So, welcome for lecture 8, it is a Key Indicators
of Sustainable Agriculture. So, last lecture
we have discussed and discussed about to what
is sustainable agriculture. So, this lecture
we will be focusing what are the key indicators
of sustainable agricultures and how we can
evaluate the sustainability based on the key
indicators.
So, coming to this one key indicator, what
are the key indicators? If you see so this
is the as a man’s health is judged by his
a physical and mental attributes, similarly
the well being of the ecosystem is primarily
estimated by some parameters.
These parameters are called key indicators
or knowing the indicators what happens once
you know the indicators, then this enables
the policy makers, farmers, business and civil
society to better understand the current conditions,
identify trends, set targets, monitor progress
and compare performances among regions and
countries what you say. So the key indicators
of sustainable agriculture once we know we
want to achieve sustainability, we must know
what are the indicator sustainability.
And if you know the indicators, then we look
forward how to achieve the sustainability
knowing the indicators; that means, we have
to know the indicators and we have to work
accordingly how we can achieve and how we
can increase the efficiency of our production
systems, so that this sustainability is maintained.
So, coming to the indicators; these are the
5 main indictors for agricultural sustainability;
so water, soil health, land conversion, pollution
and climate change. So, if you look at the
5 indicators, once you know the indicators
and they are used their importance in agricultural
production systems; so we should know how
to protect them, how to protect water, how
to economize the use of water and how to maintain
and improve the soil health. And land conversion
how to minimize land conversions; that means,
the deforestations how to check the deforestations.
And the pollutions mean the agricultural activity
that is say fertilizers and pesticides, how
we can increase the efficiency of inputs.
So, that the fertilizer or the application
methods so that the pollutions due to the
input managements. These are fertilizers and
pesticides should be kept as minimum as possibles
or no.
Then finally, climate change as you as you
are discussing just last previous class, so
how the agricultural activity doing the management
practices. They can minimize the climate then
activity as you say that can minimize the
climate change means minimize the greenhouse
gas emission to the atmosphere. So, we will
we will discuss the indicator one by one.
So, let us come to the water. If you see the
water the agriculture accounts for 70 percent
of world’s freshwater withdrawal and for
80 to 90 percent of its freshwater consumptions.
Moreover the water availability in future
climate is going to be limited. So it should
be very careful in using water and we should
think of the technologies; how we can improve
the production of the crops with less and
less water.
Then this is soil health second indictors.
Soil plays a key role in maintaining a balanced
ecosystems and producing quality agricultural
products. However, say soil erosion and degradations
continue to threaten the availability and
productivity of land. So the soil which say
play a key roles and the soil productive to
maintain the soil productivities. So, our
activity likewise the minimum tillage or conservation
tillage or the soil comes in practices should
be focused how to minimize the soil erosions
or the soil degradations.
Also soil is being lost 10 to 40 times faster
than it is being replenished, so which pose
a threat to long term human food security.
In that case, so, in a many places soils capacity
to retain nutrients, retain moistures and
maintain a healthy ph is also declining. So
that is a question so how to maintain the
soil health long term as an indicator.
So, next one is a land conversion. Since,
the dawn of the 1st agricultural revolutions
8000 to 10000 years ago, growing crops and
raising livestocks have been the primary cause
of loss and degradation of natural ecosystems.
That means, today around 37 percent of the
planets landmass is dedicated to growing food
of which 12 percent is for the crop lands
and rest 25 percent for the grazing lands.
The majority of current land use change in
the world is forest, wetland, grassland are
being converted into farms and grazing pastures.
So, in that way the land conversation are
the deforestations that is also contributes
to climate change how can check the deforestation
maintain the natural ecosystems.
And the 4th one the pollution: the nutrient
pollutions and the pesticides pollutions.
Nutrients means maintain a balanced soil nutrient
levels is critical to both production and
environmental health. If you there is a deficiency
of nutrients can reduce the soil fertility
and limit productions while excess nutrients
can lead to ecosystem degradations, if they
are lost either to water and air. So that
that causes the pollutions air pollutions
and water pollutions eutrophications also.
.
And impacts of excess nutrients on the environments
in include the eutrophications of surface
water, impairment of groundwater, and emission
of a harmful greenhouse gases particularly
nitrous oxide I will discuss. So, the nutrient
management is very very important and scientific
and efficient nutrient management is very
very important for sustainable agricultural
production. If there is less inputs, less
input application, less nutrient that reduces
the crop field which you do not want, which
we do not want to sacrifices the yield of
the crop.
And if you applying excess, so the surplus
the nutrients either they are lost to the
as a leaching loss goes the groundwater contaminations
or they go to reverse and they make eutrophication
of the surface waters or they may release
the atmospheres as a greenhouse gas emission-
as a nitrous oxides and cause as a contribute
to the global warming.
So, nutrient management that should be very
scientific and very efficient way to minimize
the pollutions levels. And next is pesticides.
If we are discussing also a lot our pesticides
because of the insect chemical pesticides
while beneficial may be for the protecting
the crops from the insects pest or the diseases,
but can have the detrimental effects on human
health. That is how wildlifes or the water
quality due to the pesticide contamination.
So that is say that is say environmental impacts
toxicity of the constituent chemicals. So,
the pollutions that is say either the nutrients
or the pesticide pollutions that should be
kept in mind while attaining your sustainable
agricultural productions.
So, last one indicator that is the climate
change: this is the climate change say the
un through the agricultural activity that
contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. About
13 percent of global anthropogenic greenhouse
gas emission come came from agricultural productions.
And they are from ruminants, of the livestocks,
manures, fertilizer, rice and energy use.
And land use changes, mostly which triggered
by agriculture, contributes to because conversion
of the deforestation forest lands to agricultural
land so that contribute to another 11 percent
of global greenhouse gas emission.
And if you keep example of right hand sides
how the nutrient management practices; that
can cause greenhouse gas emissions. So the
nitrous especially nitrous oxide emissions
from the rice field; so as you know the rice
loves standing water you can say we go on
their water allowed condition sometimes though
the production wise rice does not require
the standing water to have a higher productions
and because of the rice grows under standing
water conditions none of the other crops may
fail to grow under the water logged conditions.
So, under that when there is standing water,
when you go for the fertilizer applications
especially the nitrogen fertilizers where
should apply N fertilizers. If you apply in
the surface water, so there is a less efficiency
because most of the fertilizers that is converted
that is a lost as a soluble in water and runoff
loss.
If you apply in the oxidized zones that are
the surface soils, the what will happen the
urea as a nitrogen’s fertilizer discussed
this under hydrolysis, converted to ammonium
and the oxidized layers as oxygen is presents
that is oxidize to nitrate. And nitrate because
of the concentration gradient that goes to
the bottom layer that the reduced layer.
And in the reduced layers as there is no oxygen
and the nitrogen gets lost as a denitrification
loss as a nitrous gets reduced, the nitrate
gets reduced to nitrous oxide in the reduced
layers as there is no oxygens and this N 2
O nitrous oxide lost the atmosphere as nitrous
oxide emission.
On the other hand if you go on applying fertilizer
at the reduced layers to the bottom layer
you can say, where there is no oxygen the
fertilizer remain their because urea under
hydrolysis that is converted to ammonium.
And as there is no oxygens so ammonium may
not be converted to nitrate. So, as ammonium
the it is a form which that is a rice can
take as a ammonium form for the nitrogen fertilizers
and you can have a better productions and
you can have better efficiency.
So, if you see the 3 layers if you apply flood
water so that is say the fertilizer is a lost
through runoff and that contaminants your
reverse flows reverse and that effect the
fish population in the river and make the
eutrophication of the surface water. If you
apply in the oxidize zone, so there is a less
efficiency because no the nitrate the after
the nitrification process the nitrate as a
concentration gradients or the leaching come
to the reduced layer and there is a less efficiency
and that is lost to the atmosphere as that
causes global warming. And if you apply the
reduced layers so, there is a efficiency is
the higher the; that means, the crop gets
this nutrients and the production gets increased
that is what the example of the yield management
improper application of the fertilizer can
cause the global warming and can cause the
greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural
field. And management practices should be
proper, we should change the management practices
we should know the scientific management practices
to apply fertilizer and right type of fertilizer.
So that we can minimize the emission of greenhouse
gases and minimize the climate change.
And if you see the indicators; that is: policy,
practice and performance. When you go for
the performance evaluation of indicators,
then there should be policy government let
us say this comes from the government label
policy and somebody should the see and observe
and whether there is a policy comes in practice
one there is a practice policy, then practice
policy comes practice and then there is performance
evaluations.
So, if you take up indicator water, climate
change and we will go for the others. So,
water so the policy level you say whether
there is a existence of policy requiring the
measurement of agricultural water withdrawal.
So, if you want the farmer should make efficient
use of water and economic use of water as
one of the indicator of sustainable agriculture.
So, they has been policy once policy is in
force, then farmer should be very causes to
withdraw ground water. If there is only measurement
nothing to say only there is a measurement
how much water the farmers to drink to drink.
If that system that mechanism is there, then
farmers will be very causes and he can only
withdraw the amount of water that is required
for his productions.
And the practice at the same time we should
know, the share of the agricultural land that
is under a fishnet water management practices.
If that practice the if you know the percent
is how much percentage of agricultural land
is under the efficient water management that
efficient means we are talking about the limited
irrigations as your drip irrigations, sprinklers
or obvert irrigations or we can say as a not
exactly flood irrigations of the region for
alternate for irrigations.
So, those things so the share of land area
under the efficient water management practices
in percentage that has to be accounted. Then
we can go for the performance evaluations.
So, if you have the policy, then there is
a practice you have economic or the efficient
use of water; then you can for the performance
evaluation of water use that means the water
productivity or the water use efficiency and
water stress ratio. Water product means the
amount of crops per unit drop of water per
unit amount of water that can be calculated
and also water stress ratio water demand and
water supply. So, we can compare region to
regions the performance evaluations can be
done.
Similarly, if you go for the climate change
indicators so the policy for the climate change
to know the where there is a greenhouse gas
emission from the agricultural operations.
So, whether there is a existence of policy
promoting low greenhouse gas emission from
agricultural activities or agricultural development.
If there is a policy yes, then farmers should
do know the then we should know the share
of farm land of the farm area with agricultural
greenhouse gas emission management practice
percentages of land under greenhouse gas emission
management. That means, the percent a land
that is taken care to minimize greenhouse
gas emission as we know the activities, they
can the management practices; that ensures
less greenhouse gas emission like minimum
or the stubble mulch practice. Or we can say
the organic farming, organic nutrient management
say crop rotations with legumes less use of
synthetic fertilizers.
So, share of the agricultural land under greenhouse
gas emission management and the water management;
if you go for the flooding like rice, if you
go for the flooded rice, there will be more
emission or mittens and aerobic decomposition
of carbon organic carbon compounds that cause
methane emissions. On the other hand, if you
go for the saturations, there will be less
or no methane emissions.
So, if you know the there is a policy whether
there is a greenhouse gas emissions management
practices are followed then farmers will because
of then we shown a how much farm area that
is under the greenhouse gas emissions managements.
And then we can we can calculate there is
a performance evaluations: that is say food
productions for unit greenhouse gas emissions;
that means, the global warming potential of
agricultural productions amount of greenhouse
gas emitted per ton of the agricultural per
unit weight of the agricultural produced tons
of the food per ton of the C O 2 equivalent
that is a global warming potential can be
calculated.
This is for the water climate change. Similarly,
if we evaluate the policy practice and performance
analysis for other indicators like land conversion
and soil health. In land conversions, we can
have the existence of policy limiting conversion
of natural ecosystem to agriculture Yes or
No. If so then share of agricultural land
enrolled in agricultural preserve program,
then we can have the performance evaluations
like the conversion of natural ecosystems
like the forest lands to agricultural land
and or you can sub share of agricultural land
over the X years that was table and share
that shifted to natural land and share that
grew from natural land conversions.
So, this type of performance analysis that
indicates to check the how can check the conversions
of the forest lands to agricultural lands
or the deforestation can come in to you can
check the activities of deforestations.
Then you see the other indicator, the soil
health. So as a discussing if there is a policy
existence of policy that promote agricultural
soil conversation practice; if there is a
so yes or no. So, the practice means the soil
conservation practices so you have you have
discuss the earlier classes say control planting
how we can do the control planting, the growing
the crops across this loss and the minimum
clays operations and we have the broad bed
and the furrow systems of cultivations. So
that the erosion soil erosion can be checked.
So, this type of the practice are the soil
erosions or the stubble mulch tillage how
can minimize the water and wind erosions,
whether there is a policy that is say existence
of the policy to promote the agricultural
soil conservations practice. If so, then share
of arable land under soil conservation practices
that should be in percentage. This is a so
1st one is a qualitative measure that is a
yes or no. The 2nd one is a percentage, this
is a quantity. We can quantify how much area
under the soil conservation practices any
type of conservation we can say either the
management to ergonomic managements or as
a engineering approaches, ergonomic approaches
or the biological approaches, what the soil
conservation practices are followed. So it
is a percentage of area under soil conservations.
Then we can have performance evaluations like
the share of agricultural land affected by
soil erosions and also we can have this soil
organic matter content; if there is a conservation
practices over the years, then that helps
in buildup of soil organic carbon.
If you compare the lands where the conservation
practices are not followed and the land where
the conservation agricultural practices are
followed so we can evaluate change in soil
organic carbon over the years. So that give
indications of the sustainability.
And the other one we can saw the pollution
this indicator as a policy, practice and performance
analysis for pollutions so policy for the
nutrients. Existence of policy, promoting
nutrient, management practices yes or no.
So as we discuss, so, nutrient means what
type of nutrients we are using that is say
the type of fertilizers and the source of
fertilizers the application method.
So, just discuss now the N fertilizer management,
if you apply nitrogen fertilizer at the oxidized
one; that means, surface layer so that will
give that that will in decrease the efficiency
of N fertilizer for the crop use and also
that can cause the global warming, that cause
the groundwater pollutions by leaching the
nitrate to the groundwater, contamination
of groundwater, nitrate contaminations. And
also that can cause global warming through
denitrification through reduction of the nitrate
to nitrous oxides and release the atmosphere.
So, that is say existence of policy promoting
the efficient nutrient management whether
the proper nutrient management; whether if
nitrogen fertilizer is applied whether applied
as a proper depth special in case of rice
or we are using organics. So, the in case
of if we are using the synthetic fertilizer
special in case of the aerobic crops also,
so that is the so because ammonium the nitrate
fertilizer so that that gets converted to
nitrous oxide too to through some soil. There
is some denitrifying bacteria present in the
soil even though there is a aerobic conditions.
If you are applying synthetic fertilizer that
is see first release of nutrient, it is converted
to nitrate and this nitrate is denitrified
by the bacteria they are present in soil under
aerobic conditions.
If you are using the organic fertilizers,
just slow release and the as release is slow,
then loss will be less. It is taken by the
crops and there will be whatever last loss
is very low as compared to the chemical fertilizers.
So, that is what the policy. If there is a
policy promoting nutrient management and the
practice, then we can have the share of agricultural
land under efficient nutrient management practices
the percentage. Then we evaluate the performance;
performance means the nutrient input balance
on agricultural land.
And fertilizer applied per unit of arable
land input balance means how much fertilizers
are so nitrogen or prosperous how much in
nutrients applied to the crops, then last
the output the crop removals the loss; loss
may be to the groundwater contaminations or
loss to the atmospheres the emissions to the
greenhouse gases or the amount remaining the
soil how much.
So, that input balance per the nutrient input
balance and the fertilizer applied per unit
of arable land. So that type performance evaluations
for the nutrients if you go for pesticides,
so the policy action to ban or restrict pesticide
and toxic chemicals for use in agriculture.
So, like there in India we have we have so
there is a B H C Benzene Hexa Chloride D D
T Dichloro Diphenyl Trichloroethane.
So, those pesticides are banned, we have the
policy. So, there is so; that means, the policy
is there so, it is action to ban the pesticides
use. The practice that means, we have to say
share of crop land under integrated pest managements;
that means, the portion of land they use less
and less pesticides.
So, if you have the policy, the farmers become
conscious and you have a practice there is
a monitoring amount of land under the less
insecticides or minimum insecticides and pest
management, then you can go for the performance
evaluations that is pesticide used for unit
of the crop lands that is say tons of active
ingredients applied per hectare.
So, these are the indicators they if you go
to indicators then the policy; the policy
from the government sites and the practice
and the performance analysis can minimize
and can make economic use of the resources
natural resources like the water. So water
or we can say soil health or the pollutions
as you say fertilizer pollutions or the pesticide
pollution pollutions as you say.
So, this can be controlled by the policy and
looking at the practice and the performance
evaluations. So for this lecture as you say,
so this is a approaches to achieve sustainable
agricultural productions; that means, so this
indicators this is the 5 measure indicators
water or the climate change or the soil health
at the pollutions either though through nutrients
or the pesticides and the land conversions.
So, if you consider the 5 key indicators and
if you go for the real evaluations performance
evaluations, then we will be able to achieve
sustainability in agricultural productions;
that means, so our practice should be done
to maintain the food productions as per the
need to meet the requirement high amount of
productions. At the same time we should see
the less water use of the less water, less
energy, and less inputs like fertilizers or
in integrated way. So, that we can achieve
sustainability in agricultural productions
looking at the indicators and making the best
use of the resources in integrated manner
ok.
Thank you all.
