Water shortage is a serious constraint on crop production on the North China Plain (NCP), where cropland is mainly irrigated by pumping groundwater from alluvial aquifers. To develop a sustainable ground water and irrigation management strategy, we developed a three-layer soil water balance model which is easy to use, robust, but physically based simulation tool. The model successfully simulate...

Production of safe and healthy high quality food for human population, preservation of stable rural social economic infrastructure and sustainable use of agricultural land and animal resources are important goals of European livestock sector. Research and innovation in the livestock sector will play an important role in development of more effi cient and sustainable strategies for supply of hea...

(eds M.C.S. Wopereis et al.) 229 In the search for sustainable management options to increase food security, an overall challenge is to increase yields and decrease losses during production and harvest without harming the environment and resource base for future generations of farmers and consumers. As such, integrated pest management (IPM) plays a key role in the context of sustainable agricul...

Agriculture in Africa is not sustainable because average yields have been stagnating for decades due to underinvestment, especially in the development of agricultural markets, crop improvement and the sustainable management of agricultural systems. Low public sector funding for agricultural research and lack of incentives for the private sector to operate in areas where there is no market large...

The incorporation of livestock into agricultural systems ensures a more sustainable agriculture. Sustainable swine production systems are defined as those that combine production and management techniques to enhance profit and improve the ecological and socioeconomic surroundings. Over the long term, the systems should maintain or enhance the environment and resource base, the quality of life f...

Growing concerns about the consequences of large-scale production systems and, subsequently, the growing public demand for changing the dominant mode of agricultural production have become important issues on the European political agenda. In recent years the number of new or alternative food supply chains and networks that incorporate claims of sustainability and quality has grown impressively...

A case study comparing extensive, low-yielding smallholder maize production with an intensified, high-yielding production system (‘sustainable intensification’) is used to illustrate potential trade-offs between agricultural product carbon footprints (PCFs) and land use (LU). In the comparative analysis the extensive systems had lower PCFs so the conclusion may be that these systems should be e...

Sustainable Agriculture satisfies human food and fiber needs, makes the most efficient use of on-farm resources and integrates natural biological cycles, enhances the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole, and sustains the economic viability of farm operations. A farm that is able to produce continuously, yet has negative effects on environmental quality elsewhere, does not support...

Precision agriculture is an important choice for the future agriculture. It is the base for precision agriculture development to change the state of small-scale farmland production and weak agricultural foundation in China gradually. Combined with the poorness of village in China, the variation of farmland and the dominance of small-scale peasant economy, this paper analyzed the adaptability of...