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Introduction

Farming is the activity that has been happening since long time ago. The farming includes a lot of activities like keeping cattle, keeping poultry, growing crops, etc. In some areas, the keeping of domestic animals does not happen, but the growing of crops happens almost in all parts of the globe. Different parts of the world grow different types of crops. Some crops do well in certain soils, and others do well in other types of soils. With this, it means that they type of soil does affect the growth of the crop. The crops that do grow in semi-desert and desert areas can't do well in areas where the soil is rich in certain nutrients.

Before, growing or starting farming, it is good and advisable to consider some factors to determine whether the crops you intend to plant will do better. Some of the factors to be considered include the salinity of the soil, the ph. Value and other factors. Also during farming, you should ensure that the soil is rich in nutrients and if the harvest is not a good one, you should do something with the soil. A farmer should add some fertilizer to make sure that the necessary nutrients are present in the soil (Clay, 2013).

Over farming

Farming started the long time ago. The farming activities have been happening since the man knew how to farm. The same soil and same pieces of land that was used in the past are the same pieces of land that are currently being used by farmers. This means that the original nutrients of the soil have been exhausted and the soils have been left with little or no nutrients necessary for good yields. Initially, the quantity of harvest was so good compared to what currently farmers get on the same pieces of farms.

Therefore, the over farming can be explained as the taking too much away from the soils or land and not returning enough back. This over farming can include depleting the soil nutrients, lowering the water table, loss of soil through erosion or being carried by the wind, among many other things. Other factors have led to the increased rate of over farming. Population increase is among the factors. In the past, since the population was still low, farmers used to cultivate a certain piece of land, and after several harvests, they could leave the land and prepare another piece of land and start cultivating.

Currently, since the population has grown big and the land is still constant, there has been barren land to do farming. This has forced farmers to keep cultivating the same piece of land all through with no plans to relocate. This has contributed greatly to the over farming and soil degradation regarding nutrients. Over farming is an issue that needs to be addressed with a lot of seriousness and the necessary measures be taken. Also, farmers should come up with ways of how to improve the quality of the existing lands where they do their farming (Clay, 2013).

Why does over farming matter

The whole world does depend on 99% on agriculture. With no agriculture, it means that the people will have to strain and get other means on how to get what they will feed on. For good yields to be realized, the soil should be rich in nutrients so as to give the maximum expected yields. With the higher rate of over farming, it means that the quantity of harvest that farmers will get will still go down from season to another. So the over farming means that with time, people will lack what to feed on if it is not taken care of with immediate effect.

The over farming do greatly matter since it leads to soil erosion. The over farming making the soil so susceptible to be carried away, either by wind or water. The excessive farming makes the soil very loose and hence making it easy to be ferried away. It means that the soil that will be carried will be the top layer that is usually fertile. With the fertile soil being carried, it means that the crops will not do well on the left soil that is not highly rich in nutrients (Ponisio, 2015).

With no good and fertile soils, it means there is no food, and the life will not be the same again. Human life depends majorly on agriculture. Human beings and other living organisms do survive due to the farming that takes place. If over farming do happen, it means that the amount of food that will be harvested will drastically go down. With the increase in consumption of agricultural products, it means that the level that is consumed will go down. Some of the living organisms will even lack the little available food hence loss of life due to famine and drought.

Who is affected by over farming?

Since the whole world depends on farming to get what to feed on, the over farming then affects farmers, business people, the whole population, and even wild animals. Farmers do depend on farming activities to sustain their living standards. If the overpopulation has taken place, it means that the crop production will reduce and their expectations will not be realized. This means that, if they were doing farming for business reasons, their businesses would be greatly affected because they will have little to supply to the market. Their business will be affected negatively in a way. In the same case, the business can be affected positively since they will hike the prices of the produce (Clay, 2013).

The general population will be affected by the over farming too. The world depends on agriculture to sustain lives. There has been reported incidences of deaths as a result of famine and people lacking food. If the over farming does happen, it means the little available food will not be equally acquired by every individual. The economically unstable people will fail to get something to feed on and in the process, they will lose the life. Wild animals also depend on crops. If the soil is not rich in nutrients, it means that even the crops they depend on will not do better and they will lack something to feed on. Probably this will dictate, that it will be survival of the fittest.

Causes of over farming

There are many causes of over farming. The over farming is normally caused by poor farming practices and an overuse of tree in the areas like construction etc. When the land is excessively used and poorly taken care of, desertification sets in, making the land to look a lot like that dystopian scene. The other causes of over farming are over expanding farmland in such a way that you destroy wildlife and their natural habitats.

The poor farming methods will involve cultivating the same piece of land without giving it a break. There is need to give a break to a piece of land once you cultivate. A farmer should cultivate a piece of land for certain duration of time, after some harvests, he should get another piece of land and cultivate. Also, the lack of crop rotation has led to over farming. It is required that you rotate the types of crops you grow. Where you grow beans one season, the next season you should grow maize. This tries to keep the land fertile as a result of nutrients balancing (Ponisio, 2015).

Since also keeping domestic animals, is also farming, they do cause the over farming. The over farming as a result of keeping domestic animals happens where a farmer will over graze a certain piece of land until the cover vegetation is removed. This now gives the agents of erosion easy time to carry away the topsoil that is rich in nutrients. Overgrazing should be discouraged as it is contributing very much to the over farming that is being experienced currently. The farmers should practice rotational grazing, where they move from the piece of land to another before removing the vegetation cover. Farmers also can practice the zero grazing where they feed the animals from their point of living. This is whereby, instead of taking the animals to feed far from home you just tie them at home and bring them food where they are.

Is it illegal or legal?

Farming is an activity that is very vital to the human life. Without farming, the human life will be hell. The life would not be interesting anymore. The farming is globally accepted, and every country carries out farming. Though sometimes, when an activity is legalized, people tend to take advantage of that and exploit that chance. With farming, people tend to overdo the farming and in the process they over the farm. According to the relevant bodies that are in charge of agriculture, it is illegal to do over farming.

The relevant bodies do monitor how farmers carry out their farming activities. When they find a farmer has over done it, they may decide to take some measures or even train the farmer on the best ways to carry out the farming. This means that they protect the land not to be misused by the farmers. Also, this is an indication that, over farming is not allowed and it is illegal.

The government is very strict when farmers tend to cut down trees that cause the soil degradation. The cutting don of trees for farming purposes can be described as over farming. The government even takes the necessary measures to those who cut down trees without the licenses. This means that the over farming is being regulated by the government and it is illegal to be carried out (Clay, 2013). Not only does the cutting down of trees causes the over farming, but also exposes the land to hazards of erosion. Land without trees is susceptible to wind and soil erosion. Therefore, the over farming is very illegal and the necessary measure should be taken to those who tries to do it knowingly or unknowingly.

How we can stop over farming

Over farming is an activity that has solutions. The solutions to over farming need just to be followed keenly, and if one tries to break the rules, the necessary measures should be taken on him. One, farmers should practice the best farming methods to stop over farming, that is causing the drought being experienced currently. The best farming practices will include the use of fertilizers. Since over farming is getting more than what we invest in land, farmers should be using fertilizers to replace the used nutrients in the soils. The fertilizers used should be in a position to add nutritional value to the soil for the fertility to be maintained.

Another way that we can do to stop over farming is by discouraging and education farmers of dangers of over farming. This can be done through giving solutions like doing zero grazing, doing crop rotation and using a piece of land for a certain duration then changing to another piece of land that is the virgin. This will make the soil nutrients not to be exhausted hence controlling the over farming from taking place. Farmers should divide their lands into quant rants, planting in only two per planting season and the rehabilitating the other two squares in the meantime. This practice will replenish the needed nutrients in the soil (Clay, 2013).

Pros and cons of the over farming

The over farming is not one of the farming practices though it has pros. The far advantage of the farming activity is that it makes the less unfortunate farmers try and keep themselves busy in their farms. They don't just give up with the farming despite decreased quantity of yields from season to another season. This makes the farmers busy in them less nutritious farms doing something.

When it comes to cons, the over farming has a lot. One con of over farming is that it leads to low yields each season. The less nutritious soil is not capable of being consistent in producing the continuous harvest. Another con is that over farming exposes the soil to soil erosion. When the cover vegetation is all removed as a result of over farming, the soil is very loose and easily carried away through erosion.

Another con of over farming is the present of certain types of nutrients that does not favor the growth of certain crops. In an example where you only grow beans, it means with time, the nutrients that are favorable for the growth of beans will get finished, and the beans production will keep on decreasing. The best practice to control this is to practice crop rotation that will balance the nutrient present in the soil for the proper growth of all crops.

Public policy on over farming

The negative impacts of over farming are not only felt by the farmers only but all the public. If the level of expected produce goes down, it means that the available produce will be less and there will be drought (Ponisio, 2015). The drought is felt by all people regardless of whether one is a farmer or not. To avoid this, the public should be ready to come up together and try to fight the over farming practices. The public should oversee for the best application of best-farming methods to be used by the farmers. The best measures to control the over farming can come up with the public. The public should not wait for the government and the relevant bodies to take actions; they too should address the problems associated with over farming to those farmers who are clueless on over farming.

Activities like cutting down of trees by the public for personal or for farming activities should be addressed to the public. Public policy for cutting down trees should be, cut one down and plant three trees. This will help in holding the soil from together and prevent the erosion from taking place. Not only should the public educate farmers on dangers of over farming but should also enlighten those who don't have information about over farming. The public policy on fighting the over farming is the best practice that should be undertaken to control this problem.

Impact of over farming

The over farming has a lot of impact on the farming activities. One, the over farming causes drought and famine. The continuous cultivation of land diminishes its nutrients, and in the long run, the land is left without necessary nutrients. A land without the necessary nutrients, will not give the farmer the expected quantity of produce. This, in turn, dictates that the will be less available produce hence drought and the famine (Clay, 2013).

Another impact of over farming is that it cause the wild animals to lose their habitats. Most wild animals do live in lands where the habitat is well, and there are trees. With over farming, the natural habitat of the wild animals is affected, and they find themselves with nowhere to go. Also, their food is affected and causes deaths of wild animals. The over farming makes the soil less productive, so the feeds of wild animals are affected, and that directly affects the wild animals.

Another impact of over farming is the soil erosion. The continuous cultivation of the land make the soil to be very loose, and in the process, it is carried either by wind or water. The soil erosion does not only lead to poor produce regarding quantity but also leads to desertification. If the rich soil regarding nutrients is carried away, then it means that the vegetation will not be able to grow on that particular land. With no vegetation growing on that land, it means that desertification is being experienced on that particular piece of land (Ponisio, 2015).

Conclusion

As the world depends on the farming activities to get what to feed on, care should be taken to ensure that the soil and the available land for farming are protected from being unproductive with time. Farmers should now start using fertilizers to control the level of nutrients present in the land. They should not practice poor farming methods. They should seek advice from the experts and know the best farming methods.

Over farming should not be encouraged and those farmers were practicing it should be dealt with accordingly. The relevant bodies that protect the environment should be on the watch out to ensure that the soil quality is maintained. The farmers should divide their pieces of land and alternate the types of crops they grow. This will help to balance the nutrients present in the soil. Over farming should not be an option.

Intensive farming

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NzTbvzKkps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I0v3LhKhQg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=403sT9CGRl0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dor4XvjA8Wo

https://www.slideshare.net/griggans/intensive-farming

Reference

Ponisio, L. C., M'Gonigle, L. K., Mace, K. C., Palomino, J., de Valpine, P., & Kremen, C. (2015, January). Diversification practices reduce organic to conventional yield gap. In Proc. R. Soc. B (Vol. 282, No. 1799, p. 20141396). The Royal Society.

Clay, J. (2013). World agriculture and the environment: a commodity-by-commodity guide to impacts and practices. Island Press.