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ABC MEETING 2014
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FROM 2 TO 4 OCTOBER
WHY IS AGRICULTURAL BIODIVERSITY IMPORTANT?
the fourth meeting of the Agricultural Biodiversity Community was held in the Netherlands. Scientists, specialists and campaigners from all over the globe met up and discussed.
Simple: without it, there wouldn’t be any agriculture. It is the system on which agriculture depends. Think of the bee in its function as pollinator. Without pollination the plants we eat could not reproduce. There would be no seed to sow: no food!
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WHAT IS AGRICULTURAL BIODIVERSITY?
Biodiversity is the diversity of all that lives: it stems from biological diversity. So agricultural biodiversity, then, is the diversity of all the living things that are involved in agriculture. for example: grain, tomatoes and cows are all forms of agricultural biodiversity. But it is not just what people eat. It is also the whole system that makes agriculture possible: a network of interrelating species of all kinds tpihat together make agriculture possible. Think of grass as feed for cattle. Or think of earthworms that make the soil fertile. Let alone the millions of bacteria that live in the soil.
Also: the more diverse your agricultural biodiversity (i.e. your food) the more resilient your food supply. If one harvest fails, you’ll just eat the other! In other words: you are not just eating the tomato, you are eating the whole system. It used to, but these days agricultural biodiversity is decreasing at an alarming rate. Monoculture has become a more and more dominant form of agriculture: acres and acres of the same crop. Biodiversity in these fields is very low making them very vulnerable to pests. That is why farmers have to use pesticides, killing unwanted species and further reducing biodiversity.
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But isn’t that a good thing though? We do get a good harvest from the desired crop, right? Yes but we need to keep harvests good. Not only now, but also in the future. And for that we need a diverse gene pool.
interview with zayaan kahn from south africa
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That is why farmers have to use pesticides, killing unwanted species and further reducing biodiversity.
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Monoculture has become a more and more dominant form of agriculture: acres and acres of the same crop. Biodiversity in these fields is very low making them very vulnerable to pests.
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It used to, but these days agricultural biodiversity is decreasing at an alarming rate.
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CAN’T AGRICULTURAL BIODIVERSITY TAKE CARE OF ITSELF?
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WHERE WE COME FROM:
But agricultural multinationals do not produce just any ordinary product: they produce the seeds farmers depend of for their livelihood and which feed the world.
The decline in agricultural biodiversity is for the most part a result of the shift in agricultural practices, which started from about the 1960s: it was dubbed the Green Revolution.
o But the agricultural conditions differ strongly all around the world and even per region. They require different approaches, while the big seed companies strive for standardization to keep costs low.
THE GREEN REVOLUTION
entails the use of scientific research, pesticides, artificial fertilizer and mechanization. In short: science entered the farms, as well as chemicals and tractors. Where it worked well, the result was astonishing: yields increased up to 400%.
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interview with million belay from ethiopia
o It saved many people from starving to death and it forms the basis of the global food system we have today. o But: it is far from perfect. There are many negative sides to it. o For one thing, the Green Revolution is very capital intensive: all those tractors and fertilizers cost money. Which leaves out small scale, subsistence farmers (they eat what they grow).
WHY SHOULD THE SMALL FARMERS HAVE STRONGER VOICE?
Many reasons, but to start with: • Sheer numbers. o Small-scale subsistence farmers are the vast majority: some 40% of the world’s population. o 70% of all the food grow worldwide comes from small farmers. • They know conditions.
o Instead, the Green Revolution works well on large scale, intensive farms and favors big companies with big budgets. Multinationals. o Agricultural multinationals are just like normal multinationals. They invest a lot of money in the development of new products and then try to sell them worldwide as much as possible. The primary objective is profit.
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• Often visionary producers choose to grow alternative varieties of crops which have specific characteristics. An example is Nieks Witte, a Dutch cultivar of potatoes that are organically grown, yet resistant against the feared Phytophthora disease. o It is, however, completely white, while most consumers are used to the yellow potatoes. o In order to make the voice of the farmer heard, a lot of consumer • Also: the daily practice of farmers is complicated. In a lot of countries the voice of women for example is not heard or not hear enough. • The Agricultural Biodiversity Community wants to make all voices count to foster the democratic process. It speaks on behalf of the billions of small scale farmers world wide. Education is necessary. • Also: the daily practice of farmers is complicated. In a lot of countries the voice of women for example is not heard or not hear enough. (Balu foto voorbeeld) • The Agricultural Biodiversity Community wants to make all voices count to foster the democratic process. It speaks on behalf of the billions of small scale farmers world wide.
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interview with jan huijgen from the netherlands
• For that, we need a resilient food system.
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o And monocultures may be productive (at least on the short term) they are not very resilient. They are susceptible to diseases and climate change.
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interview with ramoo from india
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RESILIENCE ASSESSMENT TOOL
The major challenge in the coming decades is to feed a growing population. In other words: achieving food security. Enough food for everybody, preferably while not exhausting the earth ensuring that next generations can do the same.
• That is why they have to be maintained with all that science, those chemicals and those tractors.
• A resilient food system also takes into account the next generations. o Agricultural biodiversity spreads the risks for farmers: when a disease or weather condition damages harvest in one crop, he or she can resort to another o The fertilizer and heavy machinery necessary for intensive monoculture production exhaust the earth. But a a healthy soil is an absolute prerequisite to sustainably farm over an extended period of time.
IT IS POSSIBLE
to have the best of both worlds: agroecological measures provide the same functions as fertilizer, pesticides and machines, called inputs, however using natural agents. That means that the farmer uses living things, or
biodiversity, to perform the same tasks as the inputs perform.
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interview with jack kloppenburg from the usa
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interview with faris ahmed from canada et “see ds ar
o Just as all the living things together form a system which makes agriculture possible, so do people, from farmer to consumer, form a system.
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• A resilient food system also means a lively countryside. Farming is a communal thing, done for a communal good: getting good food so people can eat!
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FARMS CAN BE MORE
wanted to get away from it all o An inspiring place where than just the place where your people stay in touch with potatoes grew: they can be: nature
o Educational centers o A place to recreate o A home for people with
special needs o A home for people with no particular special needs, but who just
• Resilience means ‘able to cope with a lot of challenges’. The Agro Biodiversity Community works on an all-encompassing tool to be able to assess the resilience of an agricultural system.
AGRICULTURAL SEED SYSTEMS
Sowing the right seeds is critical for any farmer. So how does a farmer get his sowing seeds? Two main ways: • buy seeds from a specialized company • reserve part of the harvest for sowing the next season
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WHY WOULD A FARMER BUY SEEDS FROM A COMPANY?
• Commercial breeding companies invest a lot of time and money in research. That way they use crossbreeding or genetic engineering to get desired characteristics in the seed. o A high yield is a favorable characteristic o So is good taste o Or long shelf life • Also, the farmer does not have to reserve time for seed saving, so he has more time fro different jobs. • It is a good system, as long as you can afford it.
WHY WOULD A FARMER NOT BUY SEEDS FROM A COMPANY?
• Why buy something that you already own? Cut a potato in half and a plant will grow, giving you: NEW POTATOES! • Because the farmer wants to be as autonomous as possible. • Family farms often have crossbred crops over generations, resulting in varieties that are extremely well adapted for the local conditions. Better than a seed company can offer. • And there are more characteristics to be desired then just those that are profitable. [Because it is that characteristic that most seed companies try to put in their products. And with ‘products’ they mean ‘seeds’.
WHAT DOES A COMPANY USUALLY DO WITH A LOT OF MONEY? Make sure that it keeps its leading position. By aggressively pushing its own products, for example.
• Small scale farmers that save their seeds usually deal with very different issues: o They do not have access to a huge database to combine and recombine their local variety with.
One other reason would be ownership: who owns a seed? • Breeding companies invest a lot of money in research and development of new seeds. o And as long as you use it in the right way. o Makes sense that they sell them, rather then just giving them away. o The investment is so high that the companies get protective of their products (seeds). They patent them.
o Nor do they have the resources to do extensive research and development.
If a company creates a good variety, it stands to make a lot of money. That way it can make a return on its initial R&D investment.
o But they usually do not mind when someone uses their seed somewhere else. Why bother?
Anyone that uses the patented product has to pay up or face legal action.
• The Agricultural Biodiversity Community works on launching the Open Source Seeds System. Farmers with different backgrounds can come together and share their seeds, creating one of the largest open source seed databases in the world.
HOW TO FEED THE WORLD?
If the question is ‘How to feed the world?’ the answer is that we all shvwuld work together to do so. It is a fact that we need a resilient food system, one that boasts a high agricultural biodiversity, to feed the world. It is also a fact that we should share knowledge. Patents can be a good way to protect to make serious research and development possible. But they can also be an obstruction for development. And very often they are.
So here we go: this story is about diversity, seeds and their characteristics. The one variety is better than the other, but that one might hold characteristics that we need in the future. And all are dependent on the enormous intricate system of life, evolution and death. If you let yourself get carried away, it seems to become a religious thing (which it In the end it is about something very essential, very well might be).
THE CONCLUSION? our food.
ALL INTERVIEWS (VIA VIMEO)
Zayaan KHAN Million BELAY Jan HUIJGEN RAMOO Faris AHMED Jack KLOPPENBURG
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(VIA VIMEO)
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