Practicing agriculture provides foods, feeds and fibers. Increasing the world’s population, however, has been putting enormous pressure on agriculture to supply food for them, resulting in an insecure environment. For example, huge exploration, selected cultivars cultivation, excess use of fertilizers and pesticides cause significant biodiversity loss. On top of that, excessive farming produces greenhouse gases. So, there are questions of food security on one hand and also environmental health on the other. Sustainable agricultural (SA) practices could draw the line between these two questions. The very fundamental basis of SA practices is to understand ecosystem services and maximum utilization of resources for current needs without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. The general goals of SA practices are to increase the net profit of farms; to maintain environmental health; to ensure living qualities of farmers; to increase food, feed and fiber production for human needs.
The FAO identified basic principles of SA are efficient utilization of resources; protecting natural resources; improving ecosystem resilience; improving social welfare and rural life; and responsible and effective governance. The general methods to achieve SA are application of organic and natural bio-stimulants as growth promoters; implementation of scientific field management and reasonable rotation; early detection and prevention of plant diseases and removal of infection sources; less use of pesticides especially highly toxic chemicals; improving the soil environment, ensuring a good water vapor cycle and balance the soil microbial flora; efficient fertilization utilization for achieving the recycling of various elements.
