Sustainability

16Challenges of Sustainability in Agricultural Management

Jew Das¹, Srinidhi Jha¹, Manish Kumar Goyal¹, and Rao Y. Surampalli²

¹Discipline of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore, India

²Global Institute for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability, Lenexa, KS, USA

16.1 Introduction

Agriculture is derived from the Latin word “ager,” which means land and “culture,” which means cultivation. Hence, agriculture is the art or science of producing crops and livestock for the benefit of mankind. It occupies more than one-third of earth's terrestrial surface and also utilizes a huge amount of water resources, providing for the basic needs of mankind. Agriculture affects all aspects of human life directly or indirectly. In the present scenario above and beyond farming, agriculture incorporates forestry, poultry, horticulture, beekeeping, etc. Nowadays processing, marketing, distribution of agricultural products, etc. are acknowledged as intrinsic parts of agriculture. Hence, it is worth mentioning that present agricultural practices not only include production but also processing, promoting and distribution of agricultural products. Moreover, agriculture plays a vital role in economic development and can be considered as the backbone of a country's economy. Agriculture creates employment opportunities and is the source of livelihood for a large number of the population. It enhances livelihoods through better medication, education and improvements in infrastructure. ...