From the brief summary, the paper looks good. For example:
To evolve farming systems that meet all of these demands, national agricultural policy, research programs, and food markets will need to shift away from emphasizing low costs and high production exclusively and develop a more holistic perspective of how farms provide benefi ts to society.
They identify four goals:
(1) producing enough to satisfy human needs; (2) enhancing environmental quality and protecting the natural resource base; (3) being profitable; and (4) increasing the quality of life for farmers, farm workers, and society as a whole. Farm systems also must be flexible enough to adapt to natural and economic stresses as they strive towards the four goals.
And, they use the word agro-ecosystem! THAT is a good sign!!
The need to adapt agricultural landscape scheme to different locations, because each "agro-ecosystem" involves unique types of
soil, hydrology, vegetation, climate, wildlife and other features.
Participatory research! Farmer to Farmer mentoring! Yes! Yes! Yes!
On-farm experimentation has inspired much of the innovation that has developed more sustainable agricultural practices. The report recommends "participatory research," in which farmers work with scientists in development, extension, and outreach processes to identify effective new farming methods and to encourage the adoption of those methods. In addition, it recommends that farmers' networks and farmer-to-farmer mentoring programs can help spread knowledge gained from research and lead to the adaptation of techniques to local conditions.
The brief version of the report doesn't talk about specific agricultural methods (either good or bad), but as you can see here, it uses all of the right language to imply that the authors of the report REALLY "get it." This report should be required reading at the USDA and at USAID. I look forward to reading the longer version of it very soon. |
