Assessing Soil Quality and Preferred Agricultural Methods and their Implications in Overall Sustainability in a Rural Guatemalan Community
Abstract
While agricultural sustainability has been a concern for many years, factors such
as global climate change, increasing populations, and the continuous degradation of
natural resources have made the development of more sustainable agricultural systems a
top priority. Analysis of current agricultural methods will be necessary in order to
provide appropriate recommendations that will improve the environmental and
community health in populations around the world. The current study aimed to conduct
soil nutrient analysis and interview farmers in the rural Guatemalan community of Nuevo
Horizonte in order to assess the impact that agricultural techniques have on soil nutrient
concentrations and overall crop yield. The soil analysis conducted provided an overview
of the pH and levels of the primary plant nutrients nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in
various agricultural fields within Nuevo Horizonte and interviews with farmers provided
insight regarding the range of agricultural methods employed, the thoughts and
perceptions of various agricultural methods, and willingness to alter agricultural methods
to potentially increase sustainability. It was hypothesized that farmers who implemented
more organic agricultural methods would have more optimum soil nutrient levels and a
greater overall agricultural yield than farmers who implemented more conventional
agricultural techniques.