Sustainable intensification aims to simultaneously enhance ecosystem health and agricultural productivity/profitability by focusing on:
- Conservation agriculture – minimal soil disturbance, mulching, and integration of crops, forages, livestock, trees/shrubs.
- Healthy soils – integrated soil nutrition management, increasing soil carbon and nitrogen.
- Improved crops/varieties/livestock/breeds – high productivity, input efficiency, resistance/tolerance to environmental and biological challenges, and more nutritious products.
- Efficient water management – maximising yield with minimal water use, emphasising system and landscape efficiency.
- Integrated pest management – fostering diverse systems, genetic resistance, and judicious use of safer pesticides at the system, farm, and landscape levels.
What Can I Do?
Explore how your cropping business can achieve greater productivity and resilience by adopting sustainable intensification approaches. This involves practices like conservation agriculture, soil health management, selecting improved crop varieties, efficient water use, and integrated pest management, which can collectively enhance both agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability.
Grains Research & Development Corporations provides additional information, Is sustainable intensification of cropping systems achievable?