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Agricultural Practices that Protect the Environment

By Lianne Derocco


It is expected that farmers always ensure that their productivity is increased but the problem here is that many also tend to practice methods that could be harmful to the environment. One of the reasons for this is that many of the easily available farm inputs contain toxic elements which could contribute to environmental degradation. It is indeed ironic that while the problem of food production is being addressed, environmental degradation is the price. This is what many people would consider as problem with large-scale agricultural farms.

Not all farmers are unaware of the ways that farming could be carried out without the use of non-organic inputs, such as fertilizers and pesticides. There are those that seriously considering contributing to protecting the environment has decided to implement farming methods that are sustainable. These include techniques like crop rotation which effectively prevents the overuse of a certain nutrient in the soil. Aside from this, there are also farmers that have decided to use only chemical-free fertilizers. This leads to sustaining the health of the soil also.

Before, farmers only have to rely on rainfall for water. If not, they have to transport water themselves to the farm and sprinkle water on the crops. Apparently, both methods are not effective in guaranteeing productivity. Because of this, they feel the need for irrigation. Irrigation is now a widely applied practice in different parts of the world. This ensures the supply of water for the plants is never too wanting nor too much. Farms without any irrigation are known to be facing difficulties in increasing productivity.

Livestock farmers face issues during the production process that often contribute to environmental degradation. One of the most serious of these is agricultural waste, which is a problem that should really be addressed. There are some who would consider merely reducing production just to decrease waste. However, this would run counter to their interests as businessmen also. But there are solutions to the problems without reducing productivity. These would guarantee protection for the quality of the groundwater and the air.

Some products have been manufactured to reduce the toxic levels of livestock farms because of agricultural waste. These include the Agra Sphere which is for deep pit systems and the Lagoon Agra Sphere which is for lagoon waste systems. Both are effective in reducing the occurrence of sludge and top-level crusting. When such issues are dealt with, there would be less pungent odor emitting from the systems which normally attract flies.

The good thing about Agra Sphere and Lagoon Agra Sphere is that these do not have any negative effect on the environment. While it is true that these are very potent as solutions to top-level crusting and sludge in waste pits and lagoons, these do not contain any toxic substance that may just worsen the problems in the environment instead of reducing them. This is because both solutions are organic in character. These contain beneficial bacteria that are effective in addressing the problems of sludge and top-level crusting.




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