How does sustainable agriculture conserve water? What makes it different?
Question by Toko: How does sustainable agriculture conserve water? What makes it different?
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3 Responses to How does sustainable agriculture conserve water? What makes it different?
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no till cultivation, no irrigation dependent crops,
the long shot
April 13, 2012 at 6:29 pm
One type of thing that you would be able to do is get a bin to capture water, and then from that use the water that came from rainwater to come out of the sprinkler system, so that way, you’re not actually using any water from the lakes, oceans etc., but you’re using natural water from the precipitation that we get.
mtwaites
April 13, 2012 at 6:47 pm
I do not see any connection between ‘sustainable’ agriculture and water conservation. Any crop can be grown only when it is provided with that much water for that length of time for it to complete its life cycle.
Sustainable Agriculture: The Basics
Some terms defy definition. “Sustainable agriculture” has become one of them. In such a quickly changing world, can anything be sustainable? What do we want to sustain? How can we implement such a nebulous goal? Is it too late? With the contradictions and questions have come a hard look at our present food production system and thoughtful evaluations of its future. If nothing else, the term “sustainable agriculture” has provided “talking points,” a sense of direction, and an urgency, that has sparked much excitement and innovative thinking in the agricultural world.
The word “sustain,” from the Latin sustinere (sus-, from below and tenere, to hold), to keep in existence or maintain, implies long-term support or permanence. As it pertains to agriculture, sustainable describes farming systems that are “capable of maintaining their productivity and usefulness to society indefinitely. Such systems… must be resource-conserving, socially supportive, commercially competitive, and environmentally sound.” [John Ikerd, as quoted by Richard Duesterhaus in “Sustainability’s Promise,” Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (Jan.-Feb. 1990) 45(1): p.4. NAL Call # 56.8 J822]
“Sustainable agriculture” was addressed by Congress in the 1990 “Farm Bill” [Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (FACTA), Public Law 101-624, Title XVI, Subtitle A, Section 1603 (Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1990) NAL Call # KF1692.A31 1990]. Under that law, “the term sustainable agriculture means an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long term:
satisfy human food and fiber needs;
enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends;
make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls;
sustain the economic viability of farm operations; and
enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.”
[Subchapter I: Findings, Purposes, and Definitions, U.S. Code, Title 7, Chapter 64-Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching, Available at GPO Access: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/
getdoc.cgi?dbname=browse_usc&docid=Cite:+7USC3103 (8/23/07)]
harish_tprasad
April 13, 2012 at 7:27 pm