Agriculture and Environment: Scope, Natural Resources, and Sustainability
Agriculture and Environment examines how farming depends on natural resources and how those resources change under use. BSEH SS Agriculture questions often ask you to separate resource use from resource degradation and to choose practices that stay productive over time.
Core concepts
- Natural resources include land, water, soil, biodiversity, air and genetic resources. Renewable does not mean unlimited; use must remain within regeneration and safe limits.
- Sustainability has environmental, economic and social dimensions. A practice is not sustainable if it conserves soil but is unprofitable or socially unacceptable.
- Conservation agriculture combines minimum tillage, permanent soil cover and crop diversification. Agroforestry, contour bunding, watershed treatment and integrated nutrient management reduce erosion and improve water use.
- Externalities are costs or benefits not priced by the market, such as downstream siltation caused by erosion. They justify regulation and collective action.
Worked example
A drip-irrigated tomato crop yields 45,000 kg/ha and receives 6,000 m3/ha of water. Water use efficiency = 45,000 ÷ 6,000 = 7.5 kg/m3. A flood-irrigated field yields 40,000 kg/ha with 8,000 m3/ha, giving 5.0 kg/m3. Drip gives 2.5 kg/m3 more, a 50% improvement relative to flood. The reasoning matters: compare output per unit of the limiting resource, not total yield alone, and state units.
Traps that cost marks
Do not equate organic farming with sustainability; organic systems can still erode soil or use excessive water. Do not ignore the economic pillar. Distinguish conservation from preservation: conservation allows wise use. Check whether a question asks about on-farm or off-farm effects.