The ultimate goal of sustainable agriculture is to meet society’s food and textile needs without compromising future generations ability to meet their societal needs.
Numerous countries, companies and individuals are looking at innovative ways of how they are going to ensure that there are sustainable ways to farm in agriculture.
Pioneering Agriculture
The Netherlands have become one of the leading pioneers when it comes to inventing methods of completing sustainable farming.
“Almost two decades ago, the Dutch made a national commitment to sustainable agriculture under the rallying cry “Twice as much food using half as many resources.” Since 2000 many farmers have reduced dependence on water for key crops by as much as 90%. They’ve almost completely eliminated the use of chemical pesticides on plants in greenhouses, and since 2009 Dutch poultry and livestock producers have cut their use of antibiotics by as much as 60%.”
The Dutch have achieved this by establishing state of the art greenhouses that enable them to grow their crops 24/7. This method was established by Wageningen University & Research (WUR) an institute that is widely regarded to be at the forefront of agricultural research and innovation.
According to Ernst van den Ende who is the managing director of WUR’s plant Sciences Group “the planet must produce more food in the next four decades than all farmers in history have harvested over the past 8000 years.”
“If massive increases in agricultural yields are not achieved, matched by massive decreases in use of water and fossil fuels, a billion or more people may face starvation.”
Reading through the original National Geographic article it is noticeable why “The Dutch have become world leaders in agricultural innovation, pioneering new paths to fight hunger”. You can read the article on sustainable agricultural farming here.