Environmental Impact (20 minutes)

1. Read the following article:

Environmental impacts of agriculture

1. Land clearing for cultivation purposes leading to
   - Loss of biodiversity
   - Loss of natural habitats and potential human/wildlife conflicts
   - Disruption of ecosystem balances and their functions
   
2. Changes in regions reflectance and water balances
   - Loss of forest cover leads to heat build ups
   - Lack of vegetation, especially trees, means that less water is held
   underground
3. Tillage of cropland
   - Loosening of soil exposes it to erosion agents (water, wind)
   - Loss of nutrients such as nitrogen from evaporative processes
   - Creation of hard pan in ploughing
4. Input demands for large scale/mechanized/entrepreneurial farming
   - Pressure on natural resources such water (depletion of ground and surface reservoirs) and fossil fuels (petrol for machines)
   - High input of inorganic fertilizers and application of chemicals such as pesticides and  herbicides among others

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