Today, there are uncountable sources of environmental pollution that exists due to the increase in industries and advancement in technology to improve the lifestyles of the people. The fascinating thing about environmental pollution is that the leading cause is the most basic for survival and that is agriculture. Agricultural activities are among the leading contributors of pollution to the environment directly or indirectly by generating liquid or solid wastes from different types of farming activities (Burness Communications, 2012). Agricultural activities pollute the environment when there is excessive use of fertilizers, pesticides, erosion and dust, and emissions from farming machinery.
The increasing human population also forces human beings to come up with other means of producing sufficient food to feed to the multitude leading to an increase in the use of the agrochemicals to enhance the production of food. With the rise in the use of agrochemicals such as pesticides, fungicides and fertilizers, the excess chemicals find their way into the water bodies and others into the atmosphere damaging the ozone layer and causing global warming (FAO, 2014). From the production stage to the consumption stage, the majority of agricultural products in one way or another have influenced negatively on the environment. During the production for instance rice, the farmers use fertilizers, pesticides, and fungicides and pieces of machinery for planting harvesting and transporting that emit carbon IV oxide and at the end, all the stages cause environmental pollution.
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It is necessary to change the current farming technique because of the excessive use of chemical pollutes the environment and causes climate change affecting all other sectors and makes the environment unlivable. Adapting to organic farming is a better option because it minimizes the use of agrochemicals, which is the leading cause of environmental pollution in agricultural activities (DeLonge, Miles, & Carlisle, 2016). The manufactures of the farming machinery should also consider replacing the petrol engines of the machines that farmers use in farming with an environmentally friendly source of power such as electricity to reduce the level of carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Agriculture is an important sector, but it has a negative impact on the environment because of the excessive use of chemicals. It is imperative to change to organic farming to reduce limit the use of agrochemicals that causes massive water and air pollution.
References
Communications, B. (2012, October 30). Retrieved July 29, 2019, from ScienceDaily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121030210343.htm
DeLonge, M. S., Miles, A., & Carlisle, L. (2016). Investing in the transition to sustainable agriculture. Environmental Science & Policy, 55 , 266-273.
FAO. (2014, April 11). Food and Agriculture Organization . Retrieved July 29, 2019, from Agriculture's greenhouse gas emissions on the rise: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/216137/icode/
