Theory 33/Efficiency vs Resilience/Agriculture
Efficient Farming Degrades Soil
The claim
Agricultural efficiency trades against soil health, because practices that maximise output per unit input reduce the organic matter that sustains long-term fertility.
01Mechanism
Efficiency removes residues and simplifies rotations; both reduce carbon return to soil, which lowers the resource base over time.
02Prediction
Soil carbon should fall as efficiency rises.
03Refutation
Soil carbon independent of intensity would remove the trade-off.