An urgent need for sustainable thinking in agriculture – An Indian scenario |
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| Institution: | 1. Ecosystems Analysis Laboratory, Department of Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 221005, India;2. Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India;3. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, University of Delhi, New Delhi 110015, India;1. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, NY, USA;2. Center for International Earth Science Information Network, Columbia University, NY, USA;3. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, NY, USA;4. Foundation for Ecological Security, Mandla, Madhya Pradesh, India;5. Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, MD, USA;6. Agriculture and Food Security Center, Columbia University, NY, USA;7. Bioversity International, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;8. School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, CT, USA;1. Ecosystems Analysis Laboratory, Department of Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India;2. Institute of Environment & Sustainable Development (IESD), Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India;3. Department of Botany, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, University of Delhi, New Delhi 110015, India;4. Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-BHU), Varanasi 221005, India;1. Integrative Ecology Laboratory (IEL), Institute of Environment & Sustainable Development (IESD), Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India;2. Department of Botany, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Government Degree College, Phaphamau, Allahabad 211013, India;3. Department of Environmental Studies, PGDAV College, University of Delhi, New Delhi 110065, India;4. Center for Environmental Science and Technology, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda 151001, India;5. Department of Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India |
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| Abstract: | This article emphasizes on the present urgent need to think in “Holistic Dimensions” to achieve a sustainable agro-ecosystem. In this respect, the complex network of dynamic interactions in the agro-ecosystem soil at spatiotemporal dimensions holds crucial importance. It reflects the inherent tendency of dynamic ecosystems to achieve a more efficient state successively through improved interactions. The short-sighted and inefficient agro-management during Green Revolution decades has been detrimental to these interactions in agricultural soils, which is widely evident by its boomerang effects (i.e. declining efficiency, productivity and multi-functionality). It jeopardized the internal regulation in our agro-ecosystem's functioning by erosion of efficiency building interactions among biotic and abiotic components. Therefore, a bottom-up as well as top-down approach in the soil management is required to restore and sustain the unaccounted but indispensible ecological subsidies for sustainable agriculture and development, globally. We propose a “commercial ecological agriculture” which should be an amalgamation of sustainable agricultural practices and supported by a progressive co-ordination among all the stakeholders via participatory learning and adaptation with time. It should be least-disturbing, resilience-building, resource (i.e. energy and nutrient) use efficient, site-specific, labor and skill-intensive, low-input, diversified and integrated, and intimately harmonized with nature. It may potentially provide us agricultural sustainability with time in real sense. It would be primarily based on management of interactions indirectly through identification of integrative variables as surrogate, which may help to achieve internal regulation or self-reliance in agroecosystems. Further, it would be helpful to eliminate the widening socio-economic divide and in mitigation of global change in environment (i.e. air, water and soil) and climate. Additionally, it would improve and restore the multifaceted potential of soil, thus quality and productivity, through improved internal regulation on resource-use efficiency. |
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| Keywords: | Organic farming Biodiversity Interaction Green Revolution Ecological agriculture |
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