Towards quantification of ecological sustainability in farming systems analysis

A tentative list of ecological attributes; diversity, cycling, stability and capacity, is proposed for quantification and ranking of farming systems along a hypothetical scale of increasing ecological sustainability. The modelling and preliminary analysis of four rice-based systems from the Philippines, two on-station experimental systems and two smallholder farms, confirms our intuitive perception of ecological sustainability and suggests a framework for further research into the area. This approach to farming systems analysis indicates that the route to an ecologically sustainable agriculture relies more on the principles of applied agro-ecology and less on the application of external agrochemical inputs. The practice is here termed integrated resources management and shares many of the characteristics of the agro-ecological engineering approach to integrated agriculture-aquaculture farming pioneered in China.