Today we are touching a very important topic
Agriculture and the Environment are inseparable to say the least, such is the strong connection between them one cant do without the other. since time immemorial when man started gathering and hunting for food to this point of vast advanced agricultural technologies, man and agriculture have always been dependent on the environment. Almost all human if not all human activities hinge on the environment be it agriculture , mining, construction the list goes on as such in the process of achieving these economic benefits the environment is being hurt to some extent. In this post we are going to have a glimpse of the relationship between the environment and agriculture. put this behind your mind that this is an insight don't expect to much details but important points.
Shifting Cultivation and Deforestation: These two are just brothers, they normally go hand in hand, one gives birth to the other. Lets quickly recap what shifting cultivation is for the benefit of doubt. This primarily a form agriculture that involves moving from plot of land to the other in other allow the other to regain its nutrients and these most common in places that have abundant plots of land.So back to main topic, this kind of system allows for massive deforestation of large expanse of land. This has a collective effect on the environment such loss of biodiversity, loss of nutrients, etc. The relationship is very complex meaning it comprises of positive and negative impact. People are fond of cutting down trees either for agriculture for other economic exploits. Normally agricultural consumption and the ever increasing population has escalated the demand for agricultural lands according to world bank collection of development indicators in 2016 estimated that 77.74% of land in Nigeria is used for agriculture either in large scale or at subsistence level. What does these indicates, it shows that large forest areas are been destroyed to provide agricultural lands. The land due to lack of good institutional capacity including poor land tenure systems has aided the poor conservation of the Environment. Another issue which has fueled deforestation in such places include lack of proper technology such mechanization and optimization of land and resources. for instance adopting more environmentally friendly systems such as mixed cropping systems or mixed farming system. Lets set an example with mixed farming as a system. Mixed farming involves crop farming and animal farming. In this kind of system the environment can derive multiple benefits such nutrients from animal dungs reducing the amount of chemical fertilizer applied to farms and by feeding animals through grazing, the amount of herbicides or such chemicals applied to control weeds is greatly reduced. So importantly knowing the kind of farming system to use is very important and by so doing we increase our profits and protect the environment.
Waste Generation: Agriculture produces high amount of waste with some reusable while others non-reusable. Agriculture waste stem from fertilizers, pesticides, animal litter etc. Most of these waste can be be put other use while others need to be discarded and this is where the problem is waste from animal such a s dungs, droppings, blood etc can be useful , feed sacks as well can used for storage but waste generated from pesticide or fertilizer containers are very difficult to disposed and in modern agriculture this kind of wastes are increasing substantially. Don't forget the health risk that are strongly associated with these chemicals because most of them are applied to farms by humans, even at storage level some farmers use such chemicals to store the yields in order avoid pest infestations.
Nutrient Substitution: (organic manuring and ditching chemical fertilizers) how can Agricultural world move out of dependency on chemical fertilizers? The amount of chemicals used in the agricultural industry is rising substantially. Farmers abandoned quality for quantity, increased eutrophication in our waters as a result of washing down of agro chemicals into nearby water bodies is at an alarming rate. Have you ever thought of why cancer and other related illness are always on the rise, its not a coincidence that places such as the united states are recording high number of cancer cases and deaths annually. So whats the way forward? its simple lets ditch all these chemicals be it fertilizer or pesticides that the world has become so accustomed to and embrace more Eco-friendly means of increasing yields such biofertizers and biological pest control methods these are more sustainable and healthier for our environment.
Improvising and Optimization of Local Technology by reducing their environmental threats
Technology in Agriculture is the order of the day. There is increasing technological advancement in the agricultural world today more than ever. At the top of the list use mechanization. Machines make work easier and faster for people but they come at the detriment of the environment. So there is a need to optimize some of the local technology we have in order to reduce the amount of heavy machinery's we use today. There is a great deal of harm coming to our environment from such equipment's. Finding ways to reduce impact of technology from agriculture is an important step forward to achieving a better environment.
I don't want give in much details here, I want us to do a little brainstorming. This will be in form of a competition , leave your suggestions below and the two (2) best suggestions will have me write a special post on there behalf using there suggestions as the topic.
Livestock farming and Climate change: According to estimates from world resource institute and pitesky et al is said that meat production is responsible for 12% of global green house effect. methane is a greenhouse gas, we all know what greenhouse gases do to the atmosphere. Research shows that methane CH4 has 200 times more effect on climate change than gases such as CO2 etc. According to research 1 kg of CH4 methane is equals to 23 kg of CO2, meaning an average cow releases greenhouse that an average car emits while covering 1,200km. These numbers are extreme, if only we know the harm that kind of greenhouse gas has on global climate condition.
loss of soil microbes
irrigation and the environment: Modern Agriculture heavily relies on good and effective irrigation systems. Irrigation is a core part of mordern agricultural technolonogies, the problem arises when poor or wrong irrigation systems are used. For instance one of the major problems associated with irrigation is erosion. Irrigation mostly leads to soil erosion by constant washing away of top soil leading loss soil orgabic matter and most significantly loosing its fertility. Another problem is irrigation can lead to leaching and contamination surface and underground water posing different health and environmental threats. Irrigation can as well lead to eutrophication if its done along the water source or channels. This are just a few there are alot of such issues that might arise as a result of poor irrigation schemes.
Agriculture , Agrochemical and the environment: The greatest threat of agrochemicals is the human health problems is poses. Food chains are destroyed basically distrupting the balance in the ecosystem. For an ecosystem to flourish all its components have to be in the balance both the biotic(living) and the abiotic(non-living) components of the ecosystem. Alot of agriculture practices one way or the order affects the balance in such food chains and agrochemicals such as pesticides, insecticide, herbicides and even chemical fertilizers disturbs this balance either by reducing the number of producers or partially eliminating them which will cause a major inbalance the chain or food web.
Agriculture and the Environment are inseparable to say the least, such is the strong connection between them one cant do without the other. since time immemorial when man started gathering and hunting for food to this point of vast advanced agricultural technologies, man and agriculture have always been dependent on the environment. Almost all human if not all human activities hinge on the environment be it agriculture , mining, construction the list goes on as such in the process of achieving these economic benefits the environment is being hurt to some extent. In this post we are going to have a glimpse of the relationship between the environment and agriculture. put this behind your mind that this is an insight don't expect to much details but important points.
Shifting Cultivation and Deforestation: These two are just brothers, they normally go hand in hand, one gives birth to the other. Lets quickly recap what shifting cultivation is for the benefit of doubt. This primarily a form agriculture that involves moving from plot of land to the other in other allow the other to regain its nutrients and these most common in places that have abundant plots of land.So back to main topic, this kind of system allows for massive deforestation of large expanse of land. This has a collective effect on the environment such loss of biodiversity, loss of nutrients, etc. The relationship is very complex meaning it comprises of positive and negative impact. People are fond of cutting down trees either for agriculture for other economic exploits. Normally agricultural consumption and the ever increasing population has escalated the demand for agricultural lands according to world bank collection of development indicators in 2016 estimated that 77.74% of land in Nigeria is used for agriculture either in large scale or at subsistence level. What does these indicates, it shows that large forest areas are been destroyed to provide agricultural lands. The land due to lack of good institutional capacity including poor land tenure systems has aided the poor conservation of the Environment. Another issue which has fueled deforestation in such places include lack of proper technology such mechanization and optimization of land and resources. for instance adopting more environmentally friendly systems such as mixed cropping systems or mixed farming system. Lets set an example with mixed farming as a system. Mixed farming involves crop farming and animal farming. In this kind of system the environment can derive multiple benefits such nutrients from animal dungs reducing the amount of chemical fertilizer applied to farms and by feeding animals through grazing, the amount of herbicides or such chemicals applied to control weeds is greatly reduced. So importantly knowing the kind of farming system to use is very important and by so doing we increase our profits and protect the environment.
Waste Generation: Agriculture produces high amount of waste with some reusable while others non-reusable. Agriculture waste stem from fertilizers, pesticides, animal litter etc. Most of these waste can be be put other use while others need to be discarded and this is where the problem is waste from animal such a s dungs, droppings, blood etc can be useful , feed sacks as well can used for storage but waste generated from pesticide or fertilizer containers are very difficult to disposed and in modern agriculture this kind of wastes are increasing substantially. Don't forget the health risk that are strongly associated with these chemicals because most of them are applied to farms by humans, even at storage level some farmers use such chemicals to store the yields in order avoid pest infestations.
Nutrient Substitution: (organic manuring and ditching chemical fertilizers) how can Agricultural world move out of dependency on chemical fertilizers? The amount of chemicals used in the agricultural industry is rising substantially. Farmers abandoned quality for quantity, increased eutrophication in our waters as a result of washing down of agro chemicals into nearby water bodies is at an alarming rate. Have you ever thought of why cancer and other related illness are always on the rise, its not a coincidence that places such as the united states are recording high number of cancer cases and deaths annually. So whats the way forward? its simple lets ditch all these chemicals be it fertilizer or pesticides that the world has become so accustomed to and embrace more Eco-friendly means of increasing yields such biofertizers and biological pest control methods these are more sustainable and healthier for our environment.
Improvising and Optimization of Local Technology by reducing their environmental threats
Technology in Agriculture is the order of the day. There is increasing technological advancement in the agricultural world today more than ever. At the top of the list use mechanization. Machines make work easier and faster for people but they come at the detriment of the environment. So there is a need to optimize some of the local technology we have in order to reduce the amount of heavy machinery's we use today. There is a great deal of harm coming to our environment from such equipment's. Finding ways to reduce impact of technology from agriculture is an important step forward to achieving a better environment.
I don't want give in much details here, I want us to do a little brainstorming. This will be in form of a competition , leave your suggestions below and the two (2) best suggestions will have me write a special post on there behalf using there suggestions as the topic.
Livestock farming and Climate change: According to estimates from world resource institute and pitesky et al is said that meat production is responsible for 12% of global green house effect. methane is a greenhouse gas, we all know what greenhouse gases do to the atmosphere. Research shows that methane CH4 has 200 times more effect on climate change than gases such as CO2 etc. According to research 1 kg of CH4 methane is equals to 23 kg of CO2, meaning an average cow releases greenhouse that an average car emits while covering 1,200km. These numbers are extreme, if only we know the harm that kind of greenhouse gas has on global climate condition.
loss of soil microbes
irrigation and the environment: Modern Agriculture heavily relies on good and effective irrigation systems. Irrigation is a core part of mordern agricultural technolonogies, the problem arises when poor or wrong irrigation systems are used. For instance one of the major problems associated with irrigation is erosion. Irrigation mostly leads to soil erosion by constant washing away of top soil leading loss soil orgabic matter and most significantly loosing its fertility. Another problem is irrigation can lead to leaching and contamination surface and underground water posing different health and environmental threats. Irrigation can as well lead to eutrophication if its done along the water source or channels. This are just a few there are alot of such issues that might arise as a result of poor irrigation schemes.
Agriculture , Agrochemical and the environment: The greatest threat of agrochemicals is the human health problems is poses. Food chains are destroyed basically distrupting the balance in the ecosystem. For an ecosystem to flourish all its components have to be in the balance both the biotic(living) and the abiotic(non-living) components of the ecosystem. Alot of agriculture practices one way or the order affects the balance in such food chains and agrochemicals such as pesticides, insecticide, herbicides and even chemical fertilizers disturbs this balance either by reducing the number of producers or partially eliminating them which will cause a major inbalance the chain or food web.
Agriculture is an integral part of human life and the ecosystem, despite the environmental threats posed by some agricultural practices man cant do without it, so the best thing to do is to harness the best environmentally friendly practice.
Lets save our environments
Lets save our biodiversity.
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