Conventional agriculture has had to cope with a population explosion. Having become intensive, it is responsible for a large proportion of greenhouse gas emissions and causes water and soil pollution due to the phytosanitary inputs it uses. It also comes up against technical impasses. This alarming fact raises the question of how agriculture can reduce its environmental footprint.
There are many ways for farms to minimise their impact on the environment. This issue is currently at the heart of the debates and news as shown by the phytosanitary action plan adopted by the French government. The ban on glyphosate at the European level makes this need for a Green Revolution even more pressing.
In agriculture, there are many ways to reduce your environmental footprint
Organic farming
Organic farming is a certification granted to agricultural production methods that exclude the use of pesticides and other synthetic chemical plant protection products from their processes, as well as GMOs.
Whether it is the AB logo or the Eurofoil, this certification ensures a level of quality and production that is more respectful of the environment, biodiversity and animal welfare. This organic farming method promotes more virtuous agricultural practices that respect the natural balance.
Organic farming certification is accompanied by strict regulations and regular controls to which farmers are subject. Thus, the Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 aims to :
- to improve the preservation of biodiversity, seen as a strength for crops, particularly in their fight against bio-aggressors;
- to preserve natural resources, especially water;
- to favour natural products to optimise agronomic yields.
Read also: MEDINBIO Organic Agriculture Solutions
Agroecology
Agroecology defends a new paradigm of cultivation with an agricultural model capable of reconciling the economic and environmental challenges of modern agriculture. This approach is also based on the necessary enhancement of biodiversity and the preservation of natural resources. The approach involves, on the other hand, the strengthening of biological regulations in agro-ecosystems conceived in a global manner.
Thus, if the objectives are similar to those of organic farming, agroecology is conceived holistically and includes the requirements of AB certification to exclude inputs and pesticides, but is not reduced to them. For example, this approach integrates a reasoned use of copper, which is sometimes overused in organic farming, in order to avoid the decline in soil fertility that often goes hand in hand with soil erosion. Agroecology thus aims at a reasoned agriculture that aims at sustainable productivity and that is best integrated into an ecosystem.
The Medinbio approach to reduce the environmental impact of farms
Medinbio's solutions are aimed at producer organisations, the agri-food industry and mass distribution. The company designs and customises crop protection programmes based on a triple action: micro-organisms applied in a targeted manner according to the problems, stimulatingion of plant defence and plant active ingredients, applied in conjunction with the tools to help à decision support tools. Ct is by orchestrating and optimising these three levers that it is possible to offer a satisfactory level of natural protection and natural compounds,
Medinbio's approach is based on agroecological practices using foliar and root biostimulation to provide the phytoprotection necessary for good crop yields. It is therefore part of an approach to agriculture that aims to reduce its environmental footprint.
Indeed, the Medinbio method defends the objectives of productivity, restoration of ecosystems and enhancement of natural balances with the aim of regulating and treating the problems posed by each crop. It involves complete support for the partners with successive phases of auditing, research, experimentation, testing and deployment with training and monitoring.
Thus, Medinbio's expertise can be used to integrate alternatives into an agro-economic itinerary: creation of healthy and efficient agro-ecological sectors, overcoming technical impasses in conventional agriculture, obtaining organic farming certification, etc.
Read also: MEDINBIO's zero pesticide residue solutions