Business Environmental Management assignment on improving soil management

Question

Task: how can Business Environmental Management assignment assist new Zealand farmers improve soil management?

Answer

Introductio
The aim of the Business Environmental Management assignmentis to provide a view on the topic of managing environmental issues in business. In this context, the primary issue that has been selected for this paper is the future of agriculture in New Zealand. The stakeholder that has been selected for part A is the local community and for art B it is the industry or the business. This paper consists of two parts wherein part A there will be a discussion on the position statement and in part B the discussion will be on the negotiation strategy. The position statement is discussed on the basis of the issue identified then the sustainability dimensions of the issue and also the stakeholder perspective on the issue. The discussion on negotiation strategy is being carried out by providing an outline of the anticipated position of the stakeholder groups. Furthermore, there will be a discussion on the strategies and position of the designated stakeholder group.

Part A: Position Statement
Describe the nature of the issue
The sustainability issue that has been identified as the future of agriculture in New Zealand. This issue primarily consists of prominent challenges like the old cultivation techniques the lack of information on marketing and also the degradation of natural resources (Stenton-Dozey et al., 2021).
The key activities developed by the local communities to deal with the sustainable issueidentified on this Business Environmental Management assignmentare as follows;

• Supporting the farmers with the help of innovation.
• Providing suitable technology like AbacusBio that would help to estimate the carbon emission from the farm (Stenton-Dozey et al., 2021).
• Then providing financial opportunities to the farmers with the help of insurance and other activities.
• Developing land sustainability with the help of suitable projects like the Maori Agribusiness collective for the farmers.

• Helps the farmers to understand the land quality with lab collaboration and suitable technologies.
The local community stakeholder groups consist of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) then NZ Young Farmers then New Zealand Landcare Trust and Tasman Environmental Trust.

Describe the sustainability dimensions of the issue
The positive impacts of sustainable agriculture are as follows;
• It helps to save energy for the future as this helps to reduce the need for fossil fuels along with other non-renewable energy sources.
• It also helps to control air pollution as well as soil erosion. This helps to manage the irrigation for reducing the runoff then reduces the tillage and also keeps the soil covered with the plants(Turner et al., 2020).
• It offers workers a more competitive salary as well as benefits and also better living conditions.
• This agricultural process is renewable.
• In this agricultural system, the animals are taken better care of.

The negative impacts of sustainable agriculture are as follows;
• The land use is limited and of that, it becomes difficult to produce large quantities of food.
• As the uses of the machine are minimized or eliminated, it eventually takes more people and time to produce plants.
• The food produced sustainably has a shorter shelf life because the decomposing takes place faster(Savarese, Chamberlain, &Graffigna, 2020).
• The fertility of land gets decreased.
• The income generated from farming also becomes limited due to the use of the sustainable process.

The social dimension of sustainable agriculture helps to promote opportunities as well as cooperative relationships for the family members along with the community members. For example; the CSA provide opportunities for people to get involved in farming without the major capital investment and also work for the family members and partner with consumers(Shahrajabian et al., 2021).

The economic dimension of sustainable agriculture identified on this Business Environmental Management assignmenthelps to provide a secure living for the farm families as well as others who are employed in food production as well as processing(Shahrajabian et al., 2021). It can be effectively understood that good economic condition provides good food for the people.
The environmental dimension of sustainable agriculture helps to preserve the qualities of basic natural resources like the soil then water as well as air which are required for farming. It also helps to maintain the environment naturally and provides organic and healthy food to the people.

Stakeholder group’s position on the issue
Local communities identified on this Business Environmental Management assignmentlike CSA have a direct perspective on the use of the sustainable process in agriculture. According to them, this is one of the best processes for providing suitable and healthy food to the people and also it helps to maintain the natural resources of the soil(Rijswijk, Klerkx, & Turner, 2019). It is a fact that there are some issues with sustainable farming but overall it helps to produce organic food items which are chemical and fertilizer free and also suitable for the health condition of the people. According to the local communities the negative impacts can be maintained with some strategies and also the time and people required for the process are suitable for the farming process. Sustainable farming or agriculture involves more people and for that CSA was also able to provide opportunities for the people to get involved in farming without the major capital investment and also work for the family members and partnership with consumers. The local communities want to continue with the process because it helps to develop the farming activity socially then economically as well as environmentally. This process is also helpful to maintain the carbon emission from the soil and also soil erosion. The use of machines and chemicals is less in this process and for that, the food items are naturally grown with all their nutrients and health benefits for the people. According to the stakeholders, this is one of the best processes in the present day where most food items are preserved or produced with the help of chemicals which is harmful to human beings.

Part B: Negotiation Strategy
Outline the anticipated positions of the opposing stakeholder group
The industry or business stakeholder groups have diverse views on the sustainable agricultural process. Their vision is to produce a large amount of food within the market to meet the need of the consumers and by the process of sustainable farming, this is a little difficult to achieve. The industry stakeholders group had to deal with the increasing demand for food products within the country and for that, the food needs to be produced in a very short time which is also not possible in sustainable agriculture(Pomeroy, 2022). It is a fact that industry tries to use various chemicals as well as suitable machinery so that a single farm can be used for various agriculture and also the time required for the process become less. Furthermore, it can be also seen that the use of machines and chemicals for faster-growing food helps to reduce the hunger problem in the country as people are able to get food items according to their requirements. The industry or the business stakeholders groups want to be in somewhere between sustainable agriculture and industrial agriculture because of the changing world where people become more concerned regarding their food habits and items. It can be effectively seen that in recent times people become highly concerned regarding the food items they are purchasing or having in their daily life. People in recent times are more inclined to organic food items and for that, most industries or businesses prefer sustainable agriculture along with industrial agriculture so that they can easily provide organic food items to their customers(Pomeroy, 2022). It can be effectively understood that previously the industries might oppose sustainable agriculture but with the change in time, they are also using the sustainable agriculture process for farming mostly fruits and some vegetables. As per the Business Environmental Management assignmentfindings, they did not cease industrial agriculture because the use of chemicals and machines are also required for generating more food in a short time but at the same time used sustainable agriculture to maintain food quality and also the requirements of the customers. It is highly essential for the business to perform activities according to the need of the people.

Identification of the reason for opposing the position of the stakeholder group in Part A Industries or businesses primarily oppose the stakeholder groups supporting sustainable agriculture due to the fact that this is a slow process and also required numerous people for the process. It can be effectively seen that sustainable agriculture did not help to produce large quantities of food which is one of the primary reasons for the opposition because the level of population is increasing rapidly and to meet their requirement it is highly essential to have a large quantity of food within the market(Ilyas et al., 2019). The use of machines and technology helps the farmers to grow their crops easily without wasting time and also it does not require much labour which is also effective for maintaining the cost and production unit. The industry or the business also opposes sustainable agriculture because the food products that are produced sustainably did not have a longer life span and for that, a little delay in transport might spoil the food products which will be a huge loss for the industries or the businesses. The use of chemicals and fertilizers helps to slow the decomposition rate and for that, the foods have a long life span which helps the business to export their products to various parts of the country without damaging the food items(Ilyas et al., 2019). In the Business Environmental Management assignmentmarketing process, it is quite essential to meet the customer’s requirement and for that, the business had to produce food products that could be easily available within the market and also needs to be done in a short time. This will eventually increase the production rate along with the profit margin of the business and the industries associated with the agricultural process.

Strategies or arguments to reinforce stakeholder group position from part A
The strategies to reinforce the position of stakeholder groups supporting sustainable agriculture are as follows; • It is highly essential for the farmers to rotate their crops as well as embrace diversity by planting varieties of crops which will eventually help to improve soil health and also control pests(Brown, Daigneault, & Dawson, 2019). The diversity in crops generally involves the process of intercropping where the mixed crops are grown in the same area so that various food items can be achieved altogether.
• It is also essential to plant cover crops as well as perennial crops for maintaining the soil quality(Brown, Daigneault, & Dawson, 2019). The cover crops like clover then hairy vetch are planted in the off-season so that the soil did not leave bare. The perennial crops help to keep the soil covered as well as help to maintain living roots in the ground. The Business Environmental Management assignmentresearch shows, these crops are helpful for maintaining soil quality and also soil erosion.
• The application of integrated pest management is also essential for sustainable agriculture to maintain the pest population and also for minimizing the chemical pesticides within farming(Brown, Daigneault, & Dawson, 2019).
• It is also essential to integrate livestock as well as crops as this will help to make the farm more efficient as well as profitable. This will eventually help the local communities to feed their animals and also maintain the fertility of the land for the farming process.
• Adaptation of agro-forestry is essential for the stakeholders to maintain their position and enhance the use of sustainable agriculture. This is eventually done by mixing the trees and the shrubs and also shades for the animals and water resources for maintaining the plants and the animals.
• Including the strips of prairie plants in or around the crop fields eventually help to control soil erosion and also reduces the nutrient runoff from the soil.

Conclusion
It can be effectively concluded from the paper that both sustainable agriculture and industrial agriculture are essential for the people because one provides organic and healthy food and the latter provides fast and long shelf life food. It can be also concluded that in recent times the business and the industry are also promoting sustainable agriculture because of the changing demand. The Business Environmental Management assignment findings show future of sustainable agriculture is quite suitable for the country with some changes in their activities to deal with the negative impacts and provide a suitable source for both the people and the business.

References
Brown, P., Daigneault, A., & Dawson, J. (2019). Age, values, farming objectives, past management decisions, and future intentions in New Zealand agriculture. Journal of environmental management, Business Environmental Management assignment231, 110-120.

Ilyas, H. M. A., Safa, M., Bailey, A., Rauf, S., &Pangborn, M. (2019). The carbon footprint of energy consumption in pastoral and barn dairy farming systems: A case study from Canterbury, New Zealand. Sustainability, 11(17), 4809.
Pomeroy, A. (2022). Reframing the rural experience in Aotearoa New Zealand: Incorporating the voices of the marginalised. Journal of Sociology, 58(2), 236-252.
Rijswijk, K., Klerkx, L., & Turner, J. A. (2019). Digitalisation in the New Zealand Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System: Initial understandings and emerging organisational responses to digital agriculture. NJAS-Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, 90, 100313.
Savarese, M., Chamberlain, K., &Graffigna, G. (2020). Co-creating value in sustainable and alternative food networks: the case of community supported agriculture in New Zealand. Sustainability, 12(3), 1252.Business Environmental Management assignment
Shahrajabian, M. H., Chaski, C., Polyzos, N., Tzortzakis, N., & Petropoulos, S. A. (2021). Sustainable agriculture systems in vegetable production using chitin and chitosan as plant biostimulants. Biomolecules, 11(6), 819. Stenton-Dozey, J. M., Heath, P., Ren, J. S., & Zamora, L. N. (2021). New Zealand aquaculture industry: research, opportunities and constraints for integrative multitrophic farming. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 55(2), 265-285.

Turner, J. A., Horita, A., Fielke, S., Klerkx, L., Blackett, P., Bewsell, D., ... & Boyce, W. M. (2020). Revealing power dynamics and staging conflicts in agricultural system transitions: case studies of innovation platforms in New Zealand. Journal of Rural Studies, Business Environmental Management assignment76, 152-162.