Developing sustainable agriculture

Throughout the world, agriculture is under pressure to develop as a more sustainable economic activity, This article first summarises the causes of the unsustainability of modern farming, then describes three emerging approaches to the development of a more sustainable agriculture: namely, the production of environmental goods, integrated farming To-date, none of the three approaches has been widely, implemented and the final Section reviews The potential of different Institutional Structures adopted around the world to promote and implement sustainable agriculture. A continuum of structures is identified, ranging from voluntarism, through local knowledge communities, to state regulation, It is concluded that a sustainable agriculture requires a new, social contract between food producers, food retailers,food consumers and the state, set within an holistic rather than of local development.