Environmental challenges of machine-based farm practices and the ways to address them
2009
Popov, V.D. | Maksimov, D.A.
Specific feature of intensive machine-based technologies for plant and livestock production is their environmental impact, which results in accumulation of farm wastes, animal wastes in the first place, in pollution of surface and ground water with nutrients, over-compaction of soil, erosion, and poorer biodiversity. The key tool to provide environmental safety of competitive agricultural production is application of such intensive practices, which are best customized to climatic and economic conditions of the farm, and which make use of technological procedures and automated devices with minimal environmental impact. In line with the reforming concept of Russian agriculture and aimed at efficient nature management, it undertakes a good deal of effort to elaborate economically substantiated and socially acceptable ways of gradual transfer to adaptive systems of farming, which mitigate the negative impact of intensive machine-based technologies and powerful agricultural units. It was designed a creation procedure of environmental safety system of farming, the methods, algorithms and programs for development of machine-based technologies of animal waste utilization, and practical recommendations how to make the farming processes, machines and equipment more environmentally sound and friendly. The institute participates in a number of international ecological projects. One of the problems to be addressed by engineering agroecology is creation of such natural and technical systems that meet the requirements of sustainable development. The role of the institute in this aspect is seen in scientific support and development of procedures of monitoring and environmental impact assessment of machine-based technologies and subsequent certification of the latter; in creation of regulatory and legal framework, which would stipulate introduction of environmentally sound farming technologies.
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