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Looking Forward: Role of AKST in Meeting Development and Sustainability Goals | 149
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New technologies need to be developed and implemented for using and managing limited water resources. These technologies will have to focus, on one side, on quantitative aspects, like increasing water supply and decreasing water demand; on the other hand, conserving water quality will have to receive more attention in the future. AKST in this regard will not only have to concentrate on protecting water resources against pollution from agricultural activities as well as from other sources; it will also have to explore ways to use water of lower quality in agriculture, and to better match the quality of water supplied to its specific use, considering that water of varied quality will be allocated among sectors. Progress in AKST is especially important. Agriculture is by far the biggest consumer of freshwater resources in the region, and progress in AKST will free up water for other sectors, including the environment, which will progressively need more good-quality water.
Measures to balance the effects on natural resources
of options fostering agricultural production will have to
include public awareness, public education and sufficient
regulation. Public awareness and education in this regard
should include training farmers in integrated pest management
and organic farming practices to reduce the use of
chemical pesticides and insecticides, and to improve their
knowledge about what fertilizers and nutrients different
crops require. Regulations are also required to protect public
health and protect natural resources, including soils and
water, from degradation. 5.3.1 Intensification of crop production 5.3.1.1 Use of agrochemicals As water is the most restricting factor for agricultural development
in the dry CWANA region, emphasis will be placed
on using water more efficiently and increasing production
per unit of water applied. This will result in more intensive
agriculture and will increase the use of agricultural fertilizers
and pesticides. The extensive use of crop protection products such as pesticides and herbicides may result in increasing the content of such substances and their nonbiodegradable derivates in |
soils and water and ultimately in agricultural products, which may compromise food quality and safety. Therefore, the use of crop protection products should be limited wherever possible. Adequate crop rotations and ecological compensation areas may reduce pest, disease and weed pressure. Pesticides and other crop-protection agents should be used according to monitoring and thresholds; IPM and ICM strategies and technologies are available that allow for a minimal, targeted, efficient and still-effective use of crop protection products, although they may have to be adapted to specific local conditions. Organic agriculture, avoiding the use of chemical crop protection agents, not only reduces such risks to a minimum but also has the potential to target growing markets in CWANA and other, mainly industrialized, regions. Both excessive fertilization and use of crop protection agents may negatively affect biodiversity. Whereas high nutrient loads mainly affect species diversity, organometallic compounds and other chemicals may also affect genetic diversity (Vogt et al., 2007). Since the loss of genetic variation is more difficult to notice than that of species variation, it is important to understand the effects that different pollutants have on ecosystems and on species and their genes. Monitoring environmental indicators and parameters
relating to possible pollution of natural resources by organic
fertilizers and agrochemicals will be important for maintaining
a healthy resource base. Food quality and safety monitoring
and control in accordance with pertinent legislation
and regulations that may need to be developed will be necessary
to prevent health problems and to comply with international
standards. Extensive use of mechanization may result in losing soil organic matter and thus soil fertility. It can also reduce macropore spaces in soils and thus decrease soil aeration. Mechanization may compact the soil, and tillage hardpan may form, which will reduce the permeability of subsoils for water and roots. Furthermore, frequent and thorough working of the soil may negatively affect biodiversity. Conservation tillage options and adequate crop rotations may overcome such negative effects of mechanization. Promoting mechanization may also have socioeconomic consequences. Depending on machinery and maintaining it with fuel and spare parts may increase the risk of debt, particularly if framework conditions promote overmechanization. Extension services therefore will need to support farmers in assessing the cost efficiency of investment in mechanization and relate it to their capacities, and savings and credit systems need to allow for pertinent investments. Since machinery is mostly designed for use by men, women might be left with an increased burden of tedious nonmechanized work. To counteract such increased gender imbalances, mechanization will have to consider the feminization of agriculture and design implements that are suitable for women. 5.3.1.3 Reduction in diversity Intensification of agricultural production in recent decades has generally been associated with simplification of agricultural systems (Haykazyan and Pretty, 2006). In addition to the negative effects of mechanization, biodiversity loss and |
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