Sustainable agriculture: principles concerning natural resources

Managing water resources in sustainable agriculture  

The main cause of poor water quality is the salinisation or contamination of surface water and soil, generally by nitrates, plant protection products and selenium. A few simple principles can preserve agricultural water resources:

• Find ways to conserve and store water. 
• Choose crops, species, or varieties that are resistant drought, parasites, and salt.  
• Use intelligent systems for irrigation and spraying plant-protection products (precision agriculture) which can control the quantity of water and inputs to suit requirements. 
• Think about tillage methods that can reduce water loss. 
• Integrate fallow land or agroforestry into the farm.

Soil conservation: fighting erosion with less tillage

According to the FAO, erosion is one of the 10 major threats to soil. It can be caused by water or wind. In Europe, water erosion affects 1.3 million km², i.e., a quarter of European soils. The countries most affected are Slovakia, Italy, Denmark, and the Czech Republic. One-fifth of European soils are susceptible to wind erosion, particularly in Denmark, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Romania, and France. The principles of sustainable agriculture that help protect against soil erosion are reducing tillage, managing irrigation to reduce run-off, planting and maintaining cover crops, and improving soil quality.

Air: a resource that is often neglected in agriculture

Air pollution can be caused by agricultural burning and chemicals, such as plant protection products that remain suspended in the air, nitrous oxides from nitrogen fertilisation, and methane from grazing animals which increases greenhouse gases. However, agriculture is also a great means of storing carbon, especially in grasslands where the cows graze.

To improve air quality sustainably with agricultural practices, farmers can: change cattle feed, mix residues and organic fertilisers into the soil, till less, plant hedges, cover crops, and grass strips, etc.

What energy-related principles make agriculture more sustainable?

Agriculture relies heavily on carbon-based energy sources such as oil. In Europe in 2021, energy consumption in the agricultural and forestry sector was equivalent to more than 28 million tonnes of oil, i.e. 3% of Europe's total energy consumption.

This dependence on carbon energy must be reduced in sustainable agriculture by using more manpower, for example, if economically possible, or renewable resources. Agriculture is an unparalleled source of natural energy of all kinds: biofuel, agrivoltaics, methane, green gas, etc. Developing these activities in a sustainable way is also an effective approach within sustainable agriculture.