Sustainable agriculture is the act of farming based on an understanding of ecosystem services, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment. It has been defined as “an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will last over the long term”, for example, it satisfy human food and fiber needs, enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends, make the most efficient use of non-renewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls, sustain the economic viability of farm operations and enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.
““I had a poor standard of living,” admits Khamphew Khamdengmeuang, a farmer living in Xiengkiew village in Kham district, one of the five districts in the province of Xiengkhouang in Laos PDR, where the Commercial Organic Farming and its Institutionalisation (COFI) program was mounted by Sustainable Agriculture and Environment Development Association (SAEDA) in partnership with […]
““I thought I could harvest more crops with minor effects,” admits PhaKaoveu Karjar, a farmer from Dongdan village in the district of Khoun. It was 1995, and the use of chemicals was popular among the farmers then. PhaKaoveu experienced good results in his first year of chemical application, however over the next nine years, he […]
