Good Agricultural Practice In Surah Abasa

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Do you know that modern agricultural activities contribute as high as 14% of greenhouse gases that causes global warming? That is not including the 18% of deforestation as more rural land is needed to be used for modern farming, which accounts for about 32% in total

Allah SWT mentions in Surah Ar-Ruum:Telah timbul berbagai kerosakan dan bala bencana di darat dan di laut dengan sebab apa yang telah dilakukan oleh tangan manusia; (timbulnya yang demikian) kerana Allah hendak merasakan mereka sebahagian dari balasan perbuatan-perbuatan buruk yang mereka telah lakukan, supaya mereka kembali (insaf dan bertaubat) | Ar-Ruum 30:41Allah mentions that the damages were caused by human hands. If we look at the practice of modern farming, you will notice the excessive use of nitrogen-based fertilizers in agriculture is contributing to nitrous oxide emissions. Leftover nitrogen that hasn’t been absorbed by plants, reacts with the soil to produce this dangerous greenhouse gas. FYI, nitrous oxide gas is 300 times more harmful to the climate compared to carbon dioxide, CO2
One of the best practices in agriculture is when we humans mimic how nature works, such as those in regenerative agriculture, and integrated farming concept.
In Surah Abasa, Allah SWT told us that even if we don't want to ponder about our creation, just look at how Allah administers our food production and its cycle.
And when we talk about food, our staple foods come from farming, such as rice from paddy plantation, and poultry and meat from feedstocks farming.
It all started when He let the rain falls on the Earth's surface, water, is a basic necessity for His creation as small as a single cell microorganism to start living.
Sesungguhnya kami telah mencurahkan hujan dengan curahan yang menakjubkan | 80:25
If we study the farming concept, the farmers will usually wait for the rain to fall down, and then after that then only they will start to prepare the soil by plowing as the soil is much softer after the rain which provides perfect conditions for seeds to grow.
Kemudian kami belah-belahkan bumi dengan belahan yang sesuai dengan tumbuh-tumbuhan | 80:26
In the above ayat, Allah mentions that the rainfall aids to loosen the soil for the farmers to start putting seeds on the ground. To loosen the soil more, farmers will use a tilling machine or plowing machine to break the topsoil. But do you know that by planting roots/legumes crops such as cassava can also help to loosen the soil naturally? 

The plowing machine in modern agriculture


So why does tilling and plowing the topsoil harms the environment? 
First, the plowing machine will cause massive breakage of soil which will reduce the capacity of soil for carbon sequestration. So, instead of the soil has the ability to store carbon dioxide, plowing will release the CO2 to the environment and increase its concentration in the air thus contribute to global warming

Secondly, plowing will reduce soil porosity and its ability to retain water. This will result in the farmer having to put more water and fertilizer on the crops as the soil is not able to retain much anymore. What one will notice, the first time they planted the crops on the newly tilled land, the crops will give high yield, but the next cycle, the crops yield just become lesser compared to the first cycle, so they increase the fertilizer, which in turn will harm the environment, as the fertility and the condition of the soil have been deprived of a more natural way to replenish nutrients


Lalu Kami tumbuhkan pada bumi biji-bijian, dan buah anggur serta sayur-sayuran, dan zaitun serta pohon-pohon kurma, dan taman-taman yang menghijau subur, dan berbagai buah-buahan serta bermacam-macam rumput, | 80:27-31And the above ayat, if you notice the sequence, first is the grain (rice, wheat, corn, etc) followed by grapes and vegetables, the olive and the dates, gardens filled with greenery, variety of fruits and different types of grasses.
What I learned from the ayat, the importance of growing different types of plants or planting different types of crops on the same land plot, or with current practice is known as integrated farming or regenerative farming.
A type of farming that involves only a single crop plant, or livestock species in a field or farming system at a time is called monoculture and usually, it is meant for a commercial purpose where large amounts of capital and labor are required. This farming practice usually will require a lot of fertilizers and types of machinery which in turn will damage the topsoil =(
If you read about the integrated farming concept, it is beneficial if you incorporate grain types of crops in between after you harvest some crops. For example, after you harvest your corn, you plant the mung beans. These 2 crops will balance the soil nutrients, as the corn will use up the nitrogen, but the mung bean will increase back the nitrogen in the soil. Vegetables can be used as cash crops and when some of them gone bad and you left it on the ground, it will help to replenish the nutrients back to the soil. If you integrate your farm with livestock such as cow and goat, you can rotate them in different plot whereby of one plot has finished harvesting, you can lead them to consume the grass and crops leftover from there. their manure will help the soil to be more fertile as more bacteria will exist in the soil that helps to produce nutrients in the soil and retains more water.
Grasses, which are also beneficial to the farm naturally are a type of cover crop. A cover crop is an important feature in regenerative agriculture where it helps to replenish nutrients in the soil and compete with weed (rumpai). There are four types of cover crops: grasses, legumes, brassicas, and nonlegume broadleaves. each of these crops has been proven to benefit soil health. For example, a combination of grass and legume in cover cropping has been practiced by some farmers. Grass cant accumulates nitrogen from the air, but it helps to accumulate large quantities of nitrogen from the soil. Example of grasses is such as winter wheat, oat, barley, ryegrass, etc. While legumes can fix nitrogen from the air. examples of legumes are alfalfa, clover, peas, etc.
So you see, each of the crops mentioned by Allah in this surah has its function in good agricultural practice. I haven't discovered much about how fruit trees will benefit the farm, however, I will do my best to read more about its function. perhaps, it could attract bees as bees are little creature which helps to pollinate the entire earth with crops and greens. That is why there is a specific surah in the AQ about bees, but if you notice, Allah did not mention a single word of 'bee' in that surah. Why?? because,... hehe I probably will explain later in a specific blog post about that interesting surah =D

Ok. that's it for now, actually, I have a lot more to explain about agriculture but later lah, I will divide into several blog posts so it won't be too boring for you to read.

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