The Role of Technology in Sustainable Agriculture

 Introduction:

 For decades, if not centuries, the notion that agriculture as a global practice has been utilizing resources more rapidly than they can be replenished has been the subject of discussion and debate. Pollution, soil erosion or loss, a decline or shift in wildlife populations, and a general alteration of a "natural" flora or fauna as a result of human intervention are all signs of imbalance. Even if the production is a one square meter vegetable garden in Tokyo or a one million hectare rubber tree plantation in Malaysia, agricultural practices are undeniably "unnatural." Naturally, the exponential growth of human populations, with associated demands for food and shelter that frequently exceed the "natural" carrying capacity of land, has been an equally unnatural and parallel phenomenon. 

which  things are about the role technology plays in sustainable agriculture?

This article asserts three things about the role technology plays in sustainable agriculture, based on the premise that human population growth will not be hampered by food shortages due to dominant social values:

 1 Technology has increased or will increase agricultural productivity

2  Technology development is sustainable and will continue to be 

3 As a result, technology is the foundation for sustainable agriculture. 

The economic principle of scarcity applies to food. Agriculture is a top priority because it is more important to the survival of the population and the diversification of skills than the artificial value of scarce resources like gold. Human civilization has been able to move beyond the "Hunter / Gatherer" model and concentrate labor and land exclusively on the production of food on an ever-increasing scale thanks to technology. According to Pesek (1993), the idea of "scientific agriculture" originates from articles written in 1840 by Liebig and 1842 by Johnston that speculated on the role of chemistry in agriculture. In 1865, the concepts of inheritance and Mendelian genetics were introduced, which stimulated the biological foundation of modern agriculture. 

 New technologies and approaches were developed as soon as science-based institutions in Europe and North America eagerly expanded the application of biological and chemical sciences to agriculture. These early applications of technology have not only led to a real increase in food production but also a significant decrease in the number of people directly involved in food production and processing. This has made it possible for society to be more diverse and address social issues that are not directly related to "survival," but are generally regarded as improving the quality of life. To deny natural history itself is to deny the role that chemical and biological technology has played, will continue to play, and will play in the development of agriculture in the future.

 Chemical and biological technology

 Chemical and biological technology, on the other hand, can clearly have unintended or inappropriate effects on the ecosystem and pose a threat to the business's long-term viability. Preserving nonrenewable resources is, therefore, the central issue of sustainability. Farm business management, food production, habitat preservation, and resource conservation are not mutually exclusive goals. According to Avery (1995), convincing arguments have been presented to suggest that high-yield agriculture can meet the nutritional needs of the global population. Planning land use can achieve this equilibrium by carefully deciding which parcels of land should be used for high-yield agriculture and which should be used for non-agricultural activities or wildlife habitat preserves (Anonymous, 1999). According to Smith et al.'s research, yields per hectare would decrease by 35% to 80%, depending on the crop, if agricultural inputs were reduced or limited. The amount of land that needs to be used would rise dramatically if demand did not also decrease. In point of fact, if the high yield benefits of technology weren't utilized, global land in production today would need to be roughly the size of South America and North America (Richards, 1990). Progress is clearly possible if the goals of sustainability are resource conservation and production optimization. 

Ability of an agro ecosystem:

 The ability of an agroecosystem to maintain predictable levels of production over time is related to sustainability in agriculture. Therefore, stability under a particular set of environmental and economic conditions that can only be managed site-specifically is a key concept of sustainability. Agriculture as a practice is already excluded from the sustainability perspective if it promotes a completely natural ecosystem and is biased against the use of biological and chemical technology. On the other hand, if the goal of sustainability is to preserve non-renewable resources within the scope of the agricultural industry, then not only is the goal doable, but so are good environmental management and business practices. According to Hutchins and Gehring (1993), the stability and, most certainly, the productivity of agriculture will be greatly influenced by the rate of technological advancement and the degree of innovation in future technologies. Innovation, in the old style sense, incorporates the turn of events and utilization of supplements, bother control items, crop cultivars, and ranch gear; yet it additionally incorporates the vision of hereditarily altered crops giving more noteworthy dietary proficiency (more calories per yield, or more yield), control of normal vermin control specialists, and utilization of homestead the executives strategies that emphasis on entire ranch efficiency over the long run, not simply yearly creation per hectare.

 Consider the fundamental premise of biotechnology:

photosynthesis is the most abundant and predictable mechanism for converting solar energy into usable energy, and biotechnology has made it possible to direct abundant natural energy into novel, more effective, or unique food products. The sun is the most renewable and least expensive source of energy on Earth. The possibilities are literally endless with imagination. Naturally, the reduction of inputs, yield, and quality will be the primary focus of short-term objectives. In the long run, however, the genetically engineered "transmissions" will be focused on producing super-nutritious animal feed, plants that outperform the subtractive influence of pests (making "tolerance" a crucial pest management strategy), physiological adaptation to outcompete adjacent species (such as weeds), drought stress tolerance, and overall improvement in photosynthesis rate (leading to any number of industrial applications). However, genetic wizardry is not the only type of agricultural technology that can be developed and used. Indeed, advances in remote sensing and geographical location devices, in conjunction with computational technology, promise to fundamentally alter crop management.

what is commonly referred to as "Precision Agriculture"?

 The underlying concept of what is commonly referred to as "Precision Agriculture" is the integration of information to produce management knowledge in order to address site-specific production objectives. Agricultural uncertainty will always be a major problem, but it will be managed because environmental modeling and risk management algorithms will allow for the best use of genetics on particular soils within known weather patterns. Furthermore, leap forwards will keep on being found in the "traditional" advancements that have dramatically expanded world food creation since the coming of "logical horticulture" in the last part of the 1800's. Technology will be used to rehabilitate land that has been over- or under-utilized as a result of poor agricultural practices in addition to improvements in productivity. Regardless of the state of technological offerings at the moment, the idea of Best Management Practices will continue to be a major focus. 

 Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Strategies like Integrated Pest Management (IPM) take into account not only the particulars of the location, but also the values and business considerations of the farmers. IPM has been crucial in explaining the role of responsible pest management, pointing scientists and practitioners in the direction of future biological information requirements, and placing pest control in relation to production objectives. In order to accomplish this, the idea of pest Economic Injury Levels has played a crucial role in rejecting the idea that pests must be controlled at all costs in favor of break-even analysis (i.e., Gain Threshold; Stone and Pedigo, 1972). Sustainability is, in fact, a matter of survival; however, it encompasses a much broader scope than the idea of habitat loss and soil erosion. Food production, the well-being of food producers, and the preservation of nonrenewable resources are all aspects of sustainability. As a result, the enabling human-made component that will link these two pri mary goalshas been and will continue to be technology of all kinds.

Conclusion

 In point of fact, common sense leads us to the conclusion that technology will enable Sustainable Agriculture. While history demonstrates that technology has been crucial to agricultural productivity and stability, recent technological advancements demonstrate that the discovery and development of new technologies is a sustainable endeavor.