AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGY

  Modern agricultural systems have achieved astounding gains in productivity in the past 50 years, but they have come at an enormous cost to nature. Humanity relies on the diversity of plants and animals in the oceans, soils, sky and on land to make the planet habitable, by keeping the air and water clean, providing the basis for many medicines, and pollinating crops . At the same time, humanity needs to produce enough food for 8 billion people. But there are ways to make the food system more nature- and climate-friendly . Intensive livestock farming has the greatest impact on species loss, because of its high emissions, water pollution and the amount of food needed to feed the animals. "Intensive farming of any sort, it's just inimical to the insects that really need to thrive, and along with insects comes everything else," said Gemmill-Herren.

  Agriculture is an important sector of the U.S. economy. The crops, livestock, and seafood produced  in the United States contribute more than $300 billion to the economy each year.[1]  When food-service and other agriculture-related industries are included, the agricultural and food sectors contribute more than $750 billion to the gross domestic product. Agriculture and fisheries are highly dependent on the climate. Increases in temperature and carbon dioxide (CO2) can increase some crop yields in some places. But to realize these benefits, nutrient levels, soil moisture, water availability, and other conditions must also be met. Changes in the frequency and severity of droughts and floods could pose challenges for farmers and ranchers and threaten food safety. Meanwhile, warmer water temperatures are likely to cause the habitat ranges of many fish and shellfish species to shift, which could disrupt ecosystems. Overall, climate change could make it more difficult to grow cr

Conservation agriculture is based on the interrelated principles of minimal mechanical soil disturbance, permanent soil cover with living or dead plant material, and crop diversification through rotation or intercropping. It helps farmers to maintain and boost yields and increase profits, while reversing land degradation , protecting the environment and responding to growing challenges of climate change. To reduce soil disturbance, farmers practice zero-tillage farming, which allows direct planting without plowing or preparing the soil. The farmer seeds directly through surface residues of the previous crop. Zero tillage is combined with intercropping and crop rotation, which means either growing two or more crops at the same time on the same piece of land, or growing two different crops on the same land in a sequential manner . These are also core principles of sustainable intensification. Sustainable intensification is a process to increase agriculture yields without adverse