Environmental stewardship in agriculture involves incorporating good and best practices into the management systems that oversee agricultural activities. The need for these practices arises from the valuable ecosystem services that a healthy and functioning ecosystem brings to agriculture.
The benefits of having a functioning ecosystem alongside agriculture:
- Improved soil health: Biodiversity in a functioning ecosystem will aid in maintaining soil health or the improvement thereof through natural fertilisation and the biota, improving soil structure and thus reducing the need for reliance on chemical fertilisers.
- Pest control: The presence of natural predators in the surroundings can regulate pest populations, forming part of an Integrated Pest Management Plan.
- Pollination: healthy ecosystems allow the effectiveness of pollinators to become more evident.
- Water regulation: Functioning ecosystems often include unseen water regulation processes that play a major role in preventing pollutants from entering vulnerable areas such as riparian areas.
- Resilience: The resilience that arises from conducting agricultural activities alongside functioning ecosystems ensures that the activities can continue well into the future while considering the variable climatic conditions currently experienced.
The benefits mentioned are the tip of the iceberg, as the benefits are not always visible or evident immediately. However, with continued good and best practices, the knock-on effects place agriculture in the best possible position to continue operating at an optimal level while doing so sustainably.
The risks associated with conducting agricultural activities in a non-sustainable manner:
- Soil degradation: Non-sustainable farming practices can cause erosion and loss of nutrients in the soil, which in turn makes crops more reliant on chemical additives.
- Water pollution: Non-functioning ecosystems allow possible pollutants to enter vulnerable riparian areas, having knock-on effects on sectors outside of agriculture.
- Pest and disease outbreaks: When ecosystems collapse, the function of controlling pest populations and disease outbreaks is lost, thus increasing the impact of outbreaks when they occur.
- Economic instability: The costs associated with replacing naturally occurring ecosystem services can be high and increase over time as demand increases.
Failure to exercise environmental stewardship while conducting agricultural activities can result in irreversible damage to the environment, including agricultural land. Ecological, social, and economic consequences should be considered holistically because conserving agricultural resources is important for food security, biodiversity conservation, and resilience to climate change.
