Explain Any Two Elements of Sustainable Agriculture

Two elements of sustainable agriculture are soil health and water management. Soil health means keeping soil fertile, covered and full of life so it can grow crops for decades. Water management means using only the water a crop needs and keeping farm runoff out of rivers and groundwater. Agriculture accounts for about 71% of the fresh water people withdraw worldwide (World Bank, 2022 data), which shows why the second element carries so much weight.

This page gives ready-to-use answers for homework and exams, then the fuller picture for farmers: the three pillars, the five elements, what US farms really do, and where the evidence is mixed. It also has a calculator that tests whether a soil or water practice pays on your own acres.

Explain any two elements of sustainable agriculture: model answers

If a question asks you to explain any two elements of sustainable agriculture, name the element, say what it means, give practices and say why it matters. The two answers below follow that order. Either one can be swapped for another element from the list further down.

Element 1: soil health

Soil health is the ability of soil to keep supporting crops, water and living organisms over the long term. Farmers protect it with crop rotation, cover crops, reduced tillage and compost or manure. These practices hold soil in place and add organic matter. It matters because lost topsoil is slow to rebuild: one global model put potential water erosion at about 35.9 billion tonnes of soil in 2012 (Borrelli et al., Nature Communications, 2017).

Element 2: water management

Water management means supplying crops with enough water while wasting as little as possible and protecting water quality. Farmers do this with sprinkler and drip systems, irrigation scheduling, rainwater storage and planted buffers beside streams. It matters because farming is the largest user of fresh water in many places, and supplies can run short in dry years. In the United States, irrigation took 118 billion gallons a day in 2015, or 42% of all freshwater withdrawals (USGS Circular 1441).

A shorter answer for a two-mark question

Soil health: keeping soil fertile and protected through rotation, cover crops and less tillage, so land stays productive for future generations. Water conservation: using irrigation and rainfall efficiently and preventing pollution, so farms and communities have enough clean water.

What sustainable agriculture means

A plain definition comes from USDA-funded SARE: producing enough food and fiber for today without harming the ability of future generations to do the same. US law is more exact. The federal definition in 7 U.S. Code § 3103 describes an integrated system of plant and animal production, suited to each site, that over the long term meets five aims:

• Satisfy human food and fiber needs.
• Enhance environmental quality and the natural resources farming depends on.
• Make the most efficient use of nonrenewable and on-farm resources, and use natural biological cycles and controls where suitable.
• Sustain the economic viability of farm operations.
• Enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.

The words “site-specific” and “long-term” are the key parts. No single practice makes a farm sustainable, and a practice that works in one place can fail in another. SARE makes the same point: it says there is no one-size-fits-all approach.

The three pillars of sustainable agriculture

If the question is about the 3 pillars, the answer is environmental health, economic profitability and social and economic equity. These are the three conditions named by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). SARE uses very similar goals: stewardship, profit over the long term and quality of life.

• Environmental health. Look after soil, water, air and wildlife, and limit pollution and land damage.
• Economic profitability. The farm has to make money across many years, or none of its other goals last.
• Social and economic equity. Farmers, workers and rural communities share fairly in the benefits, with safe jobs and access to land, markets and food.

The pillars depend on each other. A soil plan the farm cannot afford will be dropped. A profitable farm that runs its water source dry has no future either. This is the idea to mention if an exam asks why the pillars are interdependent.

FAO also lists 5 key principles for food and agriculture: raising productivity and jobs, protecting natural resources, improving livelihoods, building resilience, and adapting governance. Those five principles are a policy framework. They are not the same as the five farm-level elements below, so check which list your course uses.

The five main elements of sustainable agriculture

Many textbooks and guides break the pillars into practical parts. There is no single official list of five, and wording differs between authors. This page uses the following grouping:

The sections below take each element in turn: what farmers do, what the numbers show and what the limits are.

▶ Seven simple ways to protect soil and water, explained with humor · 4:34

Soil health: the first element

Soil supports nearly everything else on a farm. Its structure decides how quickly water soaks in, its organic matter feeds microbes and crops, and its cover decides how much washes away in a storm. Four practices come up again and again.

▶ Why soil organic carbon matters for soil structure and farming · 12:28

• Crop rotation. Changing crops from year to year, such as cereals followed by legumes, helps interrupt pest and disease cycles and balances nutrient demand.
• Cover crops. Clover, vetch, rye and similar crops grown between main crops protect bare ground and can suppress weeds.
• Reduced tillage or no-till. Disturbing the soil less keeps its structure in place and leaves residue on the surface.
• Organic amendments. Compost and manure add organic matter and nutrients. Test soil first and follow local nutrient rules.

The results at large scale are measurable. The erosion model cited above estimated that conservation agriculture, on about 15.3% of cropland in the 54 countries reporting it, cut modelled soil erosion across the cropland of those countries by about 7% compared with the baseline (Borrelli et al., 2017). The estimated cut was 12.5% in North America and 15.4% in Oceania.

Yield is a different question, and the evidence is mixed. A meta-analysis of 5,463 paired yield observations found that no-till alone reduces yields overall, though the response varies. Adding residue retention and crop rotation reduced the penalty, and the full combination raised rainfed yields in dry climates (Pittelkow et al., Nature, 2015). So no-till is best judged as part of a system, not as a guaranteed yield gain.

How far US farms have gone

USDA’s Economic Research Service reports that no-till rose from 35% to 38% of reported tillage acres between 2012 and 2022, and reduced tillage rose from 28% to 35% (ERS report ERR-353). Cover crops remain much less common, as the chart shows. ERS also found that many growers do not stay with them: 48% of producers with cover crop acres in 2012 still reported them in 2017.

That drop-off is a useful warning. A practice must fit the farm’s budget and workload as well as its soil, which is why the calculator below starts with money.

Chart

Cover crops vs no-till on US crops

Percent of planted acres, selected crops, latest survey year for each (2019-2023)

Water management: the second element

Water use differs widely by place. The world figure of about 71% hides big gaps: farming takes roughly 74% of fresh water withdrawals in Argentina and 67% in Australia, but about 11% in Canada, where other uses dominate (World Bank, 2022 data). A farm’s water plan should reflect its own basin, not a global average.

Chart

Agriculture’s share of freshwater withdrawals

Percent of total withdrawals, 2022, world and selected countries

• Efficient irrigation. Sprinklers and microirrigation, which includes drip, covered 63% of US irrigated acres in 2015 (USGS). Water savings depend on the crop, soil and how the old system was run, so ask for a figure from your local extension service.
• Irrigation scheduling. Soil moisture readings and weather data help match water to what the crop is using.
• Rainwater storage. Ponds and tanks hold wet-season water for dry spells. Check local water rights first, because some places restrict capture.
• Buffers and wetlands. Plant strips along streams slow runoff and trap sediment before it reaches the water.
• Careful inputs. Applying fertilizer and pesticide at the right rate and time reduces what can leave the field. Always follow the product label and local rules.

One caution: more efficient irrigation does not always mean less water taken from a river or aquifer. If saved water is used to irrigate more land or a thirstier crop, total use can stay the same. A sound plan tracks total water use, not only efficiency.

Biodiversity: the third element

Biodiversity on a farm includes crop varieties, livestock breeds, soil organisms, insects and the wild plants at field edges. A clear example of its value is pollination. According to the global IPBES assessment, 75% of food crops and nearly 90% of wild flowering plants depend to some extent on animal pollination (reported by the UN, 2016). “To some extent” matters here: it does not mean 75% of all food would disappear without pollinators.

• Diverse rotations and intercropping. Growing more crop types, in time or side by side, spreads risk and can break pest cycles.
• Agroforestry. Trees and shrubs on cropland or pasture add shade, habitat and stored carbon, though they take up some growing space.
• Integrated pest management (IPM). Scout first, use thresholds, encourage natural enemies and treat only when needed. Follow the label for any pesticide.
• Field margins and hedgerows. Flowering strips and hedges give pollinators and beneficial insects food and shelter.

These practices can cost some land or labor up front. Start with the least productive corners of a field, where the lost yield is smallest.

Energy and emissions: the fourth element

Farm energy use includes diesel, irrigation pumping, drying and heating. Greenhouse gases are a wider matter than fuel. EPA says US agriculture’s emissions come from livestock such as cows, agricultural soils and rice production, and indirect emissions from farm electricity are about 5% of direct emissions (EPA, 2022 inventory). So this element covers both energy and how livestock and fertilizer are managed.

Renewable power is spreading. The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 153,101 farms and ranches with renewable energy systems, up 15% from 2017, and 76% of those reported solar panels. That is still a small share of the 1.9 million US farms in the census.

• Solar pumps and panels. Useful where grid power is costly or absent and pumping loads are steady.
• Bioenergy. Manure digesters and crop residues can supply heat or power, but removing too much residue can leave soil exposed.
• Precision machinery. GPS guidance reduces overlap, which can save fuel, seed and fertilizer.
• Fewer field passes. Reduced tillage also lowers machinery hours.
• Carbon accounting. Measuring a farm’s footprint shows which change would make the largest difference. Buyer and credit schemes each have their own rules, so read them before relying on income from one.

Chart

US farms with renewable energy systems

Number of farms and ranches, census years

Social equity: the fifth element

A farm is not sustainable if the people running it or working on it cannot make a living. This element covers pay, safety, training and fair access to land, credit and markets. Federal law’s phrase is the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole. For many operations labor is a major cost: wages, salaries and contract labor were 42% of production expenses for greenhouse and nursery farms and 40% for fruit and tree nut farms, against 12% for all farms (USDA ERS, 2022 Census of Agriculture data).

Chart

Labor as a share of farm production expenses

Wages, salaries and contract labor, percent, 2022

ERS reports that US farm, ranch and aquacultural workers averaged $17.23 an hour in 2024, and equipment operators $19.07. Those are national averages before local cost of living. Pay rules differ by state and country, so check local labor law.

Who farms also matters. The 2022 census counted 1.2 million female producers, 36% of the total, and 58% of farms had at least one woman making decisions. Producers under 35 were 9%. A total of 116,617 farms sold directly to consumers, with sales of $3.3 billion. Those sales give some farms a closer tie to local buyers and more say over price.

• Fair pay and safe work. Training, protective equipment and proper hours protect people and reduce staff turnover.
• Access for new farmers. Land, credit and advice are the common barriers for beginners.
• Co-ops and direct sales. Shared buying or selling can improve a small farm’s bargaining position.
• Food access. Local supply and fair prices support community food security.

How to test whether a practice pays

Profit is one of the three pillars, so any soil or water change should pass a budget test. Enter your own costs, savings and yield change for one practice. Use a figure from your own records or a local extension budget, and treat it as a one-year snapshot: soil benefits can take several years to appear.

Try the numbers for your own farm below.

Sustainable farming and new technology

Technology can help with several elements, but it does not replace field work. Satellite images show how crop vegetation changes across a field. They can point a farmer to the part of the field that needs a visit, and the cause still has to be checked on the ground.

Soil moisture probes, weather data and machine guidance work in a similar way: they help decide when and where to act. Choose tools by the decision they support. If a reading will not change what you do, it is not worth paying for. Farmonaut offers satellite crop monitoring of this kind, and it is one of several options farmers can compare.

Rules and markets also shape adoption. Support programs, water limits and buyer standards differ by country and change often, so check current terms with your local agency or farm adviser before planning around them. Get professional advice for major legal or financial decisions.

▶ How satellite NDVI maps show crop stress across a farm · 4:09

How we checked the numbers

Every figure on this page comes from a government agency, UN body or peer-reviewed journal linked on this page, and each carries its year or study date. We left out round claims such as “30% more yield” or “50% less water” because results vary too much by site for one figure to hold everywhere. The five-element list is a teaching framework, not an official standard.

FAQ

What are the two elements of sustainable agriculture?

There is no fixed pair. Any two valid elements can be used, and soil health and water management are common choices. Soil health protects the land’s ability to grow crops. Water management keeps enough clean water available.

What are the 3 pillars of sustainable agriculture?

Environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity. FAO names these three conditions, and SARE’s three goals are very similar.

What are the 5 main components of sustainable agriculture?

On this page they are soil health, water management, biodiversity, energy efficiency and social equity. Other authors group them differently, so follow your course’s list if you have one.

What are the main characteristics of sustainable agriculture?

It meets present food and fiber needs, protects natural resources, stays profitable over the long term, supports farmers and communities, and is adapted to each site. Those points follow the US legal definition.

Which is an important component of sustainable agriculture: pesticide use, heavy irrigation, depleting soil nutrients or soil health?

Soil health. Heavy irrigation and nutrient depletion work against sustainability. Pesticides may still be used within IPM, in line with the label and local rules, but heavy reliance on them is not a component.

Does sustainable agriculture lower yields?

It depends on the practice and the site. The Nature meta-analysis found that no-till alone reduced yields overall, yet the full combination with residue and rotation raised rainfed yields in dry climates.

Related pages on our site: benefits of sustainable agriculture; organic farming methods; large-farm management; farm carbon footprints; supply chain traceability; crop loans and insurance; satellite data API; API developer documents; mobile app links.