Have you ever considered a life without agriculture? It could be the end of mankind if we give it a thought.
Agriculture is the key to the existence of the human race. So its importance can not be overstated. Agriculture is the rearing of plants and animals for food. And the root source of energy overall is the process of photosynthesis in the plant. So, agriculture is important for overall life existence.
But with the increase in population the demand for food is increasing tremendously. Countries are facing food security issues. So there are efforts to increase the per capita yield, and in that, various chemicals like pesticides, herbicides, Insecticides fertilizers, etc, are used. These chemicals have a profound effect on increasing the pollution in the environment. So this way agriculture is somewhat hampering the ecosystem as well as human existence.
So it is becoming increasingly important day by day to take care of the pollution overall and especially in the agricultural set up.
We will have a thorough look in this blog post about agriculture pollution, why we should care and ways to control it, so stay connected until the very end!
Summary
“Agriculture is key to human existence. Due to food insecurity, chemicals are used for increasing yield.Thus pollution is increasing so we need to control it by every means.”
Overview of Agricultural Pollution
Agricultural pollution, in a simple sense, is environmental pollution caused by or as a by-product of agriculture, which includes the raising of crops, livestock, and any other agricultural-related activity.
As in any other pollution, there are primary culprits called pollutants. In the case of agricultural pollution, we have pesticides, fertilizers, etc.
Tidbit:
“There may arise a question about whether we should quit using any of these chemicals.
Well, ideally, we should, but realistically, we can’t.
But we may strive in order to make chemicals that have a less damaging impact on the environment.”
The agriculture sector modernization has really impacted the environment in so many ways. Agriculture has affected the environment through pollution types like air, soil and water pollution.
The agriculture sector has been a major cause of air pollution, polluting air around the farms.
Soil pollution has also been a real issue due to agriculture. The natural ability of the soil to produce crops (fertility) is decreasing drastically. Agriculture has brought about soil disintegration and other issues. The unnecessary use of chemicals and their subsequent draining into natural water reserves are significant reasons for water pollution.
So, in all three pollution types, agriculture is now a main contributor, which has led to overall disturbance in the ecosystem.
Types of Agricultural Pollution
Agricultural pollution can be in various types, but mainly it can be classified into 5 major types.
Fertilizers
One sort of agricultural pollution is fertilizers. The fertilizers are utilized for the soil to upgrade its fertility. Without them, the yield drops down significantly. But it can be a necessary evil. The reason for this is the excess fertilizer that is not absorbed by the crops goes into the
water reserves or channels.
This chemical that is washed out will pollute the water, and it has dangerous effects on living beings, whether animals or humans. So, overall, this process disrupts the ecosystem as a whole.
Pesticides
Pesticides are likewise a sort of agricultural pollution. The utilization of pesticides has expanded a lot, and they are very effective in killing pests and expanding yield.
The over or inaccurate use of pesticides is one true cause of the environmental issues. With the overuse of pesticides, the residual pesticides are the major issue. With the inaccurate use of pesticides, there has been a risk of decline of beneficial insects like the bees, for instance, are killed while killing insects.
So, the use of these chemicals can cause environmental issues, which may prove to cause health concerns for both animals and humans.
Exhaust Fumes
Another one on the list is the exhaust fumes. The farm machinery makes the exhaust fumes. They are often on petrol and diesel engines, and they emit gasses like carbon dioxide, which may prove to cause a lot of pollution in the environment, aiding the greenhouse effect, etc.
Carbon dioxide is commonly termed as a greenhouse cause, and thus, it is a main contributor to global warming. And has a contribution to increasing the temperatures of the world overall.
Methane
Through livestock, agriculture is also causing pollution. And it is mainly by methane. The livestock releases methane gas into the atmosphere and causes environmental pollution.
Methane is not an environmentally friendly gas. The dairy and the animal cultivating are the two significant spots for the emission of the methane. Methane adds to environmental change as it is likewise an greenhouse gas.
Sedimentation
Sedimentation is another form of agricultural pollution. The sedimentation is due to the overfilling of the land.
“Tilling is a technique that is used by the aerate the soil, permit moisture and air this helps in root growth seed germination and fertilizer utilization etc.”
The over tilling affects the soil quality overall. This leads to the facilitation of the runoff. This way the soil goes into the water bodies. Soil in the water bodies will impact the aquatic life and an imbalance is created as a whole.
Why We Should Care
After understanding every bit about agriculture pollution and its types, now it is important to realize the reason why we should worry about this issue.
Environmental Impact
Agricultural pollution is really becoming a danger to the climate and the environment. Agricultural pollution is majorly brought about by pesticides, manures, and different synthetic compounds that are utilized in farming. These chemicals contribute a lot to environmental changes. The water reservoirs are getting polluted, the air pollution is making the air toxic to living beings. And all that, in general, is a risk for biodiversity and our biosphere.
Human Health Concerns
Apart from the environmental impact in general agricultural pollution is causing quite a bit of issues for human health specifically. The water pollution that is caused by agricultural activities adds toxic compounds like nitrates to the water stream. So when humans drink this water, there is a risk of severe health issues like cancer and methemoglobinemia. So, it is of a greater concern for human health.
Apart from water being affected, air is also polluted. And it also causes a lot of respiratory issues. And the health comes at stake. Apart from that, many other issues arise, so it is becoming critical to focus on controlling agricultural pollution.
What We Can Do to Combat Agricultural Pollution
In order to combat the crisis situation, we can try certain things, but few with proven benefits are enlisted.
Organic Farming
With the modernization in the agriculture landscape, it is near to impossible that we could save the environment as such. The reason is that the use of pesticides and fertilizers is a must in modern agriculture. And their use is linked to environmental and other issues.
So what we can do is shift to organic farming from modernization.In organic farming, the approach is to lessen the utilization of synthetic based fertilizers and different chemicals. In organic farming, animal manure and compost are frequently utilized. These substances are a waste of animals and plants, so in this way, the waste is utilized as well, and the usage of chemical fertilizers is reduced. So it is a win-win situation.
Precision Farming
Another technique that can be used is precision farming. In case a complete shift is not possible then what we can do is precise use of everything from chemical fertilizers to water and tailoring all other parameters accordingly.
In precision farming, the focus is to reduce the oversaturation of the land with chemicals. Mostly, what happens is with inadequate agricultural practices, we tend to use a lot more chemical fertilizers, etc, which are not required. So this way, we tend to oversaturate the soil, and thus it causes soil problems. Apart from that water and other resources use is also not optimized. So through precision farming, we can solve these issues and thus reduce pollution.
Better Land Use/ Agricultural Practices
Another thing that can be done is better land use. Mostly in agriculture, we don’t focus on crop rotation policy, and thus, it causes the loss of fertility of the land. This leads to lower yields, and thus, more and more fertilizers and pesticides; insecticides are used in order to increase the yield of the crop. In turn, this causes more agricultural pollution.
So how could we use our land in a better way? Well, we can do so by implementing better agricultural practices. Incorporating crop rotation strategies and reducing agricultural runoff will eventually pollute the water streams.
Plant-based Diet
Another approach is shifting more to a plant-based diet. It is done in order to reduce animal agriculture and remove the burden on the environment that they cause. Animal agriculture also damages the environment, so by reducing the dependency on animal agriculture, we can lower the environmental impact caused by it.
