Organic Agriculture unifies peoples' needs but not governments' interests

Information / Discussion
Organic and Sustainable Agriculture

Marcelo Netto Rodrigues, Independent Journalist and Landless Workers Movement of Brazil's (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra, militant)
Posted Tues 21:34 GMT

"Organic agriculture is sustainable agriculture put in practice", argues Dr. Angelina Briones from the University of The Philippines. Besides food,” it provides poverty alleviation, functional literacy and social cohesiveness”. Social cohesiveness was also seen by the participants when a delegate representing the women of Pakistan received a friendly and tender answer from Daniel Alexander (Institute for Integrated Rural Development, India), despite their governments' nuclear threats, "We are neighbours" he said, "and we should work together”.
There was a consensus shared by the present delegates on the "Organic and Sustainable Agriculture" discussion that organic farming is the only way to protect environmental and human resources rescuing the semantic meaning of agric-culture. "For instance, a heavy rain can destroy the work of a thousand years through erosion", says Beward Geir from the International Federation of Organic Agriculture.

Cultural traditions and nature itself "have so many fascinating interactions able to trigger defence mechanisms through smell, sounds and other signs which are totally unknown to us, while scientists spend tons of money on genetic engineering", states Lawrance Woodword (ElmFarm Research Centre). The Nin tree and the use of animals, such as ducks for insect control, were used as examples.

False-Myths about Organic Agriculture
According to Dr. Briones' studies, organic agriculture is generally seen in diverse negative ways by public opinion such as a backward agriculture with no need for intensive research; an agriculture that will impoverish and starve the nation; a kind of agriculture that their products are just for the elite or export-oriented.

In her view these are simply myths. In reality, organic agriculture is ecological; it regenerates the land, regains biodiversity and restores productivity. It produces quality food for society, contributes to agro ecosystem health and provides diverse sources of food and income to the farming household.

The Philippines and the Dominican Republic were used as case studies where
organic farming is producing cheaper food prices. This is because the poor farmers avoid bank loans, preferring to use natural pesticides, leftovers as fertilisers and biogas from animals to provide light and cooking.

Organic agriculture has been a viable option for poor farmers in countries such as Indonesia, Egypt, Costa Rica, China, Japan and Brazil.

The Future in our hands
Organic agriculture brings up awareness about other topics and rights. "Farmer-leaders advocate agrarian reform, land occupation, intellectual property rights and genetically modified crops", concludes Dr. Briones.

There is no sense in producing bananas in Norway just to justify genetic engineering. What for? The answer can only be profit, stated Geir. "The green revolution made us believe slogans like 'DDT is good for me'.. "We have learned some lessons since then and we can't fail again"

And he continues "the future is in our hands even if we are not farmers, we go to supermarkets and if your hand goes for fast food or slow food...you are the one who decides what to eat".