Understanding Sustainability and its Complex Theoretical Background

Pupos, Tibor – Nábrádi, András

Keywords: organic farming, sustainable agriculture, sustainable intensification, production strategy O13, Q15

As a result of the combined effect of the changes in the conditions of farming and the expectations placed on agriculture, agricultural production has undergone significant changes. One of these changes has been an increase in production standards. The other one is the negative impact on the environment. The latter deserves particular attention due to the specific relationship between agriculture and natural resources, actively using some of its elements, such as soil.
As a result of human activity, global problems in ecological systems need to be addressed. We have now reached a situation in which humanity has left behind a footprint that has reached the level of natural impacts, i.e., beyond the ecological ceiling. The need to maintain the desired balance in the long term cannot be disputed. Nevertheless, the question is how this can be done when agricultural production is also profit-driven when changes in the conditions of farming are often compelling because of the expectations placed on the sector, when agriculture has a specific relationship with natural resources, the vast majority of which are resources that are also elements of the biosphere and whose role in sustainability is crucial, and so on.