Rajbir Singh – författare

This book provides recent understanding about the sustainable development in agriculture. It includes information regarding new approaches for sustainable development in agriculture, horticulture and fisheries. It examines the effect of climate change and provides information on climate smart practices. In addition, some important aspects like quality seed production, role of bioinoculants, on-farm water harvesting, non-thermal processing of food, importance of water use in organic agriculture have also been discussed. It also presents in detail plant disease aspect and their management strategies.

This book aims to provide an overall understanding of all aspects related to the study of environment resources, its protection for sustainable development. To meet the growing food demand of the over nine billion people who will exist by 2050 and the expected dietary changes, agriculture will need to produce 60 percent more food globally in the same period. The goalof sustainable agriculture is to meet society’s food and textile needs in the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Practitioners of sustainable agriculture seek to integrate three main objectives into their work: a healthy environment, economic profitability, and social and economic equity. Every person involved in the food system growers, food processors, distributors, retailers, consumers, and waste managers can play a role in ensuring a sustainable agricultural system.

This book brings together a series of chapters that provides updated information on adaptation practices against climate change in agriculture and livestock. Information on some new aspects like conservation of carnivorous plants, climate-smart millets production, advances in genomic interventions for climate resilient crops, perceptions on disease and pests under changing climate, role of neglected crops in climate resilient agriculture, nanotechnology in sustainable agriculture, use of crop wild relatives for developing climate resilient crops have been discussed. It also presents detailed information carbon sequestration practices and green consumption behaviour for sustainable development. The last chapter of book mentions about an innovative agronomic technique under rainfed conditions for sustainable yield advantage in soybean crop.

This book provides an overview of the current status of land degradation globally and the different approaches used for its restoration. In addition to the technical aspects, it also delves into the social and economic implications of land restoration, such as in terms of policy planning. Land degradation is a serious threat to agriculture, affecting soil function and productivity. There are up to 6 billion hectares of degraded soil worldwide. It is estimated that 30% of forests, 20% of agricultural land and 10% of rangelands are severely affected by land degradation. The main causes of land degradation are soil erosion, acidification, compaction and salinization, intensive agriculture, overgrazing, poor management of arable land and deforestation. The consequences of such degradation include sand dune expansion and displacement, reduced rainfall, rangeland depletion, wind and rain erosion, and loss of biomass and biological integrity.

In 2015, the global goal of achieving land degradation neutrality (LDN) was included in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as sustainable development goal 15.3. Developing productive soil ecosystems by restoring degraded soils is therefore a future perspective for food security and environmental sustainability. This can be achieved through crop rotation, agroforestry, conservation agriculture, cover crops, terrace farming, ditching, geo-jute, and contour farming and zero tillage. Ecological restoration of farmlands offers an opportunity to reconcile agricultural production with improving ecosystem services. Restoring degraded land through environmentally friendly agroecological approaches has the potential to improve agricultural production and provide healthy ecosystems for organisms.

This book is an important resource for students, academics, researchers, national and international agricultural scientists, and soil experts.