Episode 23: Agroecology with Steve Brescia (Groundswell International)

Learn about more environmental topics impacting our natural environment here!

Episode Intro Notes

What We Will Cover

• General agriculture facts

• What kind of strain does agriculture place on our land and resources? In other words, why do we need agroecology?

• What is agroecology?

• What are some of the practices used in agroecology?

• What is the future of agriculture, and how can we contribute to the agroecology movement?

• Groundswell International and Steve Brecia

General Agriculture Facts

• How many people work in it?

  • There are three billion small-scale farmers and food producers, and they produce the majority of our food (70%).Who is underserved by it?

  • Around the world, one billion people are hungry and 80% of those one billion are rural farmers and food producers.

• How much food do we make now?

  • The world already produces enough food to feed 150% of earth’s current population. Think about that! The problem is:

  • A lot of that food goes to feed animals. Remember that old adage that eating less meat is better for the environment? This is partly why!

  • A lot of fuel is used for biofuels or is wasted. Think back to our food waste episode.

  • And, many don’t have land to grow their own food or money to buy food.

• How much will we need to make going forward?

  • According to the World Bank, over the next 33 years we will need to produce more food than we have in the thousands of years since civilization began. Just a casual problem, right?

What kind of strain does agriculture place on our land and resources?

Impacts a number of things, including land use, water use, soil degradation, pollution, genetic erosion, and climate change. Here’s a little more about each one...

• Land use. Globally, farmland covers 38% of the world’s land area.

  • World Wildlife Fund estimates that in developing countries, a further 300 million acres of natural habitats will be converted to farmland to meet demand for food by 2050. If that sounds like a lot, IT IS - that’s equivalent to the area of five USAs!

  • In addition to land lost due to clearing,30 million acres of land are lost each year due to desertification. That’s two Texas’s! Desertification is where fertile land is transformed into desert because of drought, inappropriate agriculture, deforestation, etc.

• Water use. Farming accounts for an astonishing 70% of all freshwater withdrawn

  • That 70% is more than twice that of industry (23%) and way more than what municipalities use (only 8%)

• Soil degradation. If the land is ploughed and the soil exposed, the topsoil can be blown away and clog waterways.

  • Generating three centimeters of top soil takes 1,000 years and half of the topsoil on the planet has been lost in the last 150 years. That’s faster than my dad lost his hair.

• Pollution. Agriculture is the leading source of pollution in many countries.

  • Worldwide, the amount of pesticide sprayed on fields has increased 26-fold over the past 50 years.

• Genetic erosion. The widespread use of genetically uniform modern crop varieties has caused agricultural crops to lose about 75% of their genetic diversity in the last century.

  • Today, just 30 crops account for 90% of calories consumed by people, while 14 animal species account for 90% of all livestock production. This loss of genetic diversity means modern crops are less able to adapt to changing conditions.

• Climate change. Global agriculture and food production is responsible for around 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

  • Sources include manufacturing fertilizer and raising livestock.Those infamous cow farts.

How is and will climate change affect our ability to grow our food?

Climate change will increase the frequency of extreme droughts, floods, and heat waves, all of which damage crops. Further, climate change will make more areas habitable to pests that damage crops.

What is Agroecology?

Agroecology is an approach to growing food that increases yields without the strain on resources that we just discussed.

Merriam Webster defines agroecology this way: an ecological approach to agriculture that views agricultural areas as ecosystems and is concerned with the ecological impact of agricultural practices.  Similar to the circular economy episode we discussed in our last episode, it’s like a whole-systems approach to natural agriculture.

It will help us understand agroecology if we first go over industrial monoculture. Industrial monoculture is where, to grow one crop, farmers use inorganic fertilizer to add nitrogen, phosphorous, etc. to stimulate crop growth, use pesticides to kill any bugs that might harm the crops, and use herbicides to kill unwanted plants. Industrial monoculture dominates 90 percent of the world’s agricultural land (4). In contrast, agroecology uses natural systems (i.e., no chemicals) to more efficiently grow crops. For example, nitrogen-fixing beans are grown instead of applying inorganic fertilizer; flowers are used to attract beneficial insects to manage pests; and weeds are crowded out with more intensive planting. These practices are combined with the knowledge and skills of local farmers about the local environment so that more food is produced, less inputs are required (i.e., lower costs), soil fertility is improved, rainfall is captured and managed better, pests are managed better, and farmer income increases. It’s a constant process of farmer-led innovation.

What are some of the practices used in agroecology?

• Crop rotations. Switch off between different types of crops, like cereals and legumes. This interrupts the lifecycles of insect pests and weeds.

• Polycultures. Plant two or more crops near each other. This improves nutrient use efficiency.

• Agroforestry systems. Grow trees together with annual crops. This helps maintain and improve soil fertility as some trees contribute to nitrogen fixation and nutrient uptake.

• Cover crops. These are crops planted for benefits such as nitrogen fixation and preventing soil erosion rather than for food.

• Crop-livestock integration. Crop by-products are fed to cattle and their manure is used to add nutrients. This tightens up nutrient cycles and diversifies production.

• With these practices, the goal is to have a system with the following characteristics: diversity, efficiency, self-sufficiency, self-regulation, resiliency, and productivity.

What is the future of agriculture, and how can I help contribute to this movement?

There are more than 200,000 new people to feed each day that weren’t around the day before. Plus, as millions move to higher income levels, they will likely transition from a grain-based diet to a meat-based one, which can require ten times as much acreage and water per calorie delivered. With our planet already strained and with an agricultural system that today has so many negative effects, we need to figure out how we can feed these new people while minimizing our impact on the environment. Agroecology is trying to be that solution going forward.

Wanting to do your part to advance the agroecology movement? In addition to the tips Steve will lay out in the interview, here are some of our ideas:

• Harness the power of your pocketbook as a consumer! Check to see if your food comes from sustainably-run farms and keep an eye out for products that tell you how they’re made. Better yet, talk to the farmers themselves! Keep in mind companies like Misfit Juicery (now Misfit Foods), who convert food waste into tasty beverages. This helps to create a system-wide solution for the food waste we mentioned earlier.

• Want to know DIRECTLY where it comes from? Try your hand at it! Use some of these methods in your yards and home gardens, relying less on plant fertilizers and more on natural methods to promote healthy greens.

Groundswell International

Groundswell International partners with local communities and organizations currently in ten areas around the world to support farmer-centered strategies to scale agroecology. Groundswell’s approach is to help farmers identify solutions and then have them spread the word, to provide training and capacity building for local organizations, and to try to influence policy at both the local and global levels.

Just in 2016, it directly supported 33,000 family farmers to innovate to improve their agroecological farming and their lives through things like increased food production, income savings, and soil fertility.

Steve Brescia

Executive Director of Groundswell International and one of its co-founders. He worked for the international development organization World Neighbors from 1996-2009 in a variety of positions including Latin America Regional Coordinator. He has a MA in international development from American University.

Note: Numerous web pages from World Wildlife Fund and Groundswell International that were used as sources for original episode research have since been disabled, and thus the links removed from this page.