Sustainable Agricultural Practices: Economic and Environmental Implications

With the rise in the global population size there has been a parallel increase in the food demand. The agricultural sector in most of the countries has now come up with the uses in the modern technologies resulting into high yield rates besides environmental damage. The new agricultural practices of today have thus both economic positivity and environmental negativity. The present book intends to investigate the growth of agricultural sector and its implications to national output and environmental sustainability. It covers up economic and environmental implications of the agricultural practices in the modern world across the nations and groups of nations. The summary output of the coverage of the entire book shows that modern agricultural practices have led to high growth of the agricultural sector but environment has lost its in situ feature leading to sustainability problems. The recommendations are offered in terms of environmentally sustainable agricultural practices which can mitigate the challenges of climate change.

Agriculture is one of the important sectors for the sustainable development of any country. In order to achieve the SDG1 and 2, improvization of productivity and performance in agricultural development is needed. The present study attempts to analyse the change in productivity and cropping pattern among the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries that comprises Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The study also examines the performance of BIMSTEC countries in exporting the agricultural products. The study is based on the secondary data collected from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In accordance with the importance for the development of the country, the study also analyses the export and import of these cereal crops among the BIMSTEC countries. For the empirical investigations the study uses co-efficient of variation, Coppock’s instability index and Balassa’s index. The study reveals that productivity and cropping pattern of the cereal production has been changing gradually over time in all BIMSTEC countries which show the importance of products substitution. It also reveals that the development cooperation among the BIMSTEC countries through promotion of exports and imports is required to meet their needs.

UNESCO heritage Sundarbans is perhaps the largest island where people are solely dependent upon natural resources. Indian part of Sundarban covers around 4,263 sq. km. area and mostly situated in the district of South 24 Parganas of West Bengal. Here, people are mainly dependent on agriculture and fishing activities. Since forestry is reserved and people are allowed to collect the non-timber forest products only, the burden of livelihood earning comes on both fisheries and agricultural activities. The mechanization of agriculture and fishery, both of which are costly, have kept on swinging accordingly. People’s perception for the sustainable use cum development of these two resources, thus, becomes immensely crucial. Here, we have applied contingent valuation method to know about the people’s perception or willingness for saving these resources. The study is based on primary field survey conducted in late 2023 in two different parts of Sundarbans – both of which are dependent on both the resources. We find that people are more willing towards protection of fishery than the agricultural, probably because of its high market value and business opportunities than agricultural products. Again, climate change and frequent storms are more devastating on agricultural products than fishery. Such an analysis, in the era of climate change, is not only significant but also unique.

Volatility in agricultural commodity prices assumes a lot of significance since its associated uncertainty is one of the major factors affecting the income security of producers and traders. The study aims to investigate the fluctuations and instability of the two crops, paddy and wheat, in the states of India. It has estimated instability in prices over the years (2006–2023) for paddy and wheat for the top three producing states by using coefficient of variation (CV), Cuddy-Della Valle index and Coppock’s index. Then it estimates volatility by generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) framework. It is observed that the average standard deviation of prices across mandis for paddy in a given month is 0.18 and for wheat it is 0.22. Both for paddy and wheat Punjab has the maximum instability among the three states if we consider CV and Coppock’s index. But if we consider the Cuddy-Della Valle index, Madhya Pradesh has the maximum instability for wheat. The noticed unpredictability in the price series of paddy revealed that the value of ARCH (α) has significant term and value of GARCH (β) was also significant for all the price series. The volatility (α + β) was quite persistent of the order of 0.985 in case of Uttar Pradesh. In case of wheat Punjab has the maximum value 0.95 signifying explosiveness. In case of wheat Punjab has the maximum value 0.95 signifying explosiveness.

The study aims to investigate the evolving dynamics of India’s agricultural sector, particularly the shift from reliance on informal money lenders to a more prominent role of institutional credit in recent decades. This transition is seen as empowering farmers with increased access to funds for crucial investments in areas such as better seeds, fertilizers, irrigation systems and mechanization. Employing the Vector Autoregressive methodology on secondary data sources spanning from 1990 to 2022, the researchers seek to explore the impact of institutional credit on the agricultural sector. To address this, researchers used direct institutional credit and the share of gross value added of agriculture and allied sectors at current prices, finding that neither of them causes the other. Further analysis concludes that in the future, the contribution of credit will have some impact on development. Recognizing the significance of agriculture as the backbone of many economies, the study emphasizes the potential contributions of enhancing this sector through improved practices, advanced technologies and enhanced rural infrastructure. Ultimately, such developments are expected to drive increased productivity and overall output in the agricultural landscape, making a substantial contribution to economic growth.

This chapter aims to analyse the market of fertilizers in México during the pandemic crisis. The analysis of the fertilizer market in Mexico points out that the consumption of fertilizers has undergone a change in the structure in favour of consumers with the highest concentration and diversification. The analytical-descriptive and critical reflexive methods are applied both based on quantitative data gathered from secondary sources. This situation has contributed to a drop in the consumption of fertilizers because the farmer’s real income has fallen during the pandemic crisis. To take benefit of the opportunities arising from the crisis, the functioning of an integral model of entrepreneurship in green innovation business (GIB) that is currently emerging and in the process of internationalization is analysed. With respect to the GIB and eco-efficient company through the comprehensive method of entrepreneurship, it is observed that just as the company has some advantages in the product, it is also with many threats that are the big companies that are already positioned and that also compete with competitive prices. It is recommended that although the GIB has a wide network that is using the best way possible, it is necessary to increase the international network of contacts so that the business can grow quickly.

Food waste is a challenging and vital issue in the world today. Despite the fact that agricultural technological advancements have effectively improved food production, one-third of worldwide produced foods are being lost or wasted. The fact that large volumes of food are produced but not consumed by humans has serious environmental, social and economic consequences. However the issue of food waste has drawn attention in the last 10 years both in academic and social fields. Under the background, this study aims to examine whether the countries having high agriculture as well as per capita incomes are responsible for food waste or not. The study uses the data on food waste out of export and import channels across the world’s selected 20 countries having about 70 per cent contribution to food waste. Using the period 1971–2019, the study finds that food waste is associated with agriculture as well as per capita incomes of the developing and developed countries, positive for majorly developing countries and negative for majorly developed countries. The time series analysis involving food waste, per capita agriculture income and per capita income as the indicators, the study finds that there are long-run relations; among them across many countries implying countries having high incomes are responsible for food waste in most cases due to their food preference, although having good infrastructural facilities for preservation of foods.

This study examines the improvement of rice production in Nigeria through the government’s policy of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP). Rationalized by the production theory, the study utilizes quantitative methods such as surveys. The study investigates the influence of ABP on rice production, with particular emphasis on the experiences of smallholder rice farmers in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. The study employed a cross-sectional survey research approach, and the target population comprised smallholder rice farmers in the state who have benefitted from ABP. The study obtained a representative sample of 400 respondents through stratified random sampling. The study adopts the administration of a structured questionnaire with rice farmers in Ebonyi State, Nigeria, as the primary data collection method. Regression was used to test the hypotheses in SPSS version 23. From the findings, the study reveals the need for the ABP, banks and other lending agencies/programmes to train farmers. It shows that modern farming contributes to rice production in Ebonyi State.

Introduction of organic farming and reduced dependence on inorganic family has positive implications for the economic viability of the small farming units in India’s agricultural sector. The privatization of access to seeds, fertilizers and other inputs, as an outcome of economic liberalization, has deeply dented the affordability of agriculture, especially at the level of small and micro farms, thereby undermining the export potential of the agricultural sector as well. Zero budget farming can be potentially effective in weathering out the affordability crisis and restoring economic viability of farming at large. This chapter is a moderate attempt to explore how a shift towards zero-budget farming from inorganic farming can improve the access of agricultural goods, as predominant component of their export basket, to the markets in developed countries (DCs), given the rising stringency of sanitary and phytosanitary and environmental standards, as well, coming disproportionately against the exports from developing and less-developed countries (LDCs), including India. With reference to Balassa’s the measure of revealed comparative advantage, the chapter points to the dwindling competitive advantage of India’s agriculture in global market during the last decade. Given the stringent environment standard facing, disproportionately, the exports from LDCs, zero-budget farming can improve the access of agricultural goods, as predominant component of their export basket, to the markets in DCs. The benefit from the creation of public goods by means of organic farming practices can be utilized to deepen the fiscal support to small and marginal farms.

Agriculture is an activity that plays an important role in human life. Similarly, the agricultural sector plays an important role in the national economy. One of the biggest problems of the agricultural sector is the carbon gas it produces during production. Fertilizing activities and tools used in plowing the fields cause this gas to be produced. The release of the said gas into nature causes serious damage to the environment. Therefore, carbon emissions in the agricultural sector are of vital importance. In line with this purpose, it is aimed to determine the most appropriate strategy for carbon emission in this study. As a result of the DEMATEL analysis, it was seen that the most appropriate strategy was effective regulations and auditing.

Sustainability promotes specific and balanced circumstances which favours the survival of human population with the surrounding Mother Nature with proper synchronization. This practice ensures the use of all available natural resources in an equilibrated manner to satisfy the present needs along with the requirements of the succeeding generations. Agricultural sustainability reckons the role of healthy environment; society and economy in an integrated manner to promote food security and socio-economic development of the rural individuals. Normal agricultural practices have an unfathomed burden on the environment. This leads to various forms of environmental degradation like air and water pollution, soil depletion, climate change and loss of biodiversity. The sustainable agricultural practices aim to protect the environment, expand the Earth’s natural resource base and preserve or improve fertility of soil. Sustainable agriculture comprises with environmentally friendly farming methods that allow crops to be produced without harming natural systems. This prevents adverse impacts on soil, water, biodiversity as well as surrounding or downstream resources. In this present article we will analyse all issues related to mitigating environmental degradation through agricultural sustainability. Along with the proper assessment for agricultural sustainability is very crucial to understand the real scenario. This helps to take necessary measures for designing and its actual execution. The study constructed a composite index of agricultural sustainability by applying the principal component analysis method. Significant differences in agricultural sustainability were found among the states in India. It is important to mention that agricultural sustainability improved for all states in 2019 compared to 2016.

During the late 1900s, there was a notable trend of rapid urbanization worldwide, coinciding with a rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Agricultural production driven by expanded trade is recognized as a major contributor to global pollution and biodiversity depletion. Additionally, tropical deforestation resulting from agricultural activities significantly impacts global greenhouse gas emissions. This chapter aims to examine the interrelationships between crop production, livestock production, transport services, and CO₂ emissions from 1998 to 2019. To achieve this goal, the study begins by conducting stationary tests to determine the order of integration for the variables under consideration. Following this, panel unit root tests are employed, and subsequently, panel cointegration tests are conducted to identify any long-term relationships among the selected variables. The findings reveal a significant long-term relationship among crop production, livestock production, transport services, and CO₂ emissions.

This chapter specifically examines the convergence (divergence) effect of agricultural production by sector and the effect of agricultural production on environmental sustainability using West African countries as a case study. Annual time series variables covering the periods from 2000 to 2022 were empirically analysed using system dynamic panel-data estimation. Results showed significant beta-divergence in crop production, livestock production and total agricultural production, with a half-life of divergence rates of 10.71%, 13.15% and 16.91%, respectively, for crops, livestock and aggregate agricultural production. It was also found that the consumer prices index had a positive and significant effect on crop production, livestock production and total agricultural production. The findings also showed that crops and livestock production had a negative and significant effect on arable land and a positive and insignificant effect on CO₂ emissions. Also, total agricultural production had a negative and insignificant effect on arable land and a positive and insignificant effect on CO₂ emissions. It was also found that gross fixed capital formation had a negative and significant effect on arable land and a negative and insignificant effect on CO₂ emissions. The government and pertinent parties ought to promote sustainable farming practices such as conservation agriculture, rotational grazing, agroecology and reduced dependency on chemical inputs. Policies that support legislation that provide financial incentives for environmentally sustainable agricultural activities and encourage of preservation of biodiversity are suggested.

As technology aspect of agriculture becomes more and more important with the time to increase agricultural productivity in a sustainable and smart way, agriculture practices become more interdisciplinary. Furthermore, agricultural practices are affected by urban and rural planning enabling urban and rural farming. Architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry can support food security through the integration of agricultural practices and technologies into the built environment, its interior design, and greenhouses supporting urban and rural farming. Based on the literature review, this chapter aims to investigate ways for enhancing AEC industry’s and its professionals’ contribution to food security and sustainable agricultural practices. This chapter highlights roles of the AEC industry in enhancing food security and sustainable agricultural practices. This chapter emphasizes the importance of undergraduate and graduate curriculums of future AEC industry professionals (e.g., architects, interior architects, civil engineers) to equip them with the skills and knowledge of sustainable agricultural practices and technologies integrated greenhouses, built environment and indoor environment, and interior design. For this reason, agricultural policies need to cover food security-related interdisciplinary education and training (e.g., renewable energy-based agriculture integrated built environment) of AEC industry professionals. Agricultural policies need to be designed with the contribution of and considering AEC industry professionals as they are among the main stakeholders of food security and renewable energy-based agriculture-integrated built environment. Furthermore, this chapter highlights how AEC industry, in compliance with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and countries sustainable and resilient development plans, can contribute to food security and sustainability. This chapter can be beneficial to all stakeholders of the sustainable agricultural practices.

The study is undertaken to examine the technical efficiency (TE) of small pond fishery using the stochastic frontier model in the northern region of the state of West Bengal in India. The 65 samples were collected through field surveys in Uttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur districts for three months (i.e. from May to June) in the year 2022. The stochastic frontier model estimation indicates that boosting investment in labour, organic fertilizers, fish fingerlings and land area has the potential to enhance returns in fish production. The findings demonstrate that TE spans between 83 and 100 per cent, averaging at 94 per cent. This suggests that, on average, fish farmers in the examined region are operating slightly below the highest achievable production level, falling short by approximately 6 per cent, which raises concerns about sustainability. The study recommends that the use of labour and organic fertilizers (i.e. cow dung) should be made available to transform traditional rearing practices into more productive scientific methods. Also, the land area should be extended and more fish fingerling should be used to increase the production of fish in the study area.

The geographical location, soil texture, and other environmental ingredients have made Bangladesh a bliss for several types of food production. Certain collapsible endeavours have made the potential agriculture sector less lucrative in the country. Even though food is the ultimate purchasing goal to remain alive and healthy, there have been empirical shreds of evidence that indicate Bangladesh has been going through vulnerable phases ensuring solid food security and safety. The chapter explores Bangladesh’s vulnerability to environmental stressors and climate change impacts that significantly affect food availability and agricultural productivity highlighting the pervasive issue of food safety in Bangladesh and identifying contaminants such as pesticide residues as a major threat to public health and food security. Then it focuses on the country’s huge potential to ensure technology-driven agriculture production that may further strengthen food security and the economy with a special focus on the governance and environmental issues in ensuring sustainable agriculture. From the worldview, the government of Bangladesh needs to adopt a policy that will ensure the national interest and the safety of the citizens inside the country which will help to avoid any devastating food crisis during emergencies and international disputes.