Research approaches for ecological sustainability

SUSTAINABLE agriculture is an objective often used as shorthand for a particular set of practices. Because of the confusion engendered by various uses of the term “sustainable” and because of the various components of the food and agricultural system upon which people focus, sustainability has numerous competing meanings, including “sustainability as food sufficiency,” “sustainability as stewardship,” and “sustainability as community” ( 1, 2, 3 ). These three views were integrated into a hierarchical view by defining the various sustainability objectives that are necessary within modern agricultural systems ( 6 ). These sustainability objectives can be described as: ▸ Agronomic sustainability —the ability of a tract of land to maintain productivity over a long period. ▸ Microeconomic sustainability —the ability of a farm to stay in business as the basic economic unit. ▸ Ecological sustainability —the ability of life support systems to maintain the quality of the environment. ▸ Macroeconomic sustainability —the ability of national production systems to compete in both domestic and foreign markets. Ecological sustainability is a necessary condition to achieve long-term sustainability at the field, farm, or national level. Degradation of environmental quality through management practices that pollute soil, water, and air precludes the ecological sustainability of a landscape or regional agricultural system. Historically, the farm bills passed before 1985 had few, if any, provisions to promote ecological sustainability; these bills focused on farm income objectives and on enhancing international trade. …