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Title Toward sustainable agricultural systems in the 21st century / Committee on Twenty-First Century Systems Agriculture, Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Division on Earth and Life Sciences
Published Washington, D.C. : National Academies Press, ©2010

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Description 1 online resource (xxviii, 570 pages) : illustrations (some color), maps
Contents Understanding agricultural sustainability -- A pivotal time in agriculture -- Improving productivity and environmental sustainability in U.S. farming systems -- Economic and social dimensions of the sustainability of farming practices and approaches -- Examples of farming system types for improving sustainability -- Drivers and constraints affecting the transition to sustainable farming practices -- Illustrative case studies -- Sustainable agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa : "lessons learned" from the United States -- Conclusions and recommendations
Summary In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, there has been a remarkable emergence of innovations and technological advances that are generating promising changes and opportunities for sustainable agriculture, yet at the same time the agricultural sector worldwide faces numerous daunting challenges. Not only is the agricultural sector expected to produce adequate food, fiber, and feed, and contribute to biofuels to meet the needs of a rising global population, it is expected to do so under increasingly scarce natural resources and climate change. Growing awareness of the unintended impacts associated with some agricultural production practices has led to heightened societal expectations for improved environmental, community, labor, and animal welfare standards in agriculture. This book assesses the scientific evidence for the strengths and weaknesses of different production, marketing, and policy approaches for improving and reducing the costs and unintended consequences of agricultural production. It discusses the principles underlying farming systems and practices that could improve the sustainability. It also explores how those lessons learned could be applied to agriculture in different regional and international settings, with an emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa. By focusing on a systems approach to improving the sustainability of U.S. agriculture, this book can have a profound impact on the development and implementation of sustainable farming systems. This book serves as a valuable resource for policy makers, farmers, experts in food production and agribusiness, and federal regulatory agencies.--publisher's description
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references
Notes English
Print version record
Subject Sustainable agriculture -- United States
Agricultural systems -- United States
Sustainability -- United States
TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING -- Agriculture -- Agronomy -- Crop Science.
TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING -- Agriculture -- Agronomy -- General.
Agricultural systems
Sustainability
Sustainable agriculture
United States
Form Electronic book
Author National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Twenty-First Century Systems Agriculture.
LC no. 2010927714
ISBN 9780309148979
0309148979
1282787314
9781282787315
9786612787317
6612787317