Depletion of soil nutrients
Agricultural burning, for example, depletes soil’s organic matter. This causes quick loss of minerals and fertility in the soil, resulting in diminishing yields and farmers moving to a new piece of land to start again. For more details on this visit our other blog on burning of farm residue.
Deforestation
Forests see the most deforestation, the majority of which is to make way for agricultural operations, which need a lot of land and space.
Soil erosion
Plant roots are unable to adhere firmly onto the soil when topsoil is removed by water, wind, or ploughing. The topsoil is also the most fertile element of the soil, and it can take decades to recover after it has been destroyed.
Monoculture
Crop specialization, sometimes known as monoculture, is emphasized in traditional agriculture. Farmers, particularly in industrialized areas, frequently cultivate a single crop on a large portion of their land. When a single variation or cultivar of a species is cultivated, the problems connected with this technique are compounded. This method saves money for the farmer, but it also exposes the crop, and hence the farm and community, to widespread crop failure.
Pesticide Resistance
The growing awareness of the hazards created by pesticide usage extends to antibacterial cleaning solutions and other goods used in the home. Bacteria and plants have been able to resist the effects of toxins that were poisonous to their forefathers thanks to mutations in their genomes. Pesticide usage starts a loop in which more chemicals are used, or different mixtures of chemicals are employed, and more pests develop resistance to these poisons.
Water Erosion
Groundwater supplies are being mishandled and over-tapped as the reliance on irrigation grows. Groundwater recharge is sluggish, ranging between 0.1% and 0.3% per year on average. Aquifer overdraft occurs when the volume of water pumped out of the ground exceeds the rate of recharge.
Soil Salinization
Soil salinization has been identified as a primary land degradation process. Irrigating dry locations indefinitely might cause soil difficulties. Salinization is common in these regions’ small-grained soils, which have a high water absorption capacity but a low penetration rate. Irrigation techniques that add a lot of salt to the soil can speed up the natural pace of salinization. This can also happen at the bottom of a hill. .
Pollution and Silt
Pesticides wash into and pollute surface and groundwater supplies, in addition to generating resistance among dangerous bacteria, insects, and plants. Chemicals, while dangerous, are not as tough to deal with as the growing silt load that is strangling streams and rivers to death. Water runoff accelerates erosion, carrying silt particles into streams, where they remain suspended and suffocate the growth of many plant and animal species.
Moreover, there are many other disadvantages of using the traditional farming methods like Urban Sprawl and Eutrophication. Henceforth, we believe it is necessary to identify these outdated methods and techniques, so that farmers can move on to modern and more sustainable farming methods that will not just increase farm productivity, but also increase profits for farmers.