MFK GARDENS - URBAN FARMER NURSERY
i. planting by understanding and working with the science of agroecology
WHY AGROECOLOGY, NOT AGROBUSINESS, WILL SAVE OUR FOOD SYSTEM
It's clear that the factors leading to the locust outbreak, including cyclones, favorable climate favorable conditions for swarms, COVID-19 measures restricting movement, and the lack of permanent infrastructure to respond quickly, have nothing to do with agroecology. On the contrary, agroecology can revert some of these factors by building a more diversified and resilient agricultural system.
As for claims that we can't feed the world farming this way, it ignores the reality that most people already depend on smallholder farmers for their food. Across developing countries, an estimated 500 million smallholder farms support almost 2 billion people. These farms produce about 80 percent of the food consumed in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Sometimes, you can be led you to believe agroecology is anti-technology. Yes, millions of small-scale food producers want to farm in harmony with nature. But they don't reject technology. What they reject is highly priced, patented technology that locks them into a cycle of debt to agribusiness companies. They reject the power agribusiness has amassed in developed countries to dictate agricultural policy.
As CEO of Tom Farms, one of Bayer-Monsanto's biggest seed growers, the ambassador speaks for powerful interests beyond the high-tech industry and big agribusiness that promise great benefits for the few that can afford them, at the expense of the poorest people and the environment. Tom also has the backing of an administration that tried to block progress on agroecology at last year's UN Committee for World Food Security meetings. Under their logic, those who gain are not farmers but the shareholders of big corporations.
Family farmers are clear: if we are going to protect our planet and keep healthy food on our table, agroecology is the way forward .
And they aren't alone.
In a report comparing sustainable agriculture approaches, the High-Level Panel of Experts recognized how “agroecology practices harness, maintain and enhance biological and ecological processes in agricultural production, in order to reduce the use of purchased inputs that include fossil fuels and agrochemicals and to create more diverse, resilient and productive agroecosystems. "
The movement for agroecology is growing, built on the logic that power should be distributed equally. That's why aggressive opponents to agroecology are firing back. They're scared.
It's clear that the factors leading to the locust outbreak, including cyclones, favorable climate favorable conditions for swarms, COVID-19 measures restricting movement, and the lack of permanent infrastructure to respond quickly, have nothing to do with agroecology. On the contrary, agroecology can revert some of these factors by building a more diversified and resilient agricultural system.
As for claims that we can't feed the world farming this way, it ignores the reality that most people already depend on smallholder farmers for their food. Across developing countries, an estimated 500 million smallholder farms support almost 2 billion people. These farms produce about 80 percent of the food consumed in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Sometimes, you can be led you to believe agroecology is anti-technology. Yes, millions of small-scale food producers want to farm in harmony with nature. But they don't reject technology. What they reject is highly priced, patented technology that locks them into a cycle of debt to agribusiness companies. They reject the power agribusiness has amassed in developed countries to dictate agricultural policy.
As CEO of Tom Farms, one of Bayer-Monsanto's biggest seed growers, the ambassador speaks for powerful interests beyond the high-tech industry and big agribusiness that promise great benefits for the few that can afford them, at the expense of the poorest people and the environment. Tom also has the backing of an administration that tried to block progress on agroecology at last year's UN Committee for World Food Security meetings. Under their logic, those who gain are not farmers but the shareholders of big corporations.
Family farmers are clear: if we are going to protect our planet and keep healthy food on our table, agroecology is the way forward .
And they aren't alone.
In a report comparing sustainable agriculture approaches, the High-Level Panel of Experts recognized how “agroecology practices harness, maintain and enhance biological and ecological processes in agricultural production, in order to reduce the use of purchased inputs that include fossil fuels and agrochemicals and to create more diverse, resilient and productive agroecosystems. "
The movement for agroecology is growing, built on the logic that power should be distributed equally. That's why aggressive opponents to agroecology are firing back. They're scared.
SEVEN PRACTICES OF SOIL REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE
Video: Kiss the Ground (NETFLIX)
Video: "I can sleep when the wind blows"
Video: Kiss the Ground (NETFLIX)
Video: "I can sleep when the wind blows"
S/N |
PRACTICE |
DETAIL (THEORY, OBSERVATION, PRACTICAL, DISCUSSION, QUIZ) |
1. |
NO TILLING |
|
2. |
GROUND COVER |
|
3. |
USE DIVERSITY |
Silvopasture Companion Planting Organic recipes to rid of pests (Garden Pests, Home Pests) Use of beneficial insects (row crops, farming, using good bugs) Waste-water management (Notes and videos below, quiz) |
5. |
COMPOST-MAKING |
|
4. |
GROW PERENNIALS |
|
6. |
LIVING ROOT AT ALL TIMES |
|
7. |
ANIMAL INTEGRATION |
|
|
