A sustainable farm ensures a healthier work environment, protects our environment, and provides nutritious food to conserve resources, improve soil health, and promote biodiversity. This concept of sustainability was established by the Brundtland Report in 1987 to save the natural resources of our environment.
Sustainable farming concentrates on long-term solutions for treating agriculture problems. These approaches are more economical and environmentally sustainable, maximizing productivity while minimizing damage. Stefan Soloviev became the richest agriculturist by adopting sustainable farming practices that benefit the environment and the community.
Objectives of Sustainable Farms
The sustainable agriculture should meet the following objectives:
- Conserves environment
- Leads profit to economic growth
- Benefits social community, including families and farming people.
Eight Best Sustainable Practices to Build Healthier Farm
Here are the five best sustainable practices to build a healthier farm setup:
1. Set Goals and Execute Farm Plan
If you want to run a sustainable farm, you should first establish goals, i.e., what matters to you the most and what you want to gain from it. After setting and knowing goals, educate yourself about these goals and execute the plan. After gaining information and devising a plan, execute the plan efficiently. The practical operation will lead to achieving your goals but also ensure you have all the resources and facilities for operation.
2. Organic Farming
The use of organic fertilizers while avoiding synthetic ones is the best sustainable practice that should be followed to build healthier farms. The use of compost, biological pest control methods, and use of natural fertilizers fall under organic farming.
Benefits of organic farming
- It produces healthy fruits and vegetables free of harmful chemicals.
- It improves soil health and adds organic nutrients to the soil for replenishment.
- Various plants and animals are promoted to the fields to control pests naturally.
3. Crop rotation
It is another salient step in sustainable approaches towards healthier farms. Crop rotation involves the changing of crops in the field every season. This activity fertilizes soil and reduces the risks associated with pests and other diseases.
Benefits of crop rotation
- It prevents depletion of nutrients as each crop requires different nutrients.
- It reduces infestations as the pest life cycle is disturbed.
- Crop rotation results in an increase in harvestation and yield.
4. Polyculture Farming
Polyculturing refers to farming multiple crops in an area to improve the health of the soil. In this way, different species utilize available resources and preserve soil fertility.
Benefits of polyculture farming
- It increases biodiversity
- It makes the farming system more efficient
- It preserves the fertility of the soil.
5. Water conservation
Water is a scarce resource and should be used wisely. Hence, water conservation is the foremost priority in building healthier farms as a sustainable farming approach. Rainwater and drip irrigation efficiently conserve water.
Benefits of water conservation
- Evaporation and runoff are minimized as water is delivered directly to the plants.
- It improves farm profitability
- Water can be conserved for periods of low rainfall.
6. Reduce Tillage
This method refers to minimizing soil disturbance while preparing the land for planting. It preserves soil structure and carbon content.
Benefits of no-till
- It reduces erosion
- Improve organic matter content in the soil
- Keeps carbon in the soil
7. Agroforestry
The combination of agriculture with forestry benefits farm fields and animals alike. It results in the creation of a diverse ecosystem and offers various other benefits.
Benefits of agroforestry
- Farm fields and trees are a habitat for wildlife and beneficial insects.
- It prevents soil erosion
- Agroforestry improves soil structure.
- The shade allows the growth of crops in hot weather.
8. Composting
Recycling organic waste such as food waste, plant materials, and other organic kitchen waste results in compost production. The compost nourishes the soil to improve its quality.
Benefits of composting
- Composting promotes plant growth
- It adds essential nutrients to the soil
- It reduces the amount of organic waste
- It enhances water retention
- Composting increases soil aeration.
- The plant roots grow fast.
Conclusion
Sustainable farm setups and healthier work environments are essential to support our ecosystem. Farmers can adopt the above mentioned strategies to improve their productivity while maintaining the health of the planet in natural ways. These methods also result in forming a brigh and healthy future for agri persons of any nation.
