The goal for many societies today is to address crucial issues determining our future survival. Two of these issues is food sufficiency and climate change. Governments are tackling these issues as relative to one another — apparently, the availability of food is also included in climate discourses. As erratic weather patterns result in dire effects on the planet, one sector that feels the brunt of these is agriculture.
The drive towards maintaining an ample food supply should go hand-in-hand with initiatives that address the long-term effects of climate change. It’s for this reason that governments are exploring more viable strategies that allow us to improve food production without pushing environmental discourse to the sidelines.
Eco-friendly farms are obviously the way to go. Given that one-third of the planet’s carbon emissions come from farming, it’s crucial for environmental planners to implement countermeasures.
Innovations in farming technology have offered industry stakeholders effective options for balancing environmental stewardship with climate change mitigation. Here’s a list of the most compelling developments:
1. Proper site planning
From the get-go, agricultural planners will have to find suitable areas for development. In this sense, it’s important to be cognizant of local environmental ordinances. On the other hand, proper site planning should also have an interdisciplinary dimension as a way to avoid disrupting delicate ecosystems around farmland. For this, it’s important for producers to set up farm infrastructure in places offering proper and safe waste disposal.
Another large part of site planning is the construction of farming facilities that are functional. In this sense, it’s essential for farm owners to push for highly sustainable farming. This is best done by hiring professional barn builders and landscapers that offer efficient solutions for constructing the right buildings and infrastructure.
2. Organic pest control
Commercial pesticides have been used widely by farms across the globe, but we are seeing this convention changing as more and more people realize the widespread eco-destruction caused by chemicals used in pest control. No doubt, regular pest control measures not only produce CO2, they also disrupt the biodiversity of farmlands and create unsafe conditions for the production of food.
Biological pest control measures are gaining traction. Being cost-effective and environmentally safer than pesticides, these strategies offer better alternatives for farmers to protect their crops and maintain the integrity of the soil. However, careful study should be done prior to implementing biological methods such as the introduction of control agents to keep populations of a certain species from growing.
3. Use of renewable energy
Cutting carbon emissions should first start by addressing the need for farms to cut their power consumption. Recently, solar power has been changing the way farms operate. Research and development initiatives to this form of renewable energy are still ongoing, but industries such as farming have already installed solar panels to run their equipment.
Investing in renewable energy is crucial in keeping CO2 levels at a minimm. Through government interventions and help from non-government entities and the academe, we will be seeing a wider adoption of 100% solar powered farms in no less than five years.
