course, Koberwitz near Breslau, 1924).
- Urs Niggli: Everyone is fed up . Residenz Verlag, 2018, ISBN 978-3-7017-3419-1 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2005–2019 Aachen Foundation Kathy Beys: Lexicon of Sustainability | Lifestyle | Sustainable agriculture. March 20, 2017, accessed on September 1, 2019 (German).
- ↑ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development BMZ: Sustainable Agriculture. Retrieved September 1, 2019 .
- ↑ In conversation with Urs Niggli: This is how we could feed the world. July 27, 2017, accessed September 1, 2019 .