Can We Practice Sustainable Agriculture on Suboptimal Land?

Suboptimal land agriculture is often seen undesirable as it requires more complicated land preparation, high maintenance, which result in higher cost. Nevertheless, utilization of this land is inevitable as arable land

continues to shrink over the years due to conversion to non-agricultural purposes. It should always be noted that farming in suboptimal land should be intended for optimum yields, instead of the maximum. There is growing evidence that the key to sustaining suboptimal land agriculture primarily lies on how we manage the water system properly. Multiple cases including lowland swamp farming in Palembang, dryland agriculture in Aceh, and desert farming in UAE are indicating progress in sustainable use of suboptimal land.