I am an agriculturist (UP Los Baños ’65) and I am unhappy
with what I am reading. The originator of “World Food Day,” which is the Food & Agriculture Organization
(FAO), is 75 years old (almost as old as I am at 81) – why is it that we have gargantuan
food problems worldwide? In other words, the FAO has failed in its
self-assigned global goal! Theme of the Day: “Our actions are our future” – Our
actions since 75 years ago are now our (future) today.
What are the realities? According to AMP Global Youth[1] (16 August 2019, “The Top 5 Problems With The Global Food System,” ampglobalyouth.org),
these are the most pressing worldwide difficulties:
(1) increased biofuel production
(2) Limited food access
(3) Unsustainable agricultural practices
(4) Lack of farmer and workers’ rights
(5) Food waste.
#1: “Increased biofuel production” – I don’t think that applies in my country, the Philippines. Or, it’s not #1 anyway.
#2: “Limited food access” – This should not be listed here. Limited access implies adequate supply, even over-supply.
#3: I would put this as #1: “Unsustainable agricultural
practices.” UAPs. These UAPs waste natural resources such as soils as well as
unnatural resources such as fertilizers and pesticides. With the use of UAPs, these
happen:
(1)
Natural soil fertility is depleted, because it
is not replenished naturally. All the
more UAPs are needed!
(2)
Artificial fertilizers make unhealthy soils.
(3)
Unhealthy food
crops grow out of unhealthy soils.
(4)
We consumers eat unnaturally
unhealthy foods! What else is new?
AMP Global Youth says, “Ultimately, change can only take
place once there is a social pressure to democratize the food system, and
return the control to individuals and communities.” That is saying that
actually, the #1 world food problem is “Lack of farmer and workers’ rights”! I
must disagree.
How
do we replenish soil fertility naturally?
Farming with nature. No,
not “nature farming” or “natural farming” or “organic farming” – I subscribe to
“trash farming”
as described and employed by American gentleman farmer Edward H Faulkner as detailed in his books Plowman’s Folly (1943) and
Soil Development (1952). Over the years, I have written many times about
trash farming; the first time I wrote about it was 13 years ago – “2nd Red
Revolution! Red Nuts Grow On Badlands[2]” (16 December 2008, Creative Thinkering,
Blogspot.com). Among other things, I
said there that “one could build a rich soil from a poor one by continuously
incorporating crop refuse into the topsoil, along with minimizing cultivation,
thereby simulating the natural cycle of death and life of organisms, something
the plowman has either ignored or rejected.”
If
you deprive the soil of its natural goodness, and prevent it from returning that
itself, you are denying the soil what it next denies you – wealth of health
from the food you grow on it!@517
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