Contents

I. Introduction
II. Principles of Sustainable Farming
III. Technical Feasibility
IV. Conditions for Sustainable Farming
V. Conclusion

Preface

Farmer is the one who cultivates the land and the land lords are merely owning the land and taking the large chunk of the yield produced by the farmer who is very often a tenent. There are millions of small arid large farmers in our country. They form about 75% of the land holdings in our country and posses nearly 50% of the arable land. The question of sustainable farming is a very relevant question to be raised among them. However seldom we think of their socio-economic situation in which they live and operate on their very small holdings. There are a number of obstacles to the small farmers to follow the principles and practices of sustainable agriculture. After explaining the principles of the sustainable farming and in the second section the problems of sustainable farming and the conditions required for sustainable farming are explained in the third and fourth sections respectively. Unless these problems are seriously taken into consideration and viable solutions are implemented it is highly unjust to force the idea of sustainable farming on to the small and marginal farming classes whose life situation is the worst compared to any working class of people.

Dr. K. T. Chandy, Agricultural & Environmental Education

I. Introduction

Sustainable farming means a system of agricultural practices in which land, water, crop, plants, domestic animals and other natural resources are utilized in such a way that production of farm outputs are maintained steady (without significant variations) in an agricultural holding over a long period of time. Since the farm products are for the benefit of people the sustainability period, strictly speaking, should last generation after generation. In other words, the agricultural practices should not exhaust, decrease, degenerate or pollute the land based resources such as top soil, ground water, air, soil fertility, biomass production and recycling, water cycle, genetic resources of micro organisms, plants and animals.

As a result in sustainable farming water, fresh air, crop production, animal products, fodder, fibre, fuel wood, timber and other farm and environmental products essential for sustaining human life on earth are produced in a steady manner both in quantity and quality. This level of production is called also the optimum level of production or sustainable level of production.

Sustainable production practices are essential for maintaining suitable environmental balance. Because in agriculture and allied activities man manipulates natural resources such as top soil, ground water, micro flora and fauna, crop plants, cultivated trees and domestic animals which are integral part of the environment. In the eco system all these are so intimately connected with each other that one cannot exist without the other. This connection is web of interdependence and complementarity. Hence, degeneration, pollution or exhaustion of any of the natural resources in the ecosystern is environmentally detrimental to human beings. Hence there is no second opinion about the necessity for sustainable farming for maintaining a suitable environment for human beings.

II. Principles of Sustainable Farming

Agricultural Practices are those operations which are performed on the farm, daily, weekly, monthly, seasonally or yearly to produce all the requirements for the present generation. When they are performed with an intention of maintaining the natural resources for the future generations also then they are called sustainable agricultural practices. However, sustainable farming practices are based on two fundamental principles. They are principles of organic matter cycle and water cycle.

A. Organic matter cycle

Any biomass of living or dead is organic matter. The same biomass in nature appears in the form of different living beings in a food chain cyclic process. For example, elements and compounds are absorbed by the plants become food for animals and human beings. But plants, animals and human beings are degenerated by the micro organisms and finally the micro organisms also die and become one with the soil in elemental forms. These elements are again absorbed by the plants and the food chain cycle goes on and on continuously. Thus it is through the organic matter cycle that every living being including agricultural and animal husbandry products are generated and regenerated continuously in a cyclic process. Since numerous and various types components like soil, water, micro-organisms, plants, animals and human beings are involved simultaneously in the organic matter cyclic process there are also numerous organic matter cycles In nature.

Left to itself organic matter keeps on cycling and recycling through all the living and non living components in nature. But when man starts manipulating natural resources senselessly this organic matter cycle gets disrupted. Once any component in the nature is disturbed then all the other components including man gets disrupted. Therefore man should take special care to maintain the organic matter cycle in every farm operation he does.