Effects of Agricultural Activities on the Environment

With the development of intensive farming through the use of fertilizers, pesticides, it has become increasingly polluting. This is why they are pushing for the return of sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agriculture has as major objectives the optimization of productivity, while preserving the basic natural resources. This means that in agricultural production systems, it is imperative to maintain a balance between inputs and outputs, between investments and benefits, while ensuring the protection of the environment and the promotion of a sustainable economy as a whole. Due to intensive farming, using pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or residues from zootechnical activities, soil is the main affected. Most soils are losing their nutrients and organic matter in a higher proportion than the process of their regeneration, which leads to their depletion, resulting in irreversible degradation. Soil pollution means any action that causes the disruption of normal soil functioning as a support and living environment within natural ecosystems.