The Scientific Basis and Present Status of Sustainable Agriculture

Abstract

Sustainable agriculture (SA) plays an important role in constructing, maintaining, and improving a sustainable society. In this paper, I review the numerous definitions of SA proposed by several organizations throughout the world and present some common components and problems. I then introduce some elements from the first comprehensive report on sustainability in Japan, which was published by Research on the Scientific Basis for Sustainability. Finally, I emphasize that many serious problems and conflicts remain to be solved.