5.3. Sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is an attempt to reduce the impact of agricultural practices on the land while still meeting requirements for “food and fibre”. A definition supplied by the Australian government (2009) recognises three elements central to any sustainable land-management scheme:
1. The preservation of biodiversity;
2. The maintenance of ecological integrity;
3. The protection of natural capital.
Biodiversity, in this case, refers to “the variety of species, populations, habitats and ecosystems”. Ecological integrity is used to mean “the general health and resilience of natural life-support systems”, including the ability of these systems to withstand stresses placed on them by, for example, climate change. Natural capital is a broad category and includes such things as healthy soils, clean air and water, forests, and other resources necessary for the survival of human communities. This definition requires that land be managed “without damaging ecological processes or reducing biological diversity”. However, simply clearing land for cultivation necessitates some interference with ecological processes and native biodiversity.
Sustainability requires a balance between the needs of human communities and the survival of the natural systems upon which those communities ultimately depend. For this reason, sustainable agriculture can be regarded as the “stewardship of both natural and human resources”. This is the view of the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, who extend their model of sustainability to include issues of social equality and economic profitability, in addition to environmental health (Feenstra, Ingels, and Campbell, n.d.). They write:
Stewardship of human resources includes consideration of social responsibilities such as working and living conditions of laborers, the needs of rural communities, and consumer health and safety both in the present and the future. Stewardship of land and natural resources involves maintaining or enhancing this vital resource base for the long term.
The definition of “long term” is subject to debate.
It must be recognised that sustainable agricultural systems will be low impact rather than no impact. Programs aimed at reducing the emission of greenhouse gases or the application of phosphorous-based fertilisers (two key components of CSIRO’s sustainability project) will not eliminate CO2 emissions or the need for superphosphate. Sustainable agriculture is essentially a harm-reduction model of land management. In the face of climate change, the threat of food, water, and superphosphate shortages, and a growing population, the need for sustainability is clear. The difficulty is in the execution.
Among the more pressing issues facing the Murrumbidgee catchment are climate change; the availability of water for irrigation; the availability of fertilisers, particularly in phosphorous-poor soils; the preservation of soil health; and the preservation of biodiversity.
References and Resources
• Australian Government – Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. 2009. Sustainable land management in Australia.
• Feenstra, G., Ingels, C., and Campbell, D. Undated. What is sustainable agriculture?
