Sustainable agriculture is a global, dynamic process taking place in three dimensions (economic, environmental and social) and at five levels (field, farmstead, local community, national and international levels).
The term sustainable agriculture was developed based on Brundtland Report published in 1987 in and is based on the broader paradigm of sustainable development: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs“. More than 70 meanings of sustainable agriculture can be found in the literature. They reflect different priorities, diverse goals and specific valuers for specific stakeholders.
Therefore, there are many descriptions of sustainable agriculture due to an extensive disparity in terms of how sustainability in agriculture or agricultural sustainability is outlined and how it is followed in the decision-making process. In scientific literature sustainable agriculture is often linked to ‘alternative’ agriculture concept, such as ecological, low-input, environmentally sensitive, biodynamic, community, extensive, fresh farm, free breeding, low inputs, organic, regenerative, permaculture, prudent use, etc.
Sustainability in agricultural systems incorporates concepts of both resilience (the capacity of systems to buffer shocks and stresses) and persistence (the capacity of systems to continue over long periods), and addresses many wider economic, social and environmental outcomes.