Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 5
COMPARISON OF THE FARMING
SYSTEM AND CARBON
SEQUESTRATION BETWEEN
CONVENTIONAL AND ORGANIC
RICE PRODUCTION IN WEST JAVA,
INDONESIA
MASAKAZU KOMATSUZAKI AND M. FAIZ SYUAIB
5.1 INTRODUCTION
During the latter half of the 20th century, intensive agriculture increased
crop yields and was successful in meeting the growing demand for food,
but it also degraded the natural resources upon which agriculture de-
pends—soil, water resources, and natural genetic diversity [1,2]. Today,
conventional agriculture is built around two related goals: the maximi-
zation of production and the maximization of profi t. In pursuit of these
economic goals, a host of practices have been developed without regard
for their unintended long-term consequences and without consideration of
the ecological dynamics of agroecosystems. Millennium Ecosystem As-
sessment [3] revealed that the overuse and mismanagement of pesticides
 
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