Strategic Management and Sustainability Assignment Sample

Introduction

The sustainable development goal was developed in 2015, which included 193 members of the United Nations. The Sustainable Development agenda is mainly focused on a better future. It is aimed at curtailing poverty and inequality, to fight all the injustices.

The main objective of these sustainable development goals is to protect our planet Earth. The main purpose of “Agenda 2030” is to mainly define all the 17 sustainable development goals, which dedicates to our world’s future. Sustainable development goals apply to every nation in the world.

It has been seen that these goals are inclusive, which mainly involves the citizens as well as the business and the civil society. After a prior consensus of all the nations, the goals were formed to move forward towards a society that we desire (United Nations, 2016). http://Strategic Management and Sustainability Assignment SampleThus, to attain these ambitions, every sector of the business world needs to perform its best to achieve a society that will be sustainable.

This project will mainly discuss the current practices followed by the agricultural industry to achieve sustainable goals. This will be followed by the challenges faced by them and the future opportunities for the sector after achieving these goals. The essay will also include certain recommendations, which will help the industry to improve their performance.

Discussion

Current Practices

The sustainable development goal states that the goal should be to “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture” (SDG2).

This particular goal mainly helps to recognise the fact that there is an inter-linking aspect between the aspects of supporting and enhancing sustainable agriculture, by the process of empowering all the small farmers along with promoting aspect of gender equality, to end rural poverty and improving the lifestyle of the people towards a healthy way.

The goal is also dedicated to climate change and how to achieve the objective of sustainable development goal tackling the effects of climate change (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2017).http://Strategic Management and Sustainability Assignment Sample

The process of industrial agricultural was followed for many decades. Industrial agriculture was pursued to get a bulk of agricultural food. This method of agriculture was followed by the system of huge farms, which used to grow the same crops every year, by the usage of the vast amount of chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides, which had the consequence of damaging the soil, air, water and the climate as a whole.

This agriculture method was later abandoned because it caused an enormous amount of harm to the natural resources that it depends upon for the very production.

It has been noticed that that with the advancement of time, there have been several changes in the agricultural process, and the farmers are trying to be more innovative and smart to produce agricultural products more sustainably. The scientists are also continuously trying to follow other ways, making the agricultural process more sustainable (Durand et al., 2017).http://Strategic Management and Sustainability Assignment Sample

An agricultural process is said to be a sustainable one when it least hampers the planet environmentally, economically, and socially. The sustainable form of agriculture can be of a variety of sizes, and it includes the production of a variety of range of foods and fibres, which are adapted and accepted in all forms of the local market, (Truant, Corazza, and Scagnelli, 2017). http://Strategic Management and Sustainability Assignment SampleThe main technique used by it is to follow the art and science-based practises to maximise productivity and profit by decreasing the ill effects on the environment.

Environmental sustainability is mainly to maintain a fine balance between the natural systems and the actual resources that the farms rely upon. The maintenance of a sustainable environment will mainly help in

• It will help in maintaining and improving the health of the soil.
• The sustainable process of agriculture will help in wisely managing the water and will control its wastage.
• The sustainable development of agriculture will help reduce the pollution of air, water, and climate.
• This process will also help in promoting biodiversity (Ramborun, Facknath and Lalljee, 2020).http://Strategic Management and Sustainability Assignment Sample

Sustainable agriculture practices

It has been witnessed that over many decades of science and other practices, there have been several important sustainable farming practices that have emerged. The following practices are followed currently.

• Rotation of crops and thereby embracing diversity:

If a variety of crops are planted on the same soil, there can be many benefits. The soil will become much healthier, and thus, there can be a requirement for improved pest control quality. The crop diversity mainly includes intercropping (which means the process of growing a mix of crops within the same area) and the other process if complex multi-year crop rotations.

• The Plantation of Cover crops:

Certain types of cover crops such as hairy vetch or clover are planted in the off-seasons when soils are expected to be left bare. These crops have a certain purpose of fulfilling. These crops help build and protect the health of the soil by preventing soil erosion; it restores the soil nutrients and helps keep the weeds in control. This, in turn, reduces the herbicides (Challandes, 2019).http://Strategic Management and Sustainability Assignment Sample

• The reduction or elimination of tillage:

The process of traditional pillowing mainly helps in preparing the fields for plantation and, thus, as a result, will prevent weed problems. But this process can cause a huge amount of soil loss.

The process of no-tilling or reducing tilling methods mainly involves the insertion of seeds that is to be directly inserted into the undisturbed soil. This can, in return, reduce the soil erosion and thus improve the health of the soil(www.ucsusa.org, 2021).http://Strategic Management and Sustainability Assignment Sample

• The Application of integrated pest management (IPM):

This kind of process mainly includes all the biological and mechanical controls, which can be applied in a systematic manner that will mainly keep the pest population within the control limit, thereby using the minimum usage of chemical pesticides.

• The integration of livestock and the crops:

It has been noticed that the process of industrial agriculture mainly tends to keep animal and plant production in separate areas.

The animals are kept far away from the area where the food is produced, and it has also been noticed that the crops are grown far away from the area of manure fertilizers in an abundant manner. On the other hand, it has been true that the smart integration of animal and crop production is a very good recipe for more efficient as well as profitable farms.

Challenges

According to the sustainable development goals, as discussed in the year 2015, the farmers are expected to meet the evolving requirements of the planet Earth and cater to the needs of the consumers, regulators, and food processors and retailers.

The farmers face an increasing amount of pressure from the main aspects of climate change and soil erosion and the loss of biodiversity. There has also been a shift in the taste of the consumer, which is a concern about the process in which it is produced. On the other hand, the other elements such as plants, pests and diseases also continue to threaten the farmers (Syngenta, 2021).http://Strategic Management and Sustainability Assignment Sample

It has been seen that the modern forms of agriculture mainly provides an enormous amount of solutions, and the main outcome is that not all the consequences are the same because there are different forms of the farm, and each of them has a certain amount of uniqueness.

The farms mainly consist of a production area with different kinds of landscape or soils. This also depends on the available technological aspects and the production process’s potential yield (Shirokorad et al., 2020).http://Strategic Management and Sustainability Assignment Sample

The different kinds of problems faced by the farmers while they pursue the agricultural process

The farmers have to face many challenges and deal with various issues while pursuing agriculture these days. The challenges are as follows:

• The farmers struggle to cope with climate change due to soil erosion and the huge amount of biodiversity loss.
• The farmers are finding it difficult to cater to the highly dynamic changes in the consumer’s taste and thus are unable to satisfy the consumer expectations.
• The world has been increasingly demanding high-quality food product, and hence it is becoming impossible for farmers to meet those demands.
• The farmers are unable to invest in farm productivity.
• Since the agricultural industry is adopting new technology, the farmers are somehow finding it difficult to adapt and learn new technologies.
• The farmers are also facing certain kind of problems in maintaining the resilience towards the economy’s global factors.
• The young people are not getting the required amount of inspiration to stay in their villages and become future farmers(Oecd.org, 2019).http://Strategic Management and Sustainability Assignment Sample

The farmers must try to adapt to climate change.

It has to be kept in mind that the effects of climate change have its ill effects on the farmers’ production capacity and, thus, hampers the farmers’ ability to grow crops.

The most volatile weather events, such as the floods and droughts or the changes in the pattern of seasons, or the issues of the limited water resources, are the only aspects that allow the weeds or pests and the fungi to feed on the crops and damage them (Challandes, 2019).http://Strategic Management and Sustainability Assignment Sample

It has been observed that the phenomenon of soil erosion is decreasing the land available for agriculture, and it has also been noticed that due to the declining biodiversity, the pollination process of the crops has been affected. On the other hand, the farmers are also pressured to use less water or other agricultural techniques less (Dubey et al., 2019). http://Strategic Management and Sustainability Assignment Sample

On the other hand, it is the farmers’ responsibility to mitigate the emissions of greenhouse gases, which are mainly contributed by agriculture, by means of adopting smart climate practises.

Opportunities

The challenges can be curbed by various opportunities which can improve the state of the agricultural sector (Annan-Diab and Molinari, 2017). http://Strategic Management and Sustainability Assignment SampleThe agricultural sector can gain proper momentum when Digitalisation provides a considerable amount of potential for transforming agriculture, food, and fisheries in the coming period.

The main items through which the entire agricultural process can be handled soon mainly include data analytics, mobile devices, and high-level quality of satellite imagery along with its precision equipment with the involvement of artificial intelligence. All these devices can help increase the productivity and sustainability or the resilience of the entire sector (Trigeorgis and Reuer, 2017).http://Strategic Management and Sustainability Assignment Sample

On the other hand, it must be acknowledged that there is an urgency in which the government has to realign certain policies to prevent the industry from emerging challenges. The policies should be made in such a manner that they should not have any kind of ill effects on the environment, and thus, the farmers should be able to meet the world’s growing demands.

Conclusion and Recommendation

The sustainable agriculture method is highly recommended because it works with the harmony of nature and saves the required resources needed for our survival. The emphasis on natural productivity is necessary using regenerative elements of the natural environment.

The sustainable agricultural mode should be followed because it puts a huge amount of emphasis on domestic food production. On the other hand, the sustainable method of agriculture helps the farmers reinvent the money within their community’s realms. This process also helps in creating rural jobs amongst the youngsters of the villages and the rural areas. Hence, the sustainable form of agriculture is of utmost necessary both for improvement in the economy and the environment.

References

Challenges, J.P., 2019. Sustainable Agriculture Practice: Quantifying the Effects of Cover Crop Planting Dates and Seeding Rates on Coverage Rates and Biomass Yields in Delaware. Retrieved from: https://desu.dspacedirect.org/handle/20.500.12090/455

Durand, R., Grant, R.M. and Madsen, T.L., 2017. The expanding domain of strategic management research and the quest for integration. Strategic Management Journal, 38(1), pp.4-16. Retrieved from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/smj.2607

Dvorský, J., Petráková, Z., Khan, K.A., Formánek, I. and Mikoláš, Z., 2020. Selected aspects of strategic management in the service sector. Journal of Tourism and Services, 11(20), pp.109-123. Retrieved from: https://publikace.k.utb.cz/handle/10563/1010039

Ramborun, V., Facknath, S. and Lalljee, B., 2020. We are moving toward sustainable agriculture by better understanding farmer perceptions and attitudes to cope with climate change. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 26(1), pp.37-57. Retrieved from: http://journalajaees.com/index.php/AJAEES/article/view/30519

Shirokorad, I.I., Fadeeva, O.M. and Pafnutova, E.G., 2020, October. The green energy industry: current challenges and trends in the development of professional qualifications in agricultural specialists. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 579, No. 1, p. 012107). IOP Publishing. Retrieved from: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/579/1/012107/meta

Syngenta. (2021). Challenges for modern agriculture. Retrieved from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21645698.2017.1413522

Trigeorgis, L. and Reuer, J.J., 2017. Real options theory in strategic management. Strategic management journal, 38(1), pp.42-63. Retrieved from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/smj.2593

Dubey, R., Gunasekaran, A., Childe, S.J., Papadopoulos, T., Luo, Z., Wamba, S.F. and Roubaud, D., 2019. Can big data and predictive analytics improve social and environmental sustainability?. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 144, pp.534-545.  Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162517305668

Truant, E., Corazza, L. and Scagnelli, S.D., 2017. Sustainability and risk disclosure: An exploratory study on sustainability reports. Sustainability, 9(4), p.636.  Retrieved from: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/4/636

Lyon, T.P., Delmas, M.A., Maxwell, J.W., Bansal, P., Chiroleu-Assouline, M., Crifo, P., Durand, R., Gond, J.P., King, A., Lenox, M. and Toffel, M., 2018. CSR needs CPR: Corporate sustainability and politics. California Management Review, 60(4), pp.5-24. Retrieved from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0008125618778854

Annan-Diab, F. and Molinari, C., 2017. Interdisciplinarity: Practical approach to advancing education for sustainability and for the Sustainable Development Goals.The International Journal of Management Education, 15(2), pp.73-83.  Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1472811717300939