Edited by Paul Faeth Ample evidence shows that much of the world's agricultural practices are unsustainable. Yet, little effort has been made to measure the health, productivity, and economic value of the natural resources on which agricultural activity depends, or to assess the impact of various farm practices on these resources--until now. This report provides policymakers with much needed guidelines for evaluating and improving agricultural sustainability. Applying natural-resource-accounting principles to six case studies in different parts of the world, the authors show how current policies are leading to significant economic and fiscal losses and why resource-conserving practices would prove more successful. The studies focus on groundwater depletion innorthwest India; the health costs of pesticide use in the Philippines; agricultural soil-degradation in Chile; and soil productivity, surface water damage, and soil carbon sequestration in Nebraska and Pennsylvania. Case study authors are Miguel A. Altieri, Carlos Benito, Paul Faeth, Andres Gomez-Lobo, R.P.S. Malik, Prabhu Pingali, Agnes C. Rola, Tonci Tomei, Jorge Valenzuela, and John Westra. 1993 / 113 pages  |
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