Future farming: A return to roots?

Modern agriculture requires vast areas of land, along with easy access to water, energy and chemicals. Most of our food comes directly or indirectly from cereal grains, legumes and oilseed crops. They are annual plants, and so need to be grown from seed every year, typically by using resource-intensive cultivation methods. The environmental degradation caused by agriculture will increase along with the world population increase, as the demand for food rises. Some agronomists are keen to develop grain-cropping systems that will function more like natural ecosystems. Perennial plant species might be the way forward as they require no fertilizers or pesticides. Also due to their large root system they can prevent soil erosion.