Agroecology: scaling up hope for food sovereignity and resilience Miguel A Altieri University of California-Berkeley www.agroeco.org
# Farms and farm size in US
The expansion of modern industrial agriculture • Agriculture has expanded worldwide from 265 million has in 1965 to 1,5 billion today. • These land is mainly planted to 12 species of grain, 23 species of vegetables and 35 species of • 91% of the land devoted to monocultures of maize, soybean, cotton, wheat and rice
Currents of thought that influenced emergence of industrial agriculture
• Decartes: father of reductionism, study parts not whole • Darwin: the survival of the fittest, competition over cooperation • Malthus: hunger is due to overpopulation • Von Leibig: father of chemical agriculture; overcome the limiting factor
Ignored current of thought: Marx and the metabolic rift • Marx's key conception of ecological crisis tendencies under capitalism. • Marx theorized a rupture in the metabolic interaction between humanity and the rest of nature emanating from capitalist production and the growing division between urban and rural. • Is truly sustainable agriculture possible in a capitalist system?
System undersatnding‌
Problem? Linear thinking‌..
Some assumptions of industrial agriculture • Unlimited energy and cheap petroleum • Stable climate and abundant water • Nature can be controlled with technology
• The world can only be fed with agrochemical and genetic technology
Fertilizer and farm fuel prices- USA
Maize yields after recent droughts • Adverse high temperatures during maize pollination in 2010 in the United States caused a decline in yields from 2009 and the downward trend due to weather continued in 2011 to a level not seen since 2005 • By August 2012, the USDA projection was for a maize crop of 10.8 billion bushels and a yield of 123.4 bushels/acre (76,173 hg/ha USDA 2012e), the lowest since 1995 and a yield common in the 1980s (FAOSTAT).
The addiction to pesticides â–ş 1,2
billion pounds of pesticides are applied annually in the USA.
â–ş US
spent US $34.1 billion dollars in pesticide use in 1998
The futile chemical warfare against pests â–şUS
agricultural losses to pests reached 32% between 1942-50 and 37% between 1984- 1990
â–şMore
than 450 species of arthropods resistant to > 1000 different pesticides
US CORN LEAF EPIDEMIC IN USA, 1970
• Resulted in a decrease of the maize crop from 119,056,000 tonnes in 1969 to 105,471,000 tonnes in 1970, well below the 143,421,000 tonnes produced in 1971 (FAOSTAT). • The actual yield in 1970 was 45,439 hg/ha, considerably less than in 1969 (53,908 hg/ha) and in 1971 (55,297 hg/ha). • With 23,211,600 ha sown in 1970, the projected production was 126,289,673 tonnes resulting in an actual shortfall of 20,818,673 tonnes from expected. • The loss was equivalent to 18.5 trillion calories.
Genetic Uniformity and Vulnerability • How uniform genetically are crops upon which the nation depends, and how vulnerable, therefore, are they to epidemics and climatic variability? • The answer is that most major crops are impressively uniform genetically and impressively vulnerable. • This uniformity derives from powerful economic interests and legislative forces shaped by those holding corporate power
US a future global leader in maize • The United States has particular ambitions for maize where it expects to maintain its global command of supply, and to continue to make maize indispensible. • The United States expects dependence on US maize to grow for the foreseeable future, with record high exports of maize by 2021 • The United States share of the world trade in maize is expected to grow to 55% in contrast to wheat at only 16% (USDA 2012b). • With these ambitions, United States agriculture will not be able to operate sustainably. • Global ambitions will be met at the expense of the resilience of US agroecosystems to disease, pests and and climate change.
Biofuels: Land demand/ full tanks empty stomachs • Devoting all US arable land area under corn to ethanol would satisfy 12% of the demand • To fill up a car tank with 25 gallons of ethanol will require the amount of grain sufficient to feed one person for a whole year
Driving the Boom Total Energy Shares
Additional Land Availilable for Agrofuels 91%+
8% 0% 0%
Nort h America Sout h America 49%
35%
Figures from OECD, 2007
Europe & Russia Af rica
33%+
Asia Oceana 8%
OECD, 2007 IEA, 2006
140 million acres land grabbed, 75% in Sub-Saharan Africa-2010
Transfer of labor and land saving technologies
Issues to consider on World Hunger • Today there are about 1 billion hungry people in the planet, but hunger is caused by poverty (1/3 of the planet’s population makes less than $2 a day) and inequality (lack of access to land, seeds, etc.), not scarcity due to lack of production. • 78% of all undernourished children under five living in 3rd world, inhabit countries with food surpluses, many of them net exporters.
Food waste 1,3 billion of food produced for human consumption is wasted globally annually, enough to feed the entire African continent. Each person in US and Europe wastes an average 115 Kg of food per year
Nearly 40% of our global grain supply feeds animals. Some 650 million tonnes of grain is fed to livestock. This amount of grain is equivalent to the annual calorie needs of more than 3.5 billion people.
Cornification of America • Since the 1980′s > 10% of calories Americans consume now come from corn sweeteners (HFCS)added to soft drinks. Add to that all the corn-based animal protein (corn-fed beef, chicken and pork) and the corn (chips, muffins, sweet corn) • wholesale switch to corn sweeteners in the 1980′s marks the beginning of the epidemic of obesity and Type 2 diabetes in this country
Obesity in America: Are Factory Farms, Big Pharma and Big Food to Blame? • Current food policies and subsidies encourage Big Farming to overproduce corn and soy which are then used to create sugary, fatty, factory-made, industrial food products sold as processed, fast, or junk food • These subsidized ($288 billion) cheap, low-quality foods are heavily marketed ($30 billion) and consumed by our ever-widening population with an obesity rate approaching three out of four Americans. • By 2050 one in three Americans will have diabetes.
Driving the Boom Total Energy Shares
Additional Land Availilable for Agrofuels 91%+
8% 0% 0%
Nort h America Sout h America 49%
35%
Figures from OECD, 2007
Europe & Russia Af rica
33%+
Asia Oceana 8%
OECD, 2007 IEA, 2006
140 million acres land grabbed, 75% in Sub-Saharan Africa-2010
Biofuels: Land demand/ full tanks empty stomachs • Devoting all US arable land area under corn to ethanol would satisfy 12% of the demand • To fill up a car tank with 25 gallons of ethanol will require the amount of grain sufficient to feed one person for a whole year
China Rice Fish
Rice 窶電uck systems
The agricultural challenge for the next decades Food production must increase substantially and sustainably but using the same arable land base, with less petroleum, less water and nitrogen, within a scenario of climate change, social unrest and financial crisis. This challenge cannot be met with the existing industrial agricultural model and its biotechnological derivations
Features of an agriculture for the future • De-coupled from fossil fuel dependence • Agroecosystems of low environmental impact, nature friendly • Resilient to climate change and other shocks • Multifunctional ( ecosystem, social, cultural and economic services) • Foundation of local food systems
Alta
Productivity
Low external inputs, high recylcling rates, crop –livestock integration
High inputs, industrial monocultures
Low
High
Baja
Eficiency Low external inputs, diversified with low levels of integration
Specialized systems with low external inputs
Medium-Low
Medium
Alta
Baja
Agroecosystem Diversity
Who feeds us today???
How many peasants there are in the world? (ETC 2009) • 1, 5 billion peasants in 380 million small farms occupying 20% of the arable land • At least 370 million of these are also indigenous peoples occupying 92 million farms • 17 million peasant farms in Latin America grow between half to two-thirds of staple foods
Peasants, industrial agriculture and Agrobiodiversity • 40 species of domestic animals • 7,6l6 animal breeds • 1,9 million crop varieties since 1960 freely available to humankind
• 5 species of domestic animals • < 500 animal breeds • Green Revolution: 8,000 new crop varieties since 1970 • Indusrial breeders: 72,500 varieties (under IPR protection)
Conocimiento Humano (perspectiva histórica)
“Ciencia neolitica”
“Ciencia Paleolitica”
200,000 años Antigüedad del Homo sapiens
100,000 años Expansion humana
Tiempo
“Ciencia Moderna”
± 10,000
Presente ± 300
Ecology Anthropology Sociology Etnoecology
AGROECOLOGY
Biological Control Ecological economics Basic agricultural sciences
Principles Specific technological forms
Traditional Farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; knowledge
Participatory research in farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; fields
KOSMOS (beliefs) CORPUS (knowledge) PRAXIS (practices)
K: Image- representation (Believe) C: Reading-interpretation (Know) P: Use-management (Do)
N A T U R E
¿?
Corpus
¿? Chama- Pesmajme kijme (helechos)KuomeKilijme (quelites)(platanillos) kajme
¿?
Ixuajme (¿?)
TAKTSON
(bejucos) Xochijme (ornam.)
Ouajme (otates) Nanakajme (hongos) Kuoxiujme (palmas)
¿?
Xiuijme (hierbas)
TAXONOMIA NAHUAT
Kamojme (camotes)
Kapolli (capulín) Chalahui Uaxi (chalahuite) (uaje)
Xocojme (cítricos) Paspajme (plátanos)
TAKTSON Kouijme (árboles) Varios
Auakat (aguacate) Tzapot (zapote))
Praxis
1 Ha
â&#x20AC;˘350 useful plant species for food and medicinal purposes â&#x20AC;˘ 200 bird species
Xochitjme
Kamojme
Ouatatjme
(flores)
(camotes)
(cañas)
Isuajme
Nanakajme (hongos)
Chamakijme (platanillos)
Kuoxiuitjme (palmas)
Pesmas (helechos)
Xocojme (cítricos)
Kuomekajme (bejucos)
Xiuijme
Pajpatajme
(hierbas)
(plátanos)
KOUITS
Kapollijme
(árboles)
(capulines)
Chalahuijme (chalahuites)
Guaxijme (guajes)
Otros
Tsapojme Auakajme (aguacate)
(zapote)
40 30
a
20
SHADED COFFEE SYSTEMS
10 Rustic
40 30
b
20 10 Traditional polyculture “coffee garden” 15
c
10 5 Comercial polyculture
UNSHADED
d
10 5 Shaded monoculture
e
5 Unshaded monoculture
Comparison of fertilizer use, mechanization and irrigation between Cuba, the USA and other Latin American countries
Losses of major agricultural inputs after the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Agroecological strategies
Organic amendments
Polycultur es Animal integration
Green manures Rotations
Fernandito’s Farm Coco Plátano Remolacha Malanga Col Frijol Zanahoria Boniato Maíz
Tomate Papa Pimiento Papaya Cebolla Porcino
LER
1.76
Area (ha) Energy (GJ/ha/año)
Proteín (kg/ha)/año People fed by produced energy (Pers/ha/año)
People fed by produced protein
40
90 318 21 12.5
(Pers/ha/año)
Energy efficiency output/input
11.2
Finca “Del Medio” – José A. Casimiro Sancti Spíritus
Area (ha) Energy (GJ/ha/año)
Proteín (kg/ha)/año People fed by produced energy (Pers/ha/año)
People fed by produced protein
10
50.6 867 11 34
(Pers/ha/año)
Energy efficiency
30
Contribuci贸n porcentual de la agricultura campesina a la producci贸n nacional total en diversos rubros
Resilience to climate change ( Huracan Ike-Cuba) • Areas under industrial monoculture suffered more damage and exhibited less recovery than diversified farms. • After the hurricane average loss in diversified farms was about 50% compared to 90-100% in monocultures • Productive recovery was about 80 90%,and was noticeable 40 days after the hurricane
% de dano incial a fincas por el Huracan Ike (2008) la coopertaiva Rafael Zaroza’ en Sancti Spıritus,Cuba, escala 1¼ bajo, 3¼ alto, ) segun grado de integracion agroecologica ( 1 baja, 3 alta).
% estimado de recuperacion de fincas a los 60, 120 y 180 dias despues de Huracan Ike (2008) en CCS ‘Rafael Zaroza’ Sancti Spı´ritus segun nivel de integracion agroecologica ( 1 bajo, 3 alto) comparada con el promedio de la cooperativa entera.
Improved grasses are vulnerable to droughts.
Sucesi贸n vegetal manejada
Urban Agriculture
Urban Agriculture-2009 • Emergence of about 383,000 gardens nationwide • 1,460,000 tons of vegetables in 5O thousand hectares • Urban gardens produce about 60% of all vegetables consumed in Cuban major cities (215 grams of vegetables per day/person) • Productivity ranges between 10-20 kg/m2/year in intensive gardens systems
Number of units : 3 810
Ă rea: 1 183.4 ha. Yield: 18.44 Kg/m2
By 2030, some two thirds of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s people will be living in cities, the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population will rise to nine billion by 2050
.
California â&#x20AC;˘ In 10 years California's population will grow from 36 to 46 million people, with 80% concentrated in cities. â&#x20AC;˘ Many cities have low income neighborhoods comprise food deserts with high levels of food insecurity
Oakland UA potential â&#x20AC;˘ 1,200 acres of vacant and underutilized public land in Oakland, California, that could potentially be used for food production. â&#x20AC;˘ more than 800 acres of public land with slopes under 30% were identified â&#x20AC;˘ an additional 3,008 privately owned vacant lots totaling more than 800 acres with potential for urban farming
Agroecological yield estimates • UA yields could reach 5 kg of fresh biomass per sq.meter/year ( that is 25% of what Cuban urban farmers-best in the world- reach under optimal management). • Assuming that well defined agroecological management systems are scaled up in Oakland in 1000 acres (400 hectares), reaching a yield of 5 kg per sqm/year (1 ha= 2.47 acres, 1 ha=10000 sq m) we estimate that UA yields in Oakland would reach 50000 kg /ha/yr or 20 million kgs in the whole 400 hectares ( or 1000 acres). • If each person consumes 45 Kg per year of fresh vegetables, the total UA production in 400 hectares could feed 400 thousand people/year.
Agroecology and social movements â&#x20AC;˘ Social movements are key to achieving supportive policy environment (movements of farmers, workers, indigenous people, urban poor, consumers, environmentalists, human rights, etc.) â&#x20AC;˘ The combination of peasant and family farm agriculture with agroecology can feed families, cities, countries and the world, with higher productivity, efficiency, and autonomy, lower costs, be more environmentally sound, produce healthier food, reduce migration, and be more resilient to climate change. â&#x20AC;˘ Up-scaling really requires social movements at the center, who can build alliances with government institutions, NGOs, researchers, students, etc., but on new terms.
Food Sovereignty Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems.
The pillars of food sovereignity
Agroecological strategies
Social movements
Land reform Access to land, water seeds
State support Markets. Credit, extension Research, etc.
10 multinationals control most food consumer brands
Organized small farmers By-pass
Food Autonomous territories, local markets
Empires
Consumers
IAASTD Further research and adoption of locally appropriate & democratically controlled agro-ecological methods • • • • • • • • •
Local expertise, local germplasm & local community research Participatory Plant Breeding and Farmer-Researcher groups Farmer-managed local seed systems with site-specific cultivars No investment in projects promoting adoption of patented seed Focus on low-input and organic systems, biological substitutes for agrochemicals site specific easily adaptable cultivars local seed systems reducing the dependency on fossil fuels.
Eco-Farming Can Double Food Production in 10 Years • “To feed 9 billion people in 2050, we urgently need to adopt the most efficient farming techniques available,” • “Today’s scientific evidence demonstrates that agroecological methods outperform the use of chemical fertilizers in boosting food production where the hungry live especially in unfavorable environments.” Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food
Legal initiatives fostering agroecology in Latin America • Ecuador: Ley organica de Agrobiodiversidad, Semillas y Agroecologia • Bolivia: Revolución Productiva Comunitaria Agropecuaria para la soberanía alimentaria • Guatemala (2005)-Ley de Seguridad alimentaria y nutricion • Brazil-Plan Nacional de Agroecologia y Agricultura Organica (2013) • Venezuela (2008)-Articulo 8 soberania alimentaria • Nicaragua : Ley de Fomento de la Produccion Agroecologica y Organica
1: org.=conven.
< l: conven. mayor que org. >1: org. mayor que conven.
Casi 300 estudios comparativos de agricultura org谩nica/agroecol贸gica y agricultura convencional
Tradition
Modernity
Post-modernity
“
“Modernization” “Development” “Progress”
Alternative modernization, sustainable development, agro-ecology
Thank you!!