Towards Sustainable Agriculture: Challenges and Opportunities

The environmental impact of agriculture cannot be ignored. In many countries, as much as 70 per cent of the land area is in agricultural use. Over a third of the global agricultural land area is in high-intensity, continuous cropping systems that use high levels of agrochemicals and reshape land and waterways. The rest is under such a farming system that uses far fewer inputs, but requires relatively large expanses of land to compensate for low crop and livestock yields. Both systems have had negative impacts on soil, water, and air quality, global climate, wildlife and biodiversity that, in turn, affect food security and livelihoods of people in the long run.