good to know, thanks Steve On Sun, Jul 8, 2018 at 1:29 AM, Steve Bosserman <[email protected]> wrote:
> Thanks, Michel! > > During my work visits to Tanzania 3 years ago I had the opportunity to > associate with Janet Maro and Alex Wostry, life partners and co-founders of > Sustainable > Agriculture Tanzania (SAT) > <http://kilimo.org/WordPress/sustainable-agriculture-tanzania-sat/vision-mission/>. > Janet, a graduate of Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) > <http://www.sua.ac.tz> in Morogoro, and Alex, originally from Austria, > have established a comprehensive agroecological / entrepreneurial program > for smallholders throughout Tanzania. While the article speaks eloquently > about several such programs underway worldwide, I would like to add SAT to > the list as another excellent example of hands-on research, application, > and training to advance and expand the understanding about and practical > use of agroecological concepts. > > Best regards, > > Steve B. > > On Wed, Jul 4, 2018 at 8:04 AM Michel Bauwens <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> fyi >> >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> From: Ryan Fortune <[email protected]> >> Date: Wed, Jul 4, 2018 at 1:37 PM >> Subject: ARTICLE: Farming with Nature (reThink, 28 June 2018) >> To: James Gien Wong <[email protected]> >> Cc: Brenda Skelenge <[email protected]>, Paul Wildman <[email protected]>, >> Michael Thompson <[email protected]>, Lerato Mohapi-Thahane < >> [email protected]>, steven johnstone <[email protected]>, >> Tom Harper <[email protected]>, Andy Thomson <[email protected]>, >> Jerome Osentowski <[email protected]>, senai <[email protected]>, Michael >> H Shuman <[email protected]>, jose ramos <[email protected]>, michel >> bauwens <[email protected]>, Themba Tana <[email protected]>, >> homeJudith Lee <[email protected]>, Rebekka Harvey <[email protected]>, >> Roberto Valenti <[email protected]>, Bryan Curtin < >> [email protected]>, bernie <[email protected]>, conway lotter < >> [email protected]>, Markus Verena's friend <[email protected]>, >> "Marco [reNature]" <[email protected]>, Felipe Villela < >> [email protected]> >> >> >> Twelve years ago, in 2006, Haregu Gobezay was unemployed and her family >> with six children relied on her husband’s salary to cover all their >> expenses. >> >> Today, Gobezay and her husband manage a 12-hectare farm with mango, >> orange, mandarin, and avocado plantations in Mereb Leke District of the >> Tigray Region in northern Ethiopia. They also keep a few dairy cows, and >> chickens for egg production. >> >> They no longer rely on a single crop. The finger millet they used to grow >> often suffered from weed invasions and termites, and the yield was low due >> to thin and nutrient-poor soils. >> >> Now they grow a wide range of different crops. >> >> This has helped them tackle many challenges, and made it possible for >> them to employ almost a hundred people and make a good profit from selling >> mango and other fruits. >> >> *Agroecology has the explicit goal of strengthening the sustainability of >> all parts of the food system, from the seed and the soil, to the table, >> including ecological knowledge, economic viability, and social justice.* >> >> Gobezay started with planting vegetables; she then added fruit trees, and >> peanut plants as cover crops that fertilise the soil by fixing nitrogen >> from the air, with the help of bacteria living in their root systems. >> Eventually, she brought in dairy cows and started cultivating pasture >> plants such as alfalfa, Rhodes grass, and elephant grass under the trees. >> >> To improve soil fertility further and to increase soil organic matter, >> the family now prepares compost in 20 big pits. In addition, a biogas plant >> on the dairy farm produces bio-slurry compost and energy for cooking. >> >> The family also uses “push-pull” technology as an additional source of >> income. The technology was developed in Africa to control Striga weeds and >> insect pests, particularly stemborer moths, without using chemical >> pesticides. It involves growing maize, sorghum or mango trees together with >> flowering plants such as Desmodium that repel, or “push”, the pests, and >> planting other plants such as elephant grass around the crops to attract, >> or “pull”, the pests. Desmodium eliminates Striga weeds and repels the >> stemborers, which are instead attracted to the elephant grass. By growing >> Desmodium, the family’s farm has become a source of seeds for scaling up >> the push-pull technology in the whole region. >> >> More and more farmers around the world are turning away from >> chemical-intensive single-crop farming in favour of production methods >> based on diversity, local inputs of for example compost, and ecosystem >> services. >> >> This kind of “agroecological” farming has seen a revival in recent years >> as a response to the many challenges facing agriculture globally. >> >> There is growing evidence that agroecological farming systems keep carbon >> in the ground, support biodiversity, rebuild soils, and sustain yields, >> providing a basis for secure livelihoods. >> >> >> >> Today’s agriculture produces enough food for the global population, but >> it has not given everyone everywhere access to sufficient, safe, and >> nutritious food. >> >> Agriculture has also contributed to soil degradation >> <https://rethink.earth/turning-desert-to-fertile-farmland-on-the-loess-plateau/>, >> a misuse of natural resources, and the crossing of crucial planetary >> boundaries that have kept Earth in a relatively stable state for the past >> 11,000 years, since before agriculture was invented. >> >> >> * CONTINUE READING:* https://rethink.earth/farming-with-nature/ >> >> >> >> -- >> Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: >> http://commonstransition.org >> >> P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net >> >> <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: >> http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens >> >> #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/ >> > -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://commonstransition.org P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/
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