- The postmodern approach to agriculture is premised on sustainability i.e Sustainable Agriculture(SA).
- It makes use of most modern technology and integrates modern management methodologies, it is also involved with producing agricultural products of high economic value.
- The types and techniques of post-modern agriculture are fairly wide in scope. The choice of agricultural products, improvements to nurturing methods, considerations for health and safety and the marketing of produce are all within such scope.
- Postmodern agriculture needs to be scientifically propelled. Biotechnology, nanotechnology, Artificial Intelligence, remote sensing, communication technology and such frontier disciplines will promote resource-efficiency. Management at the level of agricultural landscapes and watersheds will be increasingly relevant.
Need For Postmodern Approach to Agriculture
Negative Consequences of Green Revolution: Modern agriculture, based on science-driven technologies and symbolised by the Green Revolution, is now viewed as a double-edged sword. In tripling food grain production, nitrogenous fertiliser use went up 10-fold in India, with increasing application of agrochemicals and growing dependence on fossil fuel energy.
Prospects of Sustainable agriculture (SA): As postmodern agriculture is based on the concept of sustainability of agriculture, it counters monocultural production models.
Strategy in Build Up to Post-modern Agriculture
Agroforestry: Agroforestry’s 25 million hectares of tree-based farming systems provide fruit, fodder, fuel, fibre and timber while enriching the ecology through nutrient recycling, carbon storage, biodiversity preservation, soil and water conservation.
Conservation Agriculture: Conservation agriculture is practised in about two million hectares, primarily in India’s wheat-rice region. It addresses low efficiency use of water, nutrients and energy. Its practices include zero tillage, laser levelling, crop sequencing, precision irrigation, use of stress-tolerant and climate-resilient varieties, and retention of crop residues as opposed to burning.
Zero-Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF): It has a backto-the-basics approach where chemical-free farming with leguminous intercrops uses traditional in situ botanical extracts and livestock wastes to improve soil fertility and crop productivity while controlling cultivation costs.
