Agricultural Production: An Introduction To Sustainable Agriculture In The World

Introduction: The word “Agriculture” is derived from Latin ‘agricultura’ where ager mean field and cultura mean cultivation or growing. Agriculture is the cultivation of plants, animals, and fungi for food, fiber, biofuel, medicinal plants and other products used to sustain and enhance human life. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food supplies that nurtured the development of civilization. Over one third of the world’s workers are employed in agriculture, second only to the service sector. Agricultural production is required to feed the present population and keep open the option potential to feed the future growing population. It is a global challenge

There has also been increase in cost of production, and deterioration of quality of food. For this reason, there has been a trend globally to move in the direction of sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agriculture is the production of food, fiber or other plant or animal products using farming techniques that protects the environment, public health, human communities and animal welfare. The practice raises crop and livestock causing least inflict on environment and maintain ecological balance. Agricultural production is needed to meet the food requirement in terms of quantity and quality of present growing population at affordable price and keep the natural resources sustainable to meet the demand of food for future population. Application of biotechnological tools has the potential to achieve the goal of sustainable agriculture. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) defined biotechnology as “any technology application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific

As per estimates of United Nation Population Reference Bureau, the current World Population is 7.5 billion and will reach to 9.9 billion in 2050. To meet this demand, the world’s food production is to be doubled. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that more than 800 million people in the world do not have enough to eat, causing 24,000 people to die every day from hunger, three quarters of whom are children under five. Not only quantity of food is a concern but also the quality of food matters. ‘Hidden hunger” or micronutrient deficiencies of iodine, iron, or vitamin A, is a serious concern. According to the Micronutrient Report, nearly 20% of the population (in the developing world) suffers from iodine deficiency, about 25% of children have sub-clinical vitamin A deficiency and more than 40% of women are anemic. Scarcity of natural resources like land and water pose a great challenge to sustainable agriculture. Shrinkage as well as degradation of agricultural land, conversion of agricultural land to urban uses is a serious problem and horizontal extension of agricultural land is ceased. It is further aggravated by saturation of many crop yield production. Decrease in quantity and quality of water is also adversely affecting the agricultural production. The cost of agricultural production has been ever