Wake up and smell the organic coffee – Eco-farming could double output of poor countries, says UN
Well, it’s been a spectacularly long time since my last post. Hello all…if anyone is still reading!!
I wanted to quickly comment on the UN report citing that eco-farming could double food output of poor countries. This is fantastic news but something that researchers of organic farming methods have known for some time…still at least it gets the message out to a wider audience. Eco-farming…is not particulalry well defined but it basically means farming methods that avoid the costly oil-dependent model of industrial farming. That is exactly what organic farming does. No doubt there will be backlash from the likes of Monsanto saying the opposite but I think this demonstrates that one day or another…their number will be up. One thing for sure is that they are spectacularly failing at feeding the world (or at least those that need it most).
It may sound obvious but security of food supply is vitally important, not just for nations like the UK where most people can get their hands on some but more importantly for poor countries that really struggle. Recently, the price of food in the UK has been going up. Why? Because agriculture is dependent on using petroleum based fertilisers which are linked to oil prices and the price of oil has been steadily increasing. We all moan about this, just like we do when petrol at the pump hits £1.30+ a litre. Really this is crazy and we really shouldn’t tolerate it! Surely, it’s better to promote a form of agriculture that doesn’t depend so heavily on fossil fuels? Looking into my crystal ball tells me that oil prices aint going to go down over the next 50-100 years. All I ask is that people give more thought to how their food is produced, what effect those production methods will have on prices in the future and the impact those practices have on the environment.
Imagine though if you were living in a country where your crops failed and you couldn’t feed your family…do you really think “modern” (they are actually very crude) agricultural methods are going to solve the problem? Research says “No” but unfortunately those that make a lot of $$$ promoting such methods in developed world says “Yes”. At least those countries still have the most incredible wildlife…best work with it and try and preserve it I say.
This reminds me of a story a friend of mine at law school told me. He’s from Zimbabwe and his grandfather had a couple of shirt factories in Harare employing a decent amount of people. Unfortunately, his business gradually declined and he went bust having to lay off his entire work force. The reason for this was that when we donate used clothes to charity, they end up in local markets all over Africa…I’ve seen it myself…it’s probably the easiest way of getting your hands on a Harvard University t-shirt! No one wanted to buy his shirts anymore and his business like I’m sure many others was destroyed. I’m all for giving to charity but sometimes we think we’re doing a good thing by imposing our values and methods on other countries when actually we are doing more harm than good. I have never forgotten this.
Perhaps, the farming methods we have adopted since the end of World War II are not appropriate for those in the developing world? I personally think they’re not appropriate full stop where ever you’re growing crops. Food for thought I hope.
Best wishes to all,
Carlo x
