From conventional to integrated agriculture.

Conventional agriculture aims mainly at a maximum financial return. This had both positive and negative consequences. The paper indicates that conventional farming systems with their predominantly agricultural aims cannot adequately meet the complex of environmental and social aims. It is necessary to find farming systems which pursue a broader aim than the simply agroeconomic one. This new direction, which embraces various aims in the field of economics, employment, environment, nature, landscape, quality of food and well-being, is called 'integrated farming'. A new and appropriate technology needs to be developed on the basis of this integrated vision of agriculture. The paper discusses the research and development at the farm level being carried out at the experimental farm at Nagele in the Netherlands. The first results show that an integrated approach can result in considerable reduction of inputs without loss of income for the farmer. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)