Restoration of agroecosystems with conservation agriculture for food security to achievesustainabledevelopment goals

Abstract

AbstractCurrently, agroecosystems sustainability is mainly challenged by unsustainable agricultural practices that lead to land degradation and amplified climate change. About 25% of the World's total land area has deteriorated due to improper agricultural land management, resulting in ~24 billion tonnes of annual soil loss. Globally, soil erosion, mainly caused by high‐frequency tilling, crop residue removal or burning, poor pasture management, and inefficient crop rotations, is responsible for >40% of total land deterioration problems. Conservation agriculture (CA) seeks minimum soil disturbance, permanent soil cover, and crop rotation, which are indispensable for soil fertility restoration, carbon stabilization, increased soil biodiversity, and sustainable food production. In the last decades, the global annual adoption rate of CA was 7 M ha yr−1. CA‐based soil and crop management practices enhanced water productivity, soil organic carbon, crop productivity, and energy use efficiency by 18%–66%, 12%–93%, 3.8%–76.2%, and 8.9%–40.2%, respectively, over conventional practices under diverse agroecosystems in India. Hence, adopting CA can avert/minimize the problem of land degradation and food insecurity by improving crop productivity and decreasing soil erosion, energy use, and carbon emission, besides maintaining soil physicochemical and biological health. Moreover, CA can be a sustainable way to ensure global food demand, achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs), and restore soil health, and multiple agroecosystem services. This study aims to provide in‐depth insights into the role of CA in restoring agroecosystem services, attaining SDGs, and ensuring global food security.