Defining boundaries and conceptual frameworks for ecologically focused agricultural systems

Abstract

Agricultural systems have significantly evolved, transitioning from preindustrial organic management to highly mechanized, chemically intensive, and genetically engineered conventional crop production methods. This transformation has led to negative ecological consequences, such as soil degradation, nutrient pollution, and biodiversity loss. In response, the agricultural sector is now pivoting toward restorative and sustainable practices. The pursuit of achieving a balance between production goals and environmental preservation has led to the adoption of various agricultural systems, each having distinct principles, practices, standards, and outcomes. Current agricultural systems encompass a wide range of approaches, such as conventional, conservative, bio-dynamic, agro-ecological, precision, climate-smart, regenerative, organic, regenerative-organic, and sustainable agriculture (Muhie 2022). Conventional farming strategies focus primarily on enhancing productivity, while other specialized strategies have been implemented to address additional challenges like climatic change, soil degradation, and water scarcity. While this diversity can be beneficial, it also creates challenges in comprehension and application due to ambiguous standards and overlapping terms, impacting stakeholders such as consumers, producers, policymakers, agricultural experts, and financial institutions. For example, while regenerative agriculture (RA) is known for soil health benefits, a fiscal assessment of regenerative against traditional livestock farming in New Zealand revealed a decline in productivity and a rise in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (Howarth et al. 2022). Similarly, expansion of organic certification to hydroponic and aquaponic farms broadens the concept of organic farming, raising questions about soil-centric organic principles (Legal Information Institute n.d.; Di Gioia and Rosskopf 2021). Furthermore, the adoption of government-endorsed climate-smart agriculture (CSA) philosophies, when backed by multinational corporations, have raised concerns among farmers about the potential misalignment …