Izama Angelo
15 April 2004
book review
Kampala — Agriculture uses half of the habitable area of the earth, employs 1.3 billion people but poses the biggest threat to the environment.
These are claims contained in a new book by the environmental group, World Wide Fund for Nature.
The book titled: World Agriculture and the Environment, says that inefficient food production and harmful agricultural subsidies are causing deforestation, water shortages and pollution.
The book, to be released today and published by Island Press, argues that pressure from agriculture, which produces approximately $1.3 trillion worth of goods annually, also contributes to serious environmental, social, and economic problems, particularly in developing countries.
Agriculture, which is Uganda's main industry, is also responsible, according to authors, of the destruction of 130,000 square kilomiters (more than half Uganda's size) of forests, critical habitats such as savannahs, mountain areas and wetlands annually.
The book claims that water resources are being stretched because agriculture wastes 60 percent, or 1,500 trillion litres, of the 2,500 trillion litres of water that it uses each year.
It warns against government subsidies, which currently encourage intensive monoculture farming practices and the use of chemicals and heavy machinery harmful to the environment.
Dr Jason Clay, the vice president of the Center for Conservation Innovation at WWF-US and author of the book, recommends that governments - especially in big consuming countries like China, Japan, the US, and the EU -redirect funding from subsidies and market barriers that promote unfair competition towards the adoption of better management practices.
These include government payments for environmental services that farmers provide, such as watershed protection, erosion prevention, clean water, and carbon sequestration.
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