Finance

Business

Archaeology

Agroecosystem

Agronomy

Biology

Gene

Agriculture

Clearing

Dominance (genetics)

Monoculture

Economics

Geography

Natural resource economics

Perennial plant

Agricultural economics

Fishery

Polyculture

Fish <Actinopterygii>

Environmental science

Agroforestry

Biochemistry

Aquaculture

Global Sustainability

Non-technical summary Modern agriculture is associated with numerous environmental predicaments, such as land degradation, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emission. Socio-economically, it is characterized by a treadmill of technological change, increased mechanization, and economic consolidation, while depressing economic returns to farmers. A root cause is the dominance of annual plants cultivated in monocultures. Annual crops require the yearly clearing of vegetation resulting in soil erosion and other forms of ecosystem degradation. Monocultures are susceptible to agricultural pests and weeds. By contrast, perennial polycultures informed by natural ecosystems, promise more sustainable agroecosystems with the potential to also revitalize the economic foundation of farming and hence rural societies.

Is the future of agriculture perennial? Imperatives and opportunities to reinvent agriculture by shifting from annual monocultures to perennial polycultures