Everything in nature is about
balance.
A few degrees colder than it ought to be and a region’s flora and
fauna can change. Just a couple of degrees warmer can mean more diseases in a
developing country. Now research says that hunger can be banished from the face
of the earth if developing countries start more intensive farming and if
developed countries take it easy with the industrialised, high-scale farming.
In other words, a better balance.
According to Pablo Tittonell,
Professor, Farming Systems Ecology, Wageningen University, Netherlands, this is
the simple answer to addressing poverty in the world. An advocate of
agro-ecological farming, Tittonell argues that contrary to common thinking,
agriculture and nature are not opposed to each other.
What is needed is an
emphasis on new systems of agriculture. Thus, developing countries should
intensify farming, not by means of artificial methods, but with the help of
education and awareness, better supply chain management, better communication
through tools such as the internet and mobile phones and so on. He is also of
the view that developed countries in the Western world need to lay off
intensive farming that makes rampant use of chemical fertilisers, insecticides,
pesticides; it basically tips the fragile balance between nature and
agriculture. Tittonell is also an associate professor at the University of
Montpelier and National University of Lomas de Zamora, Buenos Aires.
With food production in different
parts of the world becoming more balanced, there might be a better chance of
food distribution and the prices of food products may become more rational. According
to Tittonell, developed countries at present are harming the environment by
engaging in such high-intensity farming practices. This is depleting soil of
its richness and chemicals are harming it irreversibly.
On the other hand, small-scale
farmers in developing countries are not producing as much from the soil as they
can, owing to redundant farming practises.
Measures such as Tittonell suggests need
to be considered, debated and discussed on a larger scale and at the
policy making level.
Is someone listening?
Is someone listening?
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