Agroecology, the way of the future?

September 24, 2013

Agriculture, Article, Good governance, Sustainable development, Economy, Globalization, Poverty, Food sovereignty

The results of 50 years of agricultural productivity raise serious questions in the current context: massive use of chemical inputs, soil degradation, disappearance of insects and birds, human diseases... In view of these constantly increasing negative externalities, the The search for a more environmentally friendly model is essential.

Agroecology, an aspect of which we present to you in this article, could embody this new agricultural revolution, capable of meeting the human challenges of the South. Let's take a look at this discipline with multiple adherents. State of hunger The millennium goals published in 1990 by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) intended to halve extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. It is clear today that these objectives will not be achieved. A report from UNCTAD published in 2010 tells us that the number of people suffering from chronic hunger has increased from 800 million people in 1996 to more than a billion today. Paradoxically, the main victims are farmers from the South, producers and suppliers of food themselves but faced with disproportionate price increases. Little-heard solutions The scourge of hunger does not seem to be going away. The UNCTAD report warns that agricultural production and trade are likely to suffer a very sharp decline, particularly under the effects of global warming. In addition, agricultural emissions, already responsible for 33% of global emissions , continue to increase, based on an ever-increasing use of fertilizers and pesticides for decreasing yields. However, what poses a problem can become a source of solutions. Faced with the threats of global warming, UNCTAD as well as the United Nations special rapporteur for the right to food, Olivier de Schutter, recommend the adoption of a more global, sustainable vision, and the transition from a strongly dependent on external inputs to a diversity of production systems favorable in particular to small farmers. However, these messages remain in the minority, clashing with a few transnational companies that hold enormous shares of global agricultural markets. Overview of industrial agriculture The argument rehashed by defenders of intensive agriculture is that there is no alternative to this model which would be capable of feeding 9 billion people by 2050. The refrain has been repeated for years but has acquired new legitimacy since the food crisis of 2007-2008. However, its inability to comply with this directive today does not reassure us about its mastery of tomorrow's challenges. The problem of hunger is less a problem of food availability than of distribution and unequal access to food. Industrial agriculture, dominant in Europe, is based on large-scale monoculture, dependent on external inputs (fertilizers and phytosanitary products) made from fossil fuels (gas and oil). This model, called the green revolution, became widespread in the 1940s in Europe and the United States with the aim of maximizing yields thanks to inexpensive energy. It allowed a significant drop in prices and the lasting eradication of famine in the West. Until now, the energy cost of these practices was advantageous but distorted because it excluded externalities from being taken into account. negative that it generates. Today, it is recognized that gains in production have been accompanied by negative environmental impacts, endangering the future of agriculture; intensive agricultural methods degrading the natural resources on which they depend. Furthermore, if the real energy costs of production were included in the total cost, the performance would not be sufficiently efficient. The premise of the green revolution is to declare that food production is the central element. But little by little a change of vision is taking place in society, recalling the multifunctionality of agriculture in its relationship to the environment, society, and the economy and wishing to revalorize the place of the farmer. Agroecology as an alternative: principles and definitions Agroecological practices are not new but have returned to the forefront following current awareness. Agroecology is multidimensional, at once a scientific discipline, a set of practices and social movements of protest. The discipline embraces a series of practices whose synergy makes them specific. It is based on better knowledge and greater respect for nature and presents itself as a solution to poverty, climate change, malnutrition and biodiversity. Much less expensive than conventional agriculture, it is within everyone's reach. Among these practices are notably fertilization using green manures and compost, natural phytosanitary treatments, respect for the structure and microorganisms of the soil, the absence of plowing, the association of plants, agroforestry, the integration of livestock… Overall, it is about coming to terms with nature rather than dominating it. Agroecology involves the transition from productivist agriculture to sustainable and productive agriculture but at the farm level and no longer at the global crop level. If this project corresponds to the profiles of farmers in the South, it raises the question of its adaptability to the vast mechanized areas of the North. A revolution that causes poverty In the 1950s, the green revolution spread the costly techniques used in the North to the countries of the South. But this transposition was in no way adapted to the climates and soils of the southern regions. It led to strong dependence among these populations, based on the purchase of patented seeds, massive irrigation, the consumption of fertilizers, etc. This displaced modernity contributed to the impoverishment and rural exodus of many people. In the same sense, the disengagement of States in the agricultural sector and the influence of large agribusiness firms was further accentuated with the liberalization of trade and structural adjustment programs. imposed on poor countries from the 1970s. , which dismantled the protective nets of food security in these countries. An application in the South Agroecology appears to be an accessible and sustainable solution to the scourge of malnutrition. It makes it possible to break dependence on inputs, to ever higher prices, and the vicious circle of debt with a view to recovering autonomy for the farmer. Here is an illustration. In Kenya, Dr. Zeyaur Khan, an Indian entomologist, founded an insect research center. He is the inventor of an agroecological technique called “push-pull”. Previously, Kenyan farmers, victims of recurring droughts threatening them with famine, encountered two major problems: witch weed (a parasitic plant that feeds on corn) and the corn borer (a nocturnal moth that lays its eggs on the leaves). , the main pest of corn). The researcher, during close work with farmers, tried to understand the interactions between plants and insects. He thus highlighted the usefulness of two plants to deal with these problems: desmodium and elephant grass. The first destroys the roots of witchweed, adds nitrogen and covers the soil, protecting it from erosion. It also acts as a repellent to the corn borer which moves away from it towards the elephant grass planted not far away. On this plant, moth eggs do not survive. These two herbs are also used to feed livestock. 50,000 Kenyan farmers use this technique and notice an increasing yield of their crops. This example reveals that agroecology, far from being a primitive discipline, is based on advanced scientific knowledge because it requires understanding the chemistry of plants and ecosystems. Illustrations like this are numerous in the South but are not always supported by governments prey to the interests of large agro-industrial firms. Cultivating utopia Pressure from agro-industrial companies is intense in Europe and in the world more generally. Many international actors, aid agencies and governments, convinced by the saving speech of these companies, are in favor of a new “green revolution”. We nevertheless observe that the new reform of the CAP 2013 allocates a significant part of its budget to environmental concerns, however deemed insufficient by environmental organizations. Awareness of the ephemeral nature of resources (fossil fuels, etc.) at the international level must move towards a global paradigm shift shaking up the inertia of certain actors satisfied with the current situation. Supporting a change of this magnitude may seem idealistic. In the name of pragmatic realism, dissidents of the conventional agricultural model are often accused of utopianism. But isn't it good to change perspective for a moment, and to question those who speak of certainties, sometimes masking the real challenges in the name of profit? With massive industrialization and privatization, man has lost the essence of his relationship with nature. Without actors of change, questioners of the existing norm, the end of the ecological crisis and access to global food security will not be possible. Geraldine Duquenne

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Agroecology, the way of the future?

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Notes
↑1	United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, a UN body created in 1964 and aimed at integrating developing countries into the global economy in order to promote their development.
↑2	UNCTAD, Agriculture at the crossroads: food security and climate change, UNCTAD Briefs, n°18, 2010,
↑3	Agriculture remains the leading economic sector in a large number of developing countries, representing 20 to 60% of GDP depending on the country.
↑4	Includes direct and indirect emissions (agricultural inputs, food processing, equipment, land use change, transport).
↑5	Costs not paid by the consumer when purchasing food (social, environmental cost, etc.).
↑6	EURACTIV, “Intensive, ecologically sustainable agriculture?”, 2011/2012.
↑7	Budgetary austerity policies imposed by the World Bank and the IMF, conditioning bank loans to countries in the South.
↑8	For more information, consult the number “Agribusiness influence and footprint”, Alternatives Sud, CETRI.
↑9	Illustration taken from the book by Marie-Dominique ROBIN, “The harvests of the future. How agroecology can feed the world”, Arte Editions, coll. La Découverte, France, 2012, p.110.