Agriculture and Land Use

"Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest." -- Douglas Jerrold

Key Facts on agriculture and land use issues

Click on link to go directly to sub-section, or scroll down to read entire chapter.

Urbanization: The price of poor land management
The Search for Agricultural Sustainability
Cash Crops: A Look at Comparative Disadvantage
Taking Community Action
Feed the Soil, Not the Crop --A Success Story
Invisible Gardening --A Success Story

Humankind is faced with a challenging dilemma: There are more and more mouths to feed, and less and less land on which to grow food. Each year, the world population increases by more than 90 million people, while the amount of topsoil decreases by more than 20 billion tons. Nearly 20 per cent of the world's cultivable land has been severely degraded and is no longer fit for growing crops.

Traditional agriculture can no longer meet the demands imposed on it. To respond to this need, farmers are getting ever-increasing yields through the use of better seeds, fertilizer, farming methods and equipment. In many countries, particularly in Asia, agricultural yields have risen dramatically over the past 20 years. In many parts of the world, however, high-input farming is putting a heavy strain on the environment.

Intensive agricultural systems, first popularized in Western countries and now being implemented around the world, involve high inputs of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, hybrid seeds and mechanized irrigation systems. This system contributes to soil degradation and the loss of plant diversity. Because of the high costs often associated with purchasing the chemicals, it also is too costly for many developing countries to maintain without heavy doses of foreign aid.

In developed countries, industrial agriculture using chemical fertilizer and other "modern" methods have yielded bountiful harvests. However, it also has severely damaged the environment and impoverished the land. The use of heavy machinery in soil preparation has led to compaction and other detrimental changes in soil structure. Chemical fertilizers also have affected the ability of crops to adequately absorb nutrients. The chemicals have contaminated groundwater, rendering it unfit for human consumption.

The transfer of high-input agricultural technology to developing countries, in the mistaken belief that it could bring the same benefits everywhere, has, in many cases, hurt developing countries more than it has helped. Not only was the technology often entirely inappropriate, but the lack of follow-up money and inadequate maintenance often rendered it unproductive within months. Under such conditions, agricultural production ceases to be economically and ecologically sustainable.

Many farmers and entrepreneurs are attracted to the dramatic increase in yields promised by modern agricultural systems. The results, however, decrease as the organic matter in the soil declines and the soil itself becomes lifeless and prone to erosion. Increasing quantities of fertilizer are then needed to maintain production, thus raising production costs. Moreover, since crops that are grown with the use of chemicals lack natural health and resistance, ever-increasing quantities of pesticides are needed to protect them, polluting both soil and atmosphere and undermining the health of farm workers. Such a system achieves only temporary gains and is not sustainable in the long run.

Soil is a rich but fragile ecosystem. It is also living. One handful of good soil is home to millions of micro-organisms, which ensure and sustain fertility. In some areas of the world, even a centimetre of soil can take centuries to develop. But it can be lost for ever-blown away by wind, washed off deforested slopes by rain, sterilized by salts, poisoned by chemicals, bled dry of nutrients or buried under swamps or buildings.

Through the mismanagement of land resources, farmers around the world are losing valuable topsoil to wind and rain. In tropical areas, what is referred to as "slash-and-burn" agriculture eliminates rainforests to create farmland. After the harvest is complete, fields are often left barren, exposed to drought and flood. Valuable topsoil is lost, and in many areas of the world desertification results.

Urbanization: The Price of Poor Land Management

For many who live in the country, life is not easy: water and fuel have to be carried long distances, crops are often ruined by droughts or floods, and farmland is being eroded away because of poor land management. There are few jobs outside the farmstead. As a result, many rural people of the world have moved and are moving to the city in search of an easier life and better jobs.

The decision to move is not always made voluntarily. When the soil is damaged to such an extent that crops can no longer be grown, farmers and their families are forced to move away. Many of them have moved to cities that were already buckling under the pressures of too many people.

Civic authorities in these cities cannot cope with the growing numbers of citizens. In many areas, high birth rates have already resulted in overpopulation. When those arriving from rural areas are added to the numbers of people already there, housing, communications, transport, services and water supplies cannot meet the demand. The result is, at best, urban sprawl and, at worst, a steady increase in the size of urban slums.

In most cases, civic responses to the plight of urban areas have been inadequate. While the problem has been recognized, it is far from being solved. Few mechanisms have been found to cope with the problem of financing housing for poor families. Grassroots movements are often thwarted by the inflexibility of existing policies and institutions.

The increase in the size of cities has had other unwanted effects. As cities expand, they lay claim to the fertile agricultural land which surrounds them. In developing countries, it is expected that by the end of this century, urban areas will occupy more than twice the amount of land they occupied in 1980, an increase from eight to 17 million hectares.

The Search for Agricultural Sustainability

With the world population expected to grow from more than five billion to nearly eight billion by the year 2015, overall agricultural yields will have to grow more than two per cent a year to achieve global food security. In order to accomplish this growth sustainably, the world must find a way to grow food in a manner that does not affect the ability of land to grow food in the future. The challenge facing farmers is to find a balance between boosting yields to feed expanding populations while adopting environmentally sustainable agricultural methods that do not deplete the natural resources needed for tomorrow.

How much land does it take to feed one person? This chart demonstrates the increased efficiency of agriculture on a world average. The vertical side indicates percentage of one hectare, from zero to one-quarter. The horizontal side indicates years, from 1950 to 1994. Source: Worldwatch Institute; U.S. Department of Agriculture, "World Grain Database" (unpublished printouts)(Washington, D.C., 1992).

Armed with the knowledge of past failures, and spurred by the deepening recession and food shortages, the farmers of the world have been searching for a different approach to agricultural development. Members of many rural communities have begun to reexamine the role of traditional farming practices, and to improvise and create innovative "Earth-friendly" technologies.

Many major international development agencies, including those of the United Nations, have all too often advocated and supported a top-down advisory approach to agricultural development. Aid workers and local staff who have been trained abroad have found it difficult to adapt their knowledge effectively to local conditions. Women, who are often responsible for 80 per cent of agricultural production, have been largely ignored in the development process.

Sustainable agriculture depends on the daily actions of millions of farmers and their families. These men and women often have a sense of stewardship toward their land. They understand that, to survive, they must conserve the productivity of the soil. The key is for farmers to get enough agricultural education and ecological training to enable them to produce more efficiently and safeguard the environment at the same time.

One form of sustainable agriculture that is being pursued in many regions of the world incorporates some of the principles of organic farming. Under this system, yields may be slightly lower in some cases, they can usually be maintained indefinitely. Additionally, the farmer's costs do not increase, as in the case of needing more and more chemical fertilizer, because little or no external inputs are required. Natural fertilizer is produced from materials found on the farm, and in combination with various agricultural methods, healthy crops are produced which have natural resistance to pests and diseases.

Organic farming works by giving the plants what they require from nature. Plants get their food from humus, which is the end result of the decay of organic matter. The ingredients for a good compost can include farm-crop residues, weeds, ash, hedge clippings, kitchen waste and animal manure. Under the right conditions, the compost pile becomes food for the teeming millions of micro-organisms in the soil. These micro-organisms, when healthy, release the minerals from soil particles that are needed by the plant. Thus, the plant is fed indirectly, not directly as with soluble chemical fertilizer.

Cash Crops: A Look at Comparative Disadvantage

In the language of macro-economists, comparative advantage is a term used to define a business relationship whereby each party trades what he or she is best suited to produce. On the surface, this principle should work well, resulting in benefits being equally shared among all those involved in the transactions. In many countries, however, the need to generate foreign exchange to import products and to service foreign debt has led to the use of land for the farming of "cash crops" instead of the staple food needed by the citizens. Unfortunately, this practice has often led to unbalanced nutrition, health problems and hunger.

When this happens, basic staples are either unavailable or must be imported, paid for with the foreign currency earned through the sale of the cash crops. The prices for the cash crops, such as coffee, tea, groundnuts and sugar, are set by industrial cartels operating in the developed countries. The prices for the products imported are also set by market forces in the developed countries. The result is often a situation that forces Southern farmers to engage in land-damaging agricultural practices while receiving little or no benefit from any increased production.

Taking Community Action

While problems persist, there has been a lot of substantive progress in agricultural reform over the past two decades. Yields have improved and waste has been reduced. Improved methods have been found for applying fertilizer more economically, and alternative methods of pest control have been successfully used in place of more dangerous chemical ones. Biotechnologies which enable favourable genes to be transplanted from one plant to another promise much for tomorrow's agriculture.

By mobilizing your organization and your community, you can do a lot to improve the efficient use of land resources. This section introduces some suggestions that your community could consider when drawing up its action plan to help preserve the sustainability of agicultural production.

• Encourage the Development of Appropriate Technologies. Attention needs to be given to what the most appropriate technology is for a particular situation, rather than using the most advanced technology available. The traditional farming methods already available in a country should also be considered, as they may often be more appropriate. Studies have shown that with the right combination of crops, the amount of inputs required, such as chemicals and fertilizer, can be reduced. This, in turn, will decrease the amount of agricultural pollution and allow the land to regenerate more quickly. Although production may decrease in the short term, sustainable agriculture techniques will help prevent land degradation, allowing for longer use of the land.
  
  
• Support education and training initiatives. Some people advocate shipping food from countries with a surplus to those with a shortage. While this approach is appropriate in famine-relief situations, it will not provide a long-term solution. It is often said that it is much better to enable a person to fish for himself, rather than merely giving him a fish. There is a need for intensive education and training on issues relating to food security. This education and training should focus on areas such as basic food production, new technologies and how agricultural markets work. Education and training in food production methods should enable people to select and implement technologies and practices which fit their particular environment and culture. Your community organization could help promote these initiatives by visiting with educational institutes and asking what help they may need.
  
  
• Work with small-scale farmers. Your organization could work with those farmers who have chosen to establish cooperatives with other farmers in their area. This type of cooperation between farmers can enable them to purchase machinery and tools, seeds and others necessary items at lower prices and also to market their products both locally and abroad at higher prices. A community organization could help in this endeavour by providing economic counseling, financial assistance or even the labour to build the cooperative.
  
  
• Promote sustainable consumer practices. We all need to be aware of how our choice of food products affects the health of the environment. As well, what we put into our mouths that is bad for the planet is often not the best thing for our bodies. By being more environmentally conscious, we become more health conscious as well. Community organizations could develop awareness campaigns on food nutrition, in cooperation with consumer associations, schools and ministries of health. An advertising campaign could also show the effects of excessive consumption patterns on people, particularly children, pregnant or nursing mothers and the elderly.
  
  
• Work with your government to promote sustainable agriculture. By working with your local and national governments, your organization could influence regulatory standards to change consumer behaviour. These standards could discourage the use of environmentally unsafe products, provide more details on food ingredients and their production source, and set consistent standards for environment-friendly agricultural products to promote consumer confidence in using them. The introduction of such standards will make consumers more aware of their consumption habits and ensure they receive the same types of information from all producers. Well-organized communities also could change governmental consumption practices by convincing the government to award contracts to "green" suppliers.
  
  
• Work with other organizations. Community organizations, such as youth groups, senior citizen groups and religious groups can not only work together but can approach organizations and institutions that are already involved in sustainable food production and offer their help. The larger the numbers of people who choose to work together toward a common goal, the better their chances of accomplishing it.
  
  
• Conduct market research. Many groups have actually managed to change the priorities of food producing companies so that they focus on sustainable food production methods and products. Study a specific company (such as the company you might be working for) and examine its production methods or area of business. Then, research the market to see if there are more sustainable alternatives to its products or production methods and investigate what demand there might be for such products. Finally, present this research to the management of the company and suggest that the company either produce the new product alongside of, or instead of, its current product.
  
  
• Write now, right now. If a company does not appear to be producing food items in a way that is consistent with accepted sustainable practices, you could write, or have your organization write, a letter declaring that all your members will henceforth boycott the products of that company. A letter from a group is much more effective if handwritten letters from each group member are sent. Even a single letter has been effective in getting companies to change policies because many companies believe that one person who takes the time to write a letter might represent thousands who do not write.
  
  
• Produce a cookbook. Your organization could promote or write your own cookbook which emphasizes eating healthier and using fewer processed foods. The cookbook should present delicious recipes using easily available ingredients. You should also mark the recipes which are quick and easy to prepare. You could gather different recipes for the cookbook from within your own country or community and give credit to each person who donates a recipe. This type of project is also often effective in raising money for projects. Some groups have developed international cookbooks with recipes from around the world.
  
  
• Launch an advertising campaign. Your organization could create an advertisement campaign to combat excess food consumption, poor dietary habits, and consumption of certain goods. The advertisements should be hard-hitting to challenge some of the beliefs of people and be dramatic enough to change their consumption habits. Some could demonstrate the negative effects of certain food consumption patterns.
  
  
• Get involved with youth groups. Extremely effective campaigns to promote sustainable agriculture and consumption patterns could be conducted at the community level by having local citizens and especially school children develop posters. Prizes can be offered (perhaps donated by community organizations) and posters displayed in public places. Students also could write and present plays and skits about consumption and nutrition practices. These productions can be presented locally and can even be taped and shared with other communities. The production of professional quality print, audio and video material could be done with the assistance of people learning about the media industry, such as students who are learning from your local college or university. Students are often eager to participate in activities that benefit the community. International organizations such as the Environmental Liaison Centre International (ELCI) or Greenpeace could also be approached to assist in supplying background material and advice for the campaign.
  
  
  

Feed the Soil, Not the Crop
A Success Story

After discovering that intensive systems involving large amounts of chemical fertilizer, pesticides, hybrid seeds and mechanized irrigation systems are not only too costly for developing countries, but are contributing to soil degradation and loss of plant diversity, the Kenya Institute of Organic Farming (KIOF) was established in 1986 to encourage more sustainable methods of agriculture, mainly among smallholder farmers.

KIOF staff visit farmers' groups in the field, demonstrating methods and following up with later visits. Exchange visits between groups are arranged. Successful farmers from the groups were initially enrolled as paid promoters to encourage training in their areas and recruit new members. After progress has been assured, the promoter may be moved to another area. To date there are about 100 groups comprising some 3000 farmers.

KIOF has concentrated so far on the central and eastern provinces of Kenya, but by collaborating with other sustainable farming institutions and groups sponsored by churches, a wider audience has been reached and student exchanges have taken place. Workshops have been held, both for local participants and groups from other African countries. There have been exchanges with Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

KIOF's slogan is "Feed the soil, not the crop." Chemical farming, say KIOF directors, creates a vicious cycle: more fertilizer, more pests, more biocide, more cost, poor soil, lower yield. When grown organically, plants are less susceptible to pests and diseases because they are naturally healthy. Cell walls are thicker and cell sap is correctly balanced. The result is a healthier, stronger crop, and healthier, stronger people.

Contact:

Invisible Gardening
A Success Story

Growing up on the Caribbean islands of Puerto Rico and Cuba, Andy Lopez was always conscious of the balance of sustainability. Islands are small ecosystems unto themselves, and must be respected as such. On a larger scale, says Lopez, the Earth is but an island in the vast ocean of space and, as such, its ecosystem must be likewise respected.

After moving to the United States, Lopez founded the organization, The Invisible Gardeners of America, so called because he believes a good farmer need only allow the invisible hand of nature to do its thing. Lopez believes the more humans get involved in the natural process through chemicals and other "unnatural" methods, the worse off the crops-and our health-will be. He now promotes this message worldwide through the use of television, radio and a long list of "organically correct" publications. His book, Natural Pest Control, has helped thousands of people worldwide to find alternatives to chemicals for their homes and gardens.

For Lopez, one of the most important aspects of invisible gardening involves using compost. A good pile of compost has five primary ingredients: organic materials (leaves, vegetable and fruit scraps, coffee grounds, and egg shells.), nitrogen-rich materials (grass trimmings and fresh plant clippings), bacteria, moisture and oxygen. A variety of materials will result in compost with a higher nutrient content. Meat, bones, grease, fat and oils should not be included. The simplest way to make a small household-size compost is to make a pile of green wastes, balancing the amounts of green (fresh) and brown (dead) materials. It is important to add kitchen scraps regularly. Chopping or cutting everything into small pieces helps to speed decomposition. It is important to allow plenty of oxygen to circulate through your compost by regularly turning your pile over.

When your compost pile is fully decomposed, mix it in with the soil on your farm or in your garden. For added effectiveness, sprinkle some around the base of your plants when they start to grow.

Contact:

References

GAIA, An Atlas of Planet Management, Myers, Dr. Norman, London, Gaia Books Limited, 1984 - Our Common Future, The World Commission on Environment and Development, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987 - A Manual for the Household Hazardous Waste Audit; Center for the Environment, August 1987 - Making the Switch, Alternatives to Using Toxic Chemicals in the Home, Golden Empire Health Planning Center, February 1987 - Promoting Sustainable Agriculture, The Challenge of the Environment, UNDP Annual Review, 1991 - World Resources, 1994-95: A Guide to the Global Environment, a report by the World Resources Institute with UNEP and UNDP, Oxford University Press, 1994.

All photos, text and illustrations Copyright ©1996 The United Nations Environment Programme.