Sustainable Agriculture

Concept

The concepts of sustainable agriculture are to better maintain environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity. Achieving this ideal can be difficult, since so many elements affect the function and integrity of agroecosystems. Central to all sustainable systems is the issue of time. Success is measured over generations or even centuries. Understanding the ecosystem and function of alternative agricultural systems is essential in making a smooth transition towards sustainable agriculture. While sustainable agriculture is an ideal goal that many people aspire to, achieving this may be extremely difficult in practice since sustainable agriculture involves many different elements and dimensions, some of which may come into conflict with one another.

Reference

McSorley, R. and D. L. Porazinska. 2001. Elements of sustainable agriculture. Nematropica31:1-9.