Sustainable agriculture - History, concept and consequences for research, education and extension

The concept of sustainable development or sustainable agriculture has gained widespread attention in international discussions. Based on a literature study this paper describes how the concept evolved to an important model for the development of agricultural systems mainly in the USA. Though, no single definition of sustainable agriculture is available, some agreement, based on the evolution of the term in ecology, economics and sociology has been reached. Therefore the 6 following aspects should be incorporated in the concept of sustainable agriculture: a. Intergenerational equity; b. preservation of the resource base of agriculture production and prevention of pollution; c. Protection of biological diversity, as little interference with natural ecosystems as possible; d. Guarantee of the economic viability of the farm sector and enhance job opportunities in farming as well as preserve the structure of the rural community; e. Responsibility for the society as a whole to produce sufficent food with high nutritious quality, and f. Taking responsibility for a sustainable development in a global scale. The importance of these different aspects of a sustainable agriculture in a number of definitions are given. The concequences of the concept of sustainable agriculture for research, education and extension are discussed. Fundamental critic of sustainable agriculture is mainly concerned with too little emphasis on the productivity aspect and the lack of how to balance the different aspects of sustainability.