EFFECT OF AGRICULTURE ON ENVIRONMENT

The burgeoning population in this country is making increasing demands on agriculture.Consequently, there is mounting pressure on the natural resource base, particularly on landfor increased food production. Failure to adopt appropriate soil and water conservationpractices in agriculture has resulted in considerable soil erosion and land degradation,rendering a large extent of agricultural lands marginal and unproductive. Due todemographic pressure, agriculture is being extended even to sloping lands, causing heavysoil erosion. Moreover, shifting cultivation has continued unabated, further dwindling theforest cover, which has already reached a threshold value. With the advent of improvedvarieties, large quantities of agrochemicals such as inorganic fertilizers, insecticides,herbicides, fungicides etc. are being released to the environment. Many of farmers usepesticides indiscriminately polluting the soil, water and the food they produce, causingserious environmental and health problems.Some major consequences of improper agricultural practices are the loss of soil fertility,land degradation, siltation of rivers and reservoirs, occurrence of flash floods,eutrophication of water bodies with attendant reduction in hydro-power generation, loss ofbiodiversity, emissions of green house gases such as CO2 and NO", which have far-reachingenvironmental, social, economic and political implications. The major causes ofagriculture-related environmental problems, their effects and consequences and measuresto mitigate them are discussed