Introduction
The capability to gain sufficient food to maintain a healthy lifestyle is referred to as food security. The indicators of human health like infant mortality and life expectancy are the measures of food security achievement. Humans need food to live peacefully and healthy, similarly, they need a conducive and agriculture supporting environment to facilitate their development and healthy lifestyle. It is so ironical that the agricultural activities that the human race depend on actually affect the environment they so strive to protect and preserve. The increasing population puts more pressure on food production and the environmental concerns as most forest areas are cleared with an aim of enhancing food production forgetting that food production solely depends on a favourable environment (Field et al., 2007). The study is based on discussing the agricultural endeavours that affect the environment. Without a doubt, agricultural practices have an effect on the environment.
The modern agricultural activities are very effective and efficient in the provision of adequate food to the millions of people globally. These agricultural practices have found shortcuts on how to defy nature hence facilitate fast attainment of food products from the planted crops. These methods heavily rely on catalysts such as hybrid manure and other chemicals. Despite these methods being efficient and effective towards attaining the human goals of food security, they are greatly causing danger to the environment. Both agricultural processes and climate change take place on the global scale hence are interrelated in a way. The changes in climate affect agriculture; similarly, the agricultural practices have an adverse effect on the environment. These changes result in lack of food security.
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Positive and Negative Impact of agriculture on the Environmental change
The human agricultural practices negatively affect the environment; the anthropogenic emissions of gases from the agricultural greenhouses have an adverse effect on the environment. These gases affect the ozone layer. Agriculture greatly relies on pesticides to reduce the pests from interfering with the crops. This adds up to the long list of things causing global warming. Additionally, manure is of great value when it comes to greenhouse and farming in general. The chemicals in the manure are not in any way beneficial to the environment. The human race is surely causing a number of problems without even realizing. The use of these products causes an adverse change in the environment, in return rains; take long before falling thereby causing another challenge of food shortage. Furthermore, when land is cleared for the purpose of agriculture, this also affects the environment as the water catchment areas will be destroyed.
Despite the continuous debates pointing out that agricultural activities negatively impact the environment, some have positive results to the environment. Organic agriculture is beneficial as it helps against the global warming. Most studies have stated that organic agriculture is capable of removing sequester 7,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per acre per year from the air. This can greatly help reduce global warming thereby enhancing food security (Field et al., 2007). Through positive agricultural activities, we are capable of reducing global warming. When agriculture involves encouraging the planting of trees, this ensures the forests cap and store the carbon emitted from the human activities. This is effective and would ensure the human species exist in a friendly environment.
General effects of agriculture on the Environment
Throughout the world, agricultural activities are affecting the environment. The human agricultural activities are accelerating the environmental changes. Rainfall variations, increase in temperatures, frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are all results of reckless agricultural activities which in turn adds pressure to an already worse situation of food shortage. The greenhouse gas (GHG) emitted as a result of agriculture negatively impacts on the environment which is 17%, while the direct effect of the agricultural activities is 7%, while 14% changes due to land use. Nitrous oxide is one of the gases emitted as direct agricultural GHG emissions from the soil, methane production by ruminant animals (enteric fermentation), dejections from grazing animals, and paddy rice cultivation.
Currently, nitrous oxide accounts for 47% of total anthropogenic methane emissions, and 58% of total anthropogenic nitrous oxide emissions, in the coming decade's agriculture is expected to remain the main source of these non-CO2 gases (Ding, Hayes & Widhalm, 2011). These trends have caused great concerns, considering the significantly higher global warming potential of methane relative to CO2 and nitrous oxide. Additionally, there are emissions indirectly generated by the sector due to changes in land use, deforestation and clearing of land being among the problems. These agricultural activities pose a great challenge to the human race in regards to the environment and will lead to the shortage of food if mitigating action is not implemented.
Impacts of Agricultural Pesticides
Over the technological years, pesticides have proved effective and efficient in the field of agriculture. This has led to success in most agricultural endeavours as they have eliminated animal pests and fungal. Despite these positive changes it has brought in the field of agriculture, it has also negative influence on the environment. Since pesticides are sprayed or spread across entire agricultural fields, 95% of herbicides and Over 98% of sprayed insecticides reach a destination other than their target species. The wind carries pesticides to other fields like human settlements, grazing areas, and undeveloped areas while Runoff can carry pesticides into aquatic environments potentially affecting other species.
Different environmental concerns are brought on a daily basis since each pesticide or pesticide class carry diverse challenges to the environment. The community of microorganisms living in the soil can be damaged or degraded by extensive use of pesticides in agricultural production. The persistence, toxicity and concentration of the applied pesticide impact the effect of pesticides on soil microorganisms, in addition to other environmental factors. In a study according to the US Geological Survey , pesticides were found to pollute over 90% of wells sampled and in every stream (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2013).
Furthermore, the ground and rainwater have been found to contain residue of pesticides. Water bodies contaminated by pesticide may harm the aquatic life present in the water body. Pesticides hinder the nitrogen fixation that is highly essential for the growth of plants. The use of pesticides to enhance agriculture is good; however, pesticides should be used in a way that ensures the environment stays safe just like the plants are doing well since overuse of pesticides may be hazardous to the environment and agricultural activities.
The environmental and social impacts of local or urban agriculture
The practice of food cultivation, processing, and distribution in a town, village or city is referred to as urban agriculture. The concepts in urban agriculture have been given much attention over the years with the increasing demand food in the growing urban life (Armstrong & Donna, 2000). In different scale and possession, the variety of systems may fall under UA concept, ranging from a personal or local community gardens for self-sufficiency and social purposes, to the complex systems that involve production of food with the help of artificial light or inside factories capable of controlling the climate with an aim of producing sensitive plants. This type of farming is done indoors and it includes aquaculture, animal husbandry, agroforestry, aquaculture, horticulture and agroforestry (Field et al., 2007). For the sustainable communities, it often takes the form of social movement.
When receiving formal institutional support, t hese networks can evolve becoming integrated into local town planning as a movement for transition town for the sustainable urban development, while in other areas; this practice is motivated by nutrition and food security (Armstrong & Donna, 2000). The social and emotional well-being of individuals, the urban agriculture can have the large impact. The energy efficiency of urban agriculture, the amount of transport that often takes place when delivering goods to the consumer can be reduced since the carbon footprint of the city is reduced. Humans can benefit health wise when the ozone and other particulate matters are reduced.
Conclusion
The increasing population puts more pressure on food production and the environmental concerns as most forest areas are cleared with an aim of enhancing food production forgetting that food production solely depends on a favourable environment. The human agricultural practices negatively affect the environment; the anthropogenic emissions of gases from the agricultural greenhouses have an adverse effect on the environment. Through positive agricultural activities, we are capable of reducing global warming. Nitrous oxide is one of the gases emitted as direct agricultural GHG emissions from the soil, methane production by ruminant animals. From the study it is without a doubt agricultural practices have an effect on the environment.
References
Armstrong, Donna (2000). "A survey of community gardens in upstate New York: Implications for health promotion and community development". Health & Place. 6 (4): 319–27. doi:10.1016/S1353-8292(00)00013-7
Ding, Y.; Hayes, M. J.; Widhalm, M. (2011). "Measuring economic impacts of drought: A review and discussion". Disaster Prevention and Management. 20 (4): 434–446. doi:10.1108/09653561111161752
Field, C.B.; et al. (2007). "Sec. 14.4.4 Agriculture, forestry and fisheries". In ML Parry; et al. Chapter 14: North America. Climate change 2007: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability: contribution of Working Group II to the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-88010-6.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2013) "FAO STATISTICAL YEARBOOK 2013 World Food and Agriculture"
