Approaches to sustainable agriculture: exploring the pathways towards the future of farming

Four critical conditions for agroecological transitions in Europe

“…Nature-inclusive agriculture is the Dutch policy term for agroecology. It is based on three interconnected principles: employ ecosystem services rather than external inputs; minimize environmental pressures and contribute maximally to 'nonfunctional' biodiversity and landscape quality (Oberč & Schnell, 2020;Runhaar, 2017). Despite the increasing adoption of the concept by public and private actors, still less than 10% of all Dutch farmers classifies as nature-inclusive (Bouma et al, 2019;Vermunt et al, 2020).…”

“…Surveys have shown that many more farmers are willing to operate in more nature-friendly ways (Bouma et al, 2019;Runhaar et al, 2018;Trouw, 2018). Yet, a large majority faces structural barriers to switch to nature-inclusive farming styles, including unclarity about what is exactly expected from farmers, high debts and sunk investments inhibiting change, limited knowledge and a lack of reward systems for the provision of collective goods that nature-inclusive agriculture delivers, such as biodiversity and environmental and landscape quality (Oberč & Schnell, 2020;Runhaar et al, 2018;Schuurbiers et al, 2019;Vermunt et al, 2020). These barriers find their origin in the dominant industrial food regime that is export-oriented, capital intensive 1 and that steers towards ongoing scale enlargement and intensification (Erisman et al, 2016;Pez, 2018;Runhaar et al, 2020).…”

Impact of Organic Farming on Sustainable Agriculture System and Marketing Potential: A Review

“…Organic farming is described as a unique production management system which promises and enhances agro-ecosystem health including biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. [129][130][131][132] Organic farming has been recommended by National Commission on Farmers as a tool for second green revolution for regions like rainfed areas, hilly and mountain regions of India. [132,133] Organic farming is also believed to be a viable option for sustainable development of farming based rural livelihood of small farmers.…”

Assessing sustainable agriculture and food systems in Africa: Thematic areas and indicators of progress

“…In sub‐Saharan Africa, the agricultural sector lags behind considerably than other regions, this is as a result of small pieces of fragmented farmlands which accounts for over 80% of farmlands of less than two hectares used for food and animal production (Shimeles, Verdier‐Chouchane, & Boly, 2018). Besides, agriculture has been found to be one of the most important drivers of biodiversity loss (Oberc & Arroyo, 2020). The crisis of loss of natural biomass and climate change also threaten sustainable agriculture and food systems in Africa.…”