The process of increasing the use of inputs (labour, information, energy, fertilizers, pesticides, machinery) relative to land area, to increase agricultural production per unit area. Intensification may increase the pressure on the environment, if it is comprised of an indiscriminate increase of the use of inputs without an associated increase in managerial input. A higher use of fertilizers and pesticides, for instance, may increase the risk of nutrient and pesticide run-off into surface and groundwater (‘loss per unit area’). However, the actual effect of the use of inputs on the environment does not only depend on the amount of inputs used but also on how they are applied and the extent to which they contribute to production increases (‘loss per unit produce’). Therefore, intensification does not necessarily need to lead to environmental degradation.