Questions - Answers on "Sustainable Agriculture":

Question: What do you understand by sustainable agriculture?

Answer: Sustainable agriculture refers to the perpetual ability of a system to maintain its integrity through emerging stresses and shocks. It signifies a system that survives and persists consistently with temporal and spatial scale. Agricultural sustainability primarily means ecological sustainability, involving the transformation of agriculture from subsistence farming to profit-oriented farming with technological advancements, impacting the resource base's quantity and quality​​.

Question: What is the operational definition of sustainable agriculture?

Answer: Sustainable agriculture is defined as the successful management of resources to meet changing human needs while enhancing environmental quality and conserving natural resources. It operates within physical and biological resources bounds and socio-economic viability. It encompasses a holistic view, aiming for ecological soundness, economic viability, and enhancing life quality for farmers and society. It's based on stewardship, community equity, and the long-term food sufficiency principle, recognizing multiple dimensions: physical, economic, ecological, social, cultural, and ethical​​.

Question: What is the ecological footprint?

Answers: The document does not explicitly discuss the "ecological footprint" in the context of sustainable agriculture.

Question: Can agricultural sustainability be stabilized?

Answers: The document does not directly address whether agricultural sustainability can be stabilized but discusses the importance of managing agricultural practices and resources for long-term sustainability.

Questions: Bring out the historical perspective of agricultural sustainability.

Answers: The concept of sustainable agriculture dates back to the first century BC with Roman landowner Marcus Terentius Varro. It evolved from nomadic to settled agriculture, with technology enabling productivity improvements. Subsistence agriculture practiced for 6000 years before the industrial era didn't disrupt nature much. The transition to more resource-intensive agricultural practices has eroded sustainability, which initially was characterized by the diversity and interdependence of farm resources​​.

Questions: What are the components and indicators of sustainable agriculture?

Answers: Components of sustainable agriculture include human, economic, and social development. Key factors impacted by agriculture are productivity, ecological safety, economic viability, and social responsibility. Sustainable agriculture must be ecologically viable and economically productive and profitable​​.

Questions: Describe the causes for declining agricultural sustainability.

Answers: Causes for declining agricultural sustainability include intensive agriculture relying on external inputs, leading to soil quality decline, environmental pollution, and erosion. The use of pesticides and monocultures has resulted in genetic resource erosion, new pest development, and resistance to pesticides, making agriculture environmentally unsafe​​.

Question: How perpetual agricultural sustainability can be achieved under the present circumstances of Indian Agriculture?

Answers: In India, achieving perpetual agricultural sustainability involves overcoming challenges like yield stagnation, cost escalation, and declining resource use efficiency. It requires effective management of traditional practices, modern scientific technology, and policies that support sustainable agricultural practices​​.

Question: How climate change affects agricultural sustainability?

Answers: The document does not specifically address how climate change affects agricultural sustainability.

Question: Can the development goals (of developing countries) and environmental conservation goals be converged for sustainability?

Answers: The document does not specifically address the convergence of development goals and environmental conservation goals for sustainability in developing countries.

Question: Describe land, crop, and animal production practices oriented towards achieving agricultural sustainability.

Answers: Sustainable production practices involve site-specific management of soil, nutrients, crops, pests, etc. It includes minimizing dependence on monocultures, diversification, and employing biological cycles to minimize inputs, maximize yields, and conserve resources. Crop diversification, both horizontal and vertical, is essential for sustainable productivity​​.

Question: What are the strategies for achieving higher agricultural sustainability?

Answers: Strategies include ensuring ecological soundness and socio-economic equity. Management of natural resources like soil and water is crucial. Practices should not degrade these resources and should adhere to principles like the rate of resource use not exceeding regeneration, managing waste within environmental capacity, and developing renewable substitutes for non-renewable resources​​.

Question: Relate how increasing input-use efficiency usher higher sustainability.

Answers: The document does not explicitly discuss how increasing input-use efficiency leads to higher sustainability.

Question: How can the multitude of sustainability indicators be integrated and understood graphically?

Answers: Sustainability indicators, considering various aspects like economic, social, and environmental factors, can be integrated and understood using tools like the AMOEBA diagram approach. This method plots sustainability indices of each enterprise and monitors them over time, providing a clear picture of changes and necessary interventions​​.