Why S.A. Why Now

by E. BERONIO | PNFSP

While mainstream agricultural development organizations such as the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) are calling for a new Green Revolution to keep world famine at bay, small farmers’ organizations are promoting sustainable agriculture.  

To increase yields, proponents of the old Green Revolution told farmers to replace traditional seeds with high-yielding ones. These varieties relied on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and benefited from the use of machinery. Like its predecessor, the new Green Revolution, as described by IRRI director Robert Ziegler, will rely on corporate-controlled technological innovation. Because today’s Green Revolution will also make use of advances in corporate-funded genetic engineering, critics and proponents alike call it the Gene Revolution.

Agricultural modernization did not change the prevailing production relations. After years of the Green Revolution, who really stood to benefit became clear. These were the transnationals that sold the seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, and fuel, and the wealthy landowners, who could afford to buy the costly machines and inputs. Rather than contribute to the development of farming communities, Green Revolution modernization became little more than a profit engine for agribusiness.

In contrast, under sustainable agriculture profit-making takes a backseat. While also aiming for improved harvests, sustainable agriculture does so in the context of the holistic community development. The goal is to achieve food security, keep ecological integrity, and help bring agricultural production back into the hands of the farmers.

Food for all, for years to come
Central to sustainable agriculture is organic farming. To grow crops organically, farmers cultivate them without using synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. This has several advantages. For one, it significantly lowers the cost of production. Fertilizers alone generally account for around two thirds of rice production costs, and they eat into the income of farming households. The Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Agricultural Statistics reports that in July 2008 the price of a sack of urea has reached P1831.89, marking an increase of 80.6 percent over its price in July 2007.

Organic farmers make use of alternative cropping methods such as rotation (alternate cultivation of different crop types) and polyculture (cultivation of several crop types) to replenish the soil and control the spread of pests and weeds. They also use compost and green manure. Green manure consists of cover crops such as legumes, grown in the field for some time and then plowed to mix into the soil. By using methods and materials that are non-destructive to the environment, sustainable agriclture ensures that later generations will have the resources for achieving food security.

Sustainable agriculture also means that food products are distributed and marketed sustainably. It is therefore not export-oriented. By marketing food locally, farmers save on fuel and labor costs. Focus on local markets also ensures that farming communities are able to earn a living.  

The farmer as scientist and collaborator
Before the widespread adoption of hybrid and high-yielding seeds, Asian farmers drew from centuries of experience and knowledge in cultivating traditional rice varieties. Such knowledge, passed from one generation to another, was almost wiped out during the Green Revolution. In modern systems, correct farming practices are determined by so-called experts, professionals who are usually outsiders and unfamiliar with farmers’ lives and practices.

Upon adopting sustainable farming, communities again take control of the entire process of producing food. Rather than rely on experts’ prescriptions, farmers will have to make use of their own knowledge gained through the careful observation of the farming process and the documentation of findings. After all, agriculture developed out of centuries of farmers’ experimentations. The benefits of such knowledge-building will again be enjoyed by the farmers.

Sustainable farming can also strengthen organization. The first few years of organic farming prove to be difficult for farmers and their families. At first, yields are considerably lower than in conventional farming. This is why, without the support of an organization, a small farmer will find the initial years traumatic. If, however, the process is taken up by several farmers who have organized themselves, as in a cooperative, the burden will be lighter. Organic farming can be a community effort, where members support one another, not only in terms of material resources but the sharing of knowledge and experiences.  

Sustainable agriculture is hardly a new concept. Officially, it is promoted through Agenda 21, a global comprehensive plan for sustainable development. During the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992, a total of 178 governments agreed to take up Agenda 21, including the Philippines. But now, more than 10 years after the UNCED, official development agencies fail to consider sustainable agriculture as long-term solution to hunger and poverty.  

Sustainable agriculture is part of global efforts to build an alternative agricultural production system, one not tied to corporate interests and the logic of profit accumulation. It is a way for farmers to take food production and agricultural development back into their own hands. Adopted by the nation as a whole, it can help the country recover from the damages on livelihoods and communities wrought by globalization. Unlike the prevailing agricultural system, sustainable agriculture is responsive to the needs of the people.

Read this and other articles in Ani's special issue (Ani Vol. 1 No. 2, 2008). Click here to download.