There Should be More Publicity About Environmental Initiatives for Sustainable Farming
Article by Alison Withers
Copyright (c) 2010 Alison Withers
Following developments on tackling climate change or sustainable, environmentally friendly farming and food scarcity can be a depressing business for a writer.
But just occasionally there are signs that perhaps the message is getting through and there are glimmers of hope. In the face of unrelenting bad news such initiatives should have wider publicity than they sometimes receive.
It tends to be taken for granted that global agribusiness and particularly the producers of the chemical-based fertilisers that contributed to the success of the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s have also been major contributors to the environmental and food scarcity problems we now face.
While it may be true that improved scientific knowledge since those days has identified the downsides and longer term consequences of those agricultural techniques many of us have become very suspicious of all global enterprises involved in agriculture.
A sceptical approach to new scientific innovations from large multinational companies may be understandable but in the long run it may be counter-productive in making us too risk averse, stifling the openness to innovation we may need to tackle the huge problems facing the world.
One such problem is the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organisation) estimate that we need to increase food production by 70% to feed the nine billion people expected to be inhabiting the planet by 2050.
How that can be done without tearing up even more forest, parkland and natural habitats for agriculture is a serious problem.
There are some suggested solutions, such as using biotechnology in plant breeding, protection of plants with integrated pest management techniques using new-generation low-chem biopesticides, biofungicides and yield enhancers. Properly used such products can potentially increase crop yields by 24% and reduce yield losses by 40-80%.
The key, however, is whether we will accept them and whether they will be used properly.
The plant science industry is committed to proper, ethical management of its products right from research and development through to disposal of waste. This includes minimising any risks from the use of crop protection products, such as pesticides. It is represented globally by CropLife International.
Recently CropLife Asia and CropLife India, supported by CropLife International, launched a project in Andhra Pradesh, India, to train more than 100,000 farming families across the state in proper handling and use of crop protection products. It will be delivered by local partners including an experienced local NGO, called EFFORT.
Hopefully it will result in improved profit margins for the state’s many small farmers, improve sustainable farming and farming yields, and do something to reduce the high suicide rate among farmers there that has made headlines around the world.
Another organisation that perhaps should receive more publicity is the Rainforest Alliance.
It works to promote sustainable farming in 25 tropical countries around the world, with a scheme of sustainable agriculture certification that has so far benefited more than two million farm workers and their families.
It sets tough criteria to achieve the certification seal that they can then put on their products. The label is a green circle containing a green frog and one to watch out for when buying products in your local supermarket.
The aims are to show reduced water pollution and soil erosion, reduced threats to the environment and human health, protection of wildlife habitats, less waste farm by-products (by using such things as orange peel, banana leaves and other non-saleable foliage as natural fertiliser). Farmers have to also demonstrate reduced water use, better working conditions for farm workers. Local NGOs audit the farms, large and small, on these criteria before they achieve their certificate.
The certificates are also displayed by companies like Chiquita (bananas), Unilever, Kraft and Nestle Nespresso as independent, third-party endorsement of their commitment to sustainable agriculture.
In addition the journal, Nature, recently published an article suggesting that there is a need for a global network of research centres providing data on the best use of land to governments and farmers to help them take decisions towards more sustainable food production methods while preserving biodiversity.
Finally, although it is not stirctly about agriculture, during the writing of this article news was announced that the Indian Government had refused the UK mining company Vedanta permission for a bauxite mine in Orissa because the site was on land sacred to two local tribes.
The Indian Environmental Minister, Jairam Ramesh, said the project had breached both environmental protection acts and the rights of the tribal people, who depend on the land and its forests for their livelihoods.
Hopefully there will be more such initiatives and decisions in enough time to repair some of the damage that human activity has done to the planet before it becomes impossible to reverse.
About the Author
Positive initiatives are happening around the world to tackle environmental damage and sustainable farming, including projects to train farmers in ethical use of biotechnology and low-chem agricultural products from Biopesticides Developers, They need more publicity, says writer Ali Withers.
UPDATE: This music video which I made won 5th on Universal Robina Corporations C2 Music Video-Making Contest. BEST ABOUT LIFE (2009) by Matthew Baguinon The Best About Life is a 3-minute music video directed, produced and edited by John Matthew C. Baguinon, a UP Open University (UPOU) student, purposely for Universal Robina Corporations C2 Music Video-Making Contest. It featured the natural scenic beauty of Santa Cruz, Pila and especially UP Los Baños, Laguna. The video showcased the acting prowess of UPLB students Justin Sulit (BS Agribusiness Management, CEM, UPLB Jocks Member, LBFM 97.4 DJ, UPLB Mens Basketball Varsitarian) and Charmie Abarquez (BA Communication Arts, CAS, UP Ravens, ComArts Soc Member); Liceo de Pila student Fidel Samonteza; and Calumpang National High School student Eloisa Walles (Pop Idol 2009 Sta. Cruz, Laguna Grand Winner, QTV11s Popstar Kids Challenger). Special appearances were also made by Alan Mamaradlo (Mr. Luisiana 2004, Ginoong Laguna 2008 and Ginoong Turismo CALABARZON 2008), Nikko Ramos (Magic 89.9 DJ, LBFM 97.4 DJ, UPLB Jocks Prime Minister, UPLB Mens Basketball Varsitarian), Marc Macalintal (Freelance actor, appeared on Nursery, Maalaala Mo Kaya and stage plays), and the UP Ravens. The production started on mid-July of 2009 and took a month and a half to finish. The song used in the music video, entitled Best About Life by Sinosikat, was interpreted by UPLB student Kent Albano (BS Food Technology, CA), Assistant Director Lemuel Estrada …
