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Traditional agricultural practices in India: an approach for environmental sustainability and food security

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Abstract

Sustainability of environment and food production is among the greatest challenges of the twenty-first century. Green revolution, however, achieved the targets of high food productivity, but at the cost of environmental degradation such as water pollution, soil contamination, climate change and biodiversity loss. Feeding the growing population and sustaining the quality of the environment are the two major challenges of Indian agriculture system. Traditional agricultural practices have been an integral part of food production in India since ages. These practices have the potential to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change with spatial and sequential diversity. This review covers three aspects of traditional farming of India: cultivation, biological method of pest management and locally available sustainable practices of crop protection. Double cropping, mixed cropping, crop rotation, agroforestry, use of local varieties and resources with host–pathogen interaction are some of the prominent traditional agricultural practices in India which have to be strengthened in view of the environment and food security. Such practices have a significant role in achieving the sustainability of agriculture by improving nutrition quality. The overall objective of this article is to highlight the potential of these practices for the sustainability of environment and food production.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Director and Head of Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development, BHU, Varanasi, for providing all necessary facilities. Anil Sharma is thankful to University Grants Commission, New Delhi [3615(NET-DEC. 2014)], for the financial support.

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  1. Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, India

    Sanoj Kumar Patel, Anil Sharma & Gopal Shankar Singh

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Patel, S.K., Sharma, A. & Singh, G.S. Traditional agricultural practices in India: an approach for environmental sustainability and food security. Energ. Ecol. Environ. 5, 253–271 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40974-020-00158-2

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