Agriculture and natural resources. Agriculture and the environment

For millennia, human beings learned to intervene in nature and to deal with the technique of cultivating species for their own use and consumption. The development of agricultural activities provided the use of new technologies, which gradually replaced the secular and rudimentary way of planting. The demographic explosion that occurred from the beginning of the 20th century and the accelerated growth of industrial activity required an increase in large-scale agricultural production.

In Brazil, as in other developing countries, the practice of monoculture is common. As it is a country that has historically built its economic structure on primary activities, Brazil makes use of these large-scale agricultural production practices. This activity is harmful, as there is no diversity of species and, in most cases, the resting time of the soil is not respected, which accelerates the loss of nutrients. The standardization or homogenization made the biological diversity disappear in the areas destined to the latifundiums. Furthermore, this imbalance caused by anthropic action led to an increase in the number of pests, interfering with the entire trophic chain.

The Green Revolution in the mid-1970s started a set of new agricultural practices, such as the use of pesticides and fertilizers to promote large-scale agriculture. It was said at the time that the Green Revolution would produce enough to "kill the world's hunger." Evidently, this agricultural model only met the needs of producers and companies linked to the agricultural production chain, simply from an economic perspective.

The frightening increase in predatory species in association with new trends brought about by the Green Revolution has stimulated the use of fertilizers and pesticides. Among the most used pesticides, we can mention DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethylene). The use of these substances has positive aspects for man, but they are extremely harmful to the environment. These substances, among others used for the same purpose, are not biodegradable and can remain in the soil for years. In addition to soil contamination, these elements contaminate surface and groundwater, carrying toxins to other ecosystems. Toxins are even present in food and, once contaminated, are transferred to men through their consumption, which can even lead to death.

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The use of machines is also harmful to agricultural systems. They mainly affect soils, which are frequently turned over, altering their horizons and gradually compacting them. Gradually, the soil is completely damaged, compacted and impoverished.

In recent years, there has been a strong movement in defense of the ecological production of agricultural products. THE agroecology it corresponds to a new approach to agriculture, which integrates economic and ecological aspects. Thus, we have new practices, such as organic agriculture, biodynamic agriculture, natural agriculture, permaculture and agroecological livestock. These modalities seek to understand the ecosystem as a whole, not just the activity in question, but to the conservation of all the natural resources involved, such as springs, native species and forests of gallery.

Despite the benefits present in agroecological systems, this movement is still in its infancy. There are institutional bodies in Brazil, such as EMBRAPA (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation), non-governmental organizations and private institutions that develop numerous researches aimed at the subject matter. In these bodies, techniques are developed for natural pest control, plant tolerance to insects, through hybridization and crop rotation.

Julio César Lázaro da Silva
Brazil School Collaborator
Graduated in Geography from Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP
Master in Human Geography from Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP

Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:

SILVA, Julius César Lázaro da. "Agriculture and natural resources"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/agricultura-os-recursos-naturais.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.