Page 29 - STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTUR AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE PERIOD 2021-2030 AND VISION TO 2050

Like sustainable development, green Criteria on natural resources to monitor the
agriculture development also includes conservation of resources as a condition for
social, economic and environmental aspects. green growth; (3) Criteria on the quality of the
Economically, green agriculture is geared living environment to assess the direct impacts
towards increased productivity, recycling of the living environment on each resident; and
rates and reduced food waste due to loss and (4) Criteria for policy and economic opportunities
destruction throughout the food chain, including to show synergies as well as potential trade-offs
agricultural production and post-harvest between policy goals and green growth goals.
practices. Environmentally, green agriculture In 2019, the Ministry of Agriculture and
aims to restore and maintain soil fertility, Rural Development (MARD) drafted a set of
reduce soil erosion and inorganic chemical green growth criteria for agriculture and rural
pollution, increase water use efficiency, reduce development sector, which focused on the
deforestation and biodiversity loss and other following groups of measures: (i) Improving
land-use impacts, and significantly reduce the value of green growth (production value
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in agriculture. from good practices in agro-forestry-fishery
Socially, green agriculture requires creating production, post-harvest loss rate); (ii) Economical
more “green” jobs that are better for people and and efficient use of water resources (agricultural
the environment, leading to improved human production area applying economical irrigation
welfare and social justice. Thus, in general, it technology, average amount of irrigation
can be understood that green agriculture is a water used per unit of agricultural product);
development approach similar to sustainable (iii) Sustainable management of agricultural
development and ecological agriculture. land use; (iv) Sustainable management and
However, this approach often emphasizes the exploitation of aquatic resources; (v) GHG
aspects of resource management, protection of emission reduction based on energy saving use,
the ecological environment and GHG emission low emission farming methods; (vi) Agricultural
reduction in the agricultural sector.
waste management; (vii) Forest management,
The OECD green growth monitoring criteria protection and development; (viii) Conservation
(2014) are divided into four groups: (1) Criteria of biodiversity and ecosystems; (ix) Ensuring
for efficient use of resources and environment, clean water and rural environmental sanitation;
expressed through the volume of products (x) Environmental protection, food hygiene and
obtained (outputs) per each unit of resources safety in rural areas.
and environmental services used (inputs); (2)

Guidelines for the Strategy for sustainable agriculture and rural development 29
in the period 2021-2030, and vision to 2050