The Potential for Small-Scale Initiatives to Contribute to Sustainable Approaches to Agriculture - Essay Example

In modern times, agriculture is practiced either under a demand-based agriculture model or a resource-based agriculture model. Demand-based agriculture is operated keeping in mind the market demand of agricultural goods by consumers and industries. Resource-based agriculture is driven by the logic of producing goods from the earth in a way that does not harm the ecosystem in the process. Thus special care is taken to use only those tools (seeds, fertilizers, etc.) that are not harmful to the ecosystem in the long run (Sustainable Agriculture, n.d.; Sustainable Communities in Theory and Practice, n.d.).

Green revolution beginning in the 1960s has added huge farm productivity but to the detriment of the goal of sustenance. In Canada, output has increased by 175% since 1941. According to a report ‘Agriculture at a Crossroads’ by IAASTD (International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology for Development), there has been less attention to some of the unintended social and environmental consequences while achieving significant ability to increase agricultural productivity. In Canada, less than 10% of the country has the capacity to sustain agricultural food production. According to IAASTD, “Business as usual is no longer an option.” (Sustainable Agriculture, n.d.; IAASTD, 2009, p. 3)

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is one government agency that is focused on providing sustainable development of agriculture by ensuring active participation of the farming community. Many of the problems of urban areas such as excessive pollution, overpopulation, can be addressed if there is the healthy development of communities in the rural areas. In the context of Canada, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, sustainable development means producing, processing, and distributing agricultural products in a manner that supports or enhances the high quality of life we enjoy in Canada, both today and into the future.” (Sustainable Development Strategy 2007-09, 2006, 1; Sustainable Agriculture; IAASTD, 2009, p.14)

There are vivid policy options to consider in light of the increased strain on the environment due to the mismatch created because of green revolution technologies and globalization. According to IAASTD, “we need a shared approach to sustainability with local and cross-national collaboration.” (IAASTD, 2009, p. 3) It is felt that to address hunger and poverty, increase rural employment, and ensure socially and economically sustainable development, both formal science, and traditional knowledge and culture should be taken into account. The process would indirectly also ensure sustainable urban development. Competing urban opportunities often attract rural youth into cities. If those in rural areas are provided with profitable employment, naturally pressure on urban areas would be reduced. According to a study ‘Toward Sustainable Communities,’ sustainable agriculture model would require a new kind of approach that looks at the ecosystem from a human settlement point of view rather than the 20th-century approach of using them to meet immediate short-term needs (Sustainable Development Strategy 2007-09, 2006, 17; Roseland, 2005, p.6; IAASTD, 2009, p.14).

One of the main challenges for implementing sustainable approaches to agriculture is maintaining healthy food production and improving the social welfare of participants while enhancing the multiplier effects of agriculture. Sustainable farming is also more susceptible to attacks from pests. According to IAASTD, connecting agricultural outputs from marginalized, rain-fed lands to the global market would require serious adjustments in the distribution mechanism. The success of such initiatives would also depend on how well participants are absorbed into other economic activities during the off-farm period. The report identifies ‘large and middle-sized farmers’ as ‘important’ and ‘high pay-off targets.’ Uncertainties about future market prices of agricultural items and the economics of fossil-based energy fuel may require significant adjustments in the process. The emergence of new substitutes for natural resources may also impact a program in a whole new way (Sustainable Agriculture, n.d.; IAASTD, 2009, p.2, pp.5-6).

If thoughtfully implemented, community-based sustainable initiatives can open new doors of opportunities for women (IAASTD, 2009, p2). Women’s involvement in agricultural production ranges from 20 to 70% globally; their participation is rising in many developing countries, especially because of the popularization of export-oriented farming. Although such developments have benefited women, a still larger proportion of rural women faces deteriorating health and work environment because of a number of factors like low education, etc. A policy that takes into account the interest of women while formulating sustainable agriculture can be very effective, as it could address the twin objectives of empowerment of women and sustainable agriculture. (IAASTD, 2009, p.2, p.11)  

In Canada, agriculture is a $50-billion-a-year industry, employing directly and indirectly 14% of Canada’s workforce and contributing about one-third of the nation’s trade surplus. According to IAASTD, the commitment of the government in implementing any project is of vital significance. In North America for particular, implementation of sustainable development would require mobilizing citizens and states to empower all forms of community capital. If sustainable community-based initiatives are applied creatively with the active involvement of stakeholders, misuse of natural resources can be reversed, leading to judicious use of water bodies, land, and the ecosystem as a whole. Any long-term strategy for sustainable development would require linking the ‘three pillars’ of ‘sustainable development,’ namely ‘economic, environmental, and social.’ (Sustainable Development Strategy 2007-09, 2006, p. 18; Roseland, 2005, p.27; IAASTD, 2009, p10)