Regeneration von Böden und Ökosystemen: Ein Weg zur Begrenzung des Klimawandels. Grundlagen für die erforderliche Klima- und Agrarpolitik.

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[ Deutsch | English | Español | Italiano ]

Autor: Íñigo Álvarez de Toledo, MSc

Zusammenfassung

Wir befinden uns am wahrscheinlich wichtigsten Wendepunkt der Geschichte der Menschheit. Wir verändern das Klima der Erde als Folge beschleunigter, durch den Menschen verursachter Treibhausgas (THG)-Emissionen und des Verlustes der biologischen Vielfalt. Diese rufen wiederum weitere Effekte hervor, die die Komplexität des Problems erhöhen und die Geschwindigkeit vervielfachen, mit der wir auf das Klimachaos zusteuern.2

Durch einen wissenschaftlichen Ansatz erklären und begründen wir die Notwendigkeit, der Regeneration von Böden und Ökosystemen absolute Priorität zu geben. Obwohl das Konzept der Nachhaltigkeit positive Veränderungen angestoßen hat, hat es auf zwei Ebenen versagt: zum einen konnte es zu leicht manipuliert werden, weil es zu unscharf gefasst ist. Zum anderen zeigen die Indikatoren seit dem Erdgipfel (Rio de Janeiro, 1992) eine deutliche Verschlechterung auf. Die globalen Emissionen nehmen zu und die Bodenerosion schlägt jedes Jahr neue Negativrekorde.

Die Regeneration der Öko- und Agrarsysteme bringt zwangsläufig eine Veränderung zum Besseren mit sich und führt zu einer positiven Einstellung und zur Freude daran, Nutzen für alle Lebewesen zu stiften – für uns Menschen und alle anderen gleichermaßen. Für alle, denn es ist der Weg, nicht nur die Emissionen in die Atmosphäre zu reduzieren, sondern um zu ermöglichen, dass natürliche, landwirtschaftliche und für die Viehzucht genützte Böden als Kohlenstoffsenken wirken können, und dadurch die Bedrohung eines allzu plötzlichen Eintretens des Klimawandels zu reduzieren.

Die Regeneration verbessert die Qualität von Produkten und steigert dadurch ihren Wert auf dem Markt. Sie verbessert ihre wertbestimmenden Eigenschaften nicht nur durch ihre Erhaltung sondern auch die richtige Gestaltung der Produktionsprozesse, sowohl lang- als auch kurzfristig. Auf diese Weise trägt sie zur Bewältigung zunehmender Probleme bezüglich der Generationengerechtigkeit bei. Durch die Erhöhung der Resilienz der Agrarsysteme trägt sie zudem wesentlich zur Anpassung an den Klimawandel bei.

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A Boon for Soil, and for the Environment

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Author: Beth Gardiner

When Gabe Brown and his wife bought their farm near Bismarck, North Dakota, from her parents in 1991, testing found the soil badly depleted, its carbon down to just a quarter of levels once considered natural in the area.

Today the Brown farm and ranch is home to a diverse and thriving mix of plants and animals. And carbon, the building block of the rich humus that gives soil its density and nutrients, has more than tripled. That is a boon not just for the farm’s productivity and its bottom line, but also for the global climate.

Agriculture is often cast as an environmental villain, its pesticides tainting water, its hunger for land driving deforestation. Worldwide, it is responsible for nearly a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions.

Now, though, a growing number of experts, environmentalists and farmers themselves see their fields as a powerful weapon in the fight to slow climate change, their very soil a potentially vast repository for the carbon that is warming the atmosphere. Critically for an industry that must produce an ever-larger bounty to feed a growing global population, restoring lost carbon to the soil also increases its ability to support crops and withstand drought.

“Everyone talks about sustainable,” Mr. Brown said. “Why do we want to sustain a degraded resource? We need to be regenerative, we need to take that carbon out of the atmosphere and put it back into the cycle, where it belongs.”

Since people began farming, the world’s cultivated soils have lost 50 percent to 70 percent of their natural carbon, said Rattan Lal, a professor of soil science at the Ohio State University. That number is even higher in parts of south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, he added.

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L’agriculture régénératrice: Une solution clé pour répondre à la désertification

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[ English | Français ]

Par Oliver Gardiner

Il est estimé qu’à partir de 2050, entre 60 et 130 millions de personnes seront affectées par la sécheresse et l’aridité, tout simplement parce que ces zones deviendront inhabitables.

Régénération Internationale a parler avec Patrice Burger, Directeur de l’association CARI, selon l’importance de réhabiliter et de maintenir en état les sols dans les zones arides en utilisant les pratiques agroécologiques et régénératrices, afin résoudre les crises liées au flux migratoires.

Le CARI est une organisation à but non lucrative dédiée aux pratiques agroécologiques et au développement des zones arides. Le CARI dirige la Groupe de Travail Désertification et coordonne également des réseaux d’Organisation de la Société Civile (OSC), comme le Réseau Associatif de Développement Durable des Oasis (RADDO).

Selon la Convention des Nations Unies sur la Lutte Contre la Désertification 110 pays seraient affectées par la désertification et chaque année 12 millions d’hectares de terres cultivables disparaissent mondialement. Les activités qu’entretiennent les organisations tel que le CARI sont devenus déterminant à la préventions contre le déplacements forcé des peuples et des conflits du a l’appauvrissement des ressources naturelles.

Le 1er décembre 2015 Le CARI est devenu un des membres signataires de l’initiative 4Pour1000 lancé par le Ministère de l’Agriculture, qui vise à démontrer que l’agriculture, et en particulier les terres agricoles peuvent joués un rôle majeur pour le climat et la sécurité alimentaire.

Plus d’informations sur Patrice Burger: Patrice Burger à plus de vingt ans d’expérience sur le développement rural au Maghreb et en Afrique sub-Saharienne. Depuis 1996 Il participe à la mise en oeuvre de la Convention des Nations Unies sur la Lutte Contre Désertification. Il a été désigné comme porte parole pour la société civile au plus au niveau sur la désertification à l’Assemblé Générale des Nations Unis en 2011. Il est membre du conseil d’administration de l’Organisation Intergouvernementale de l’Observatoire du Sahara et du Sahel (OSS). Depuis 2007, Patrice Burger représente le CARI au sein du réseau international Drynet, une organisation de société civile au sein de la Convention de Lutte Contre la Désertification qui a pu lui attribuer la reconnaissance de plusieurs succès en termes d’actions sur le terrain. En Septembre 2013 Patrice Burger à été élu porte parole du réseau Drynet.

Regenerative Agriculture: The Key to Solving Desertification and Migration Crises

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[ English | Français ]

Author: Oliver Gardiner

foum_zguidSowing Seeds of Knowledge on Dry Land

A catalyst to share knowledge on soil climate resiliency between North African Nations and to bring global awareness and advocacy on the dangers proliferated by climate change and desertification in arid environments.

The “CARI Association” (Centre d’Action et de Realisation Internationales) is an NGO based near Montpellier, France, that supports small scale farmers through its local partners based in North African and Sub-Saharan countries.

Founded in 1998 by its current Director Patrice Burger, CARI was one of the first European NGOs to work closely with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

Based on an informal European networking initiative on desertification (eniD), CARI and partners from 15 countries responded to a call from the European Union in 2007 and launched “Drynet” a major global initiative to tackle desertification. The initiative now operates on every continent from Asia to Latin America.

Desertification occurs in arid, semi arid and sub humid environments where lands are degraded by human activity and climate change.According to the UNCCD, 110 countries are hit by desertification and each year 12 million hectares of farmland disappear worldwide, causing the equivalent loss of 20 million tons of cereals.

Actions to fight desertification and preserve ecosystems in arid environments

The CARI Association is based in the Languedoc Region of Southern France, where young land practitioners who understand the triple bottom line effects of soil regeneration flourish and proliferate within the region’s prosperous countryside.

It is here, by word of mouth alone, that CARI recruits its field educators to support local farming communities in the dry regions of North West Africa to adopt regenerative farming practices in the face of arid conditions and degrading lands.

CARI operates on the ground with a dual approach:

  1. Sharing practical knowledge and scientific advice on water cycling management, cover crop increase, advanced composting techniques, biomass and livestock management.
  1. Assisting local representatives showcase the solutions they have put into practice to develop impoverished and desertified areas by bringing organic farming and the conservation of natural ecosystems to the heart of national public debates and international body conventions such as the UNCCD.

10688225_861119650578357_7011754511966487890_oPilot farm in Jorf, Morocco

Since 2013 CARI has helped to expand and develop a family oasis farm in Morocco that is now increasingly climate resilient and serves as a demonstration base for farmers from across Morocco who want to optimize their land and farming skills.

The Jorf Farm has forged a solid reputation both nationally and internationally and has so far helped over 400 Moroccan farmers deepen their knowledge and practice of regenerative agriculture.

An Oasis Farm is where privately owned oasis land generates economic activities. Oases are ecosystems that have been established and maintained by land stewards over millennia through the rigorous management of natural resources, within environments that are exposed to extremely arid conditions.

schema_oasis (1)The oases of the Maghreb desert regions (Northern Sahara) are subject to a phenomena called the “Oasis Effect”. It is a three layered growing system characterised by towering date palms that provide enough shade to establish microclimates for smaller trees and crops to survive. These systems produce a surprisingly large variety of fruits, vegetables, cereals and medicinal and aromatic plants, while also leaving space for fodder plants which can feed livestock (goats, sheep, camels) that in turn fertilize the soil with their manure.

Today, oases are challenged by climate change which could lead to their desertification. The maintenance of the services provided by oases (desert resiliency, refuge for biodiversity, climate regulation, and food security) and the development of climate adaptation practices are of huge importance.

Errachidia_MarocOases conservation and agro-ecological developments

CARI coordinates a broader initiative called RADDO, a network of organizations for the sustainable development of Oases, that carries out a variety of conservation operations and agro-ecological training programs through the network of oases in Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger and Chad.

This important program contributes to seed biodiversity by helping oasis farmers select and reproduce local varieties and establish seed exchange banks.

Agro-ecological training center in Beni-Isgen, Algeria

For the past three years, through a joint initiative, RADDO and APEB (The Association for Environmental Protection of Beni-Isgen) have been expanding the Akraz agro-ecology training center in Beni-Isgen, Algeria.

The center provides a residency, classrooms, research facilities and an experimental farm for agro-ecological practices. This is where three levels of apprenticeship in agro-ecology are taught; trainer certification programs, improvement courses for farmers and career studies for young students.

Teachers at the Akraz center are certified agronomists with extensive experience in agriculture and farming and receive additional training to ensure they are fully competent to transfer on knowledge of the principles of agro-ecology.

The center also organizes networking initiatives for farmers to exchange knowledge and their vision of what is needed to develop public community engagement in overcoming issues such as soil degradation, water shortages and the loss of biodiversity.

Projects like Akraz represent a new paradigm of development for the future of oases and their populations, with continuous professional training programs and actions to sensitize environmental oases resiliency.

CARI Director, Patrice Burger explains that their efforts on the ground may be successful but that they need to scale up in order to protect more people that are extremely vulnerable to climate change and to desertification.

This is one of the reasons why the CARI Association works tirelessly to advocate the challenges of dry-land and arid environments.

In June 2015 CARI initiated “Deserti’factions” an International Civil Society Forum dedicated to land degradation and combating desertification. The event brought together 300 stakeholders from over 56 countries.

The forum was followed by one day event in the French City Center of Montpellier to raise public awareness and prepare inputs for the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change in Paris.

On December 1st 2015, CARI became a member of the 4p1000 Initiative, an international agreement launched by the French government and signed by 26 countries to demonstrate that agricultural soils can play a crucial role in food security and climate mitigation through atmospheric carbon drawdown.

Climate change is affecting millions of people in arid zones. With the current migration crises faced in Europe, it has become crucial for organizations such as CARI to increase and expand their activities in order to help prevent future population displacements and conflicts over food and water scarcity. To support and learn more about CARI please visit www.CariAssociation.org

***

Oliver Gardiner is a freelance journalist based in London, UK. Oliver provides media content for NGOs and has long served as a freelance radio reporter on shows like “The Current” on CBC Radio One, having worked several years as legal interpreter with the UK Immigration Authorities, Oliver has an in-depth understanding of the links between desertification and mass migration. His coverage on topics such as 4p1000 during COP21 and his personal commitment in developing media strategies to showcase regenerative agriculture as key to reversing climate change has led him to develop further stories with Regeneration International.

Soil is the Solution

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It’s easy to take soil for granted. That is, until you lose it. The dirt beneath your feet is arguably one of the most under-appreciated assets on the planet. Without it, life would largely cease to exist while, when at its prime, this “black gold” gives life.

In nature, plants thrive because of a symbiotic relationship with their surrounding environment, including mircroorganisms in the soil.

The rhizosphere is the area immediately around a plant’s root. It contains microorganisms that thrive on chemicals released from the plant’s roots. These chemicals, known as exudates, include carbohydrates, phytochemicals and other compounds.

In exchange for the exudates, the root microbiome supplies the plant with important metabolites for health, which, along with exposure to pests and pathogens, helps plants produce phytochemicals.

A well-fed root microbiome will also supply plants with ample nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) — the three ingredients that also make up most synthetic fertilizer (NPK).

Unfortunately, while nature’s system results in handsome rewards, including more nutritious foods and less environmental pollution, modern-day farmers have largely become stuck in a cycle of dousing crops with synthetic chemicals tthankshat destroys the soil and, ultimately, the environment.

Why Synthetic Fertilizers Are Ruining the Planet

Synthetic fertilizers make sense in theory, and they do make plants grow bigger and faster. The problem is that the plants are not necessarily healthier. In fact, they miss out on the symbiotic relationship with their root microbiome.

Because they’re being supplied with NPK, the plant no longer “wastes” energy producing exudates to feed its microbiome.

Therefore, it receives fewer metabolites for health in return. The end result is plants that look good on the outside but lack minerals, phytochemicals and defenses against pests and disease on the inside.

Further, as reported by Rick Haney, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) soil scientist, less than 50 percent of synthetic fertilizers applied to crops are used by the plants. Haney told Orion Magazine:1

“Farmers are risk averse … They’ve borrowed a half million dollars for a crop that could die tomorrow. The last thing they want to worry about is whether they put on enough fertilizer. They always put on too much, just to be safe.”

The excess fertlizer runs off into the environment, with disastrous effects. As fertilizer runs off of farms in agricultural states like Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri and others, it enters the Mississippi River, leading to an overabundance of nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorus, in the water.

This, in turn, leads to the development of algal blooms, which alter the food chain and deplete oxygen, leading to dead zones. One of the largest dead zones worldwide can be found in the Gulf of Mexico, beginning at the Mississippi River delta.2 Fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico have been destroyed as a result.

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Transforming the Human Narrative: The Rise of Regenerative Development & Design

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The novelist Terry Pratchett once wrote, “people think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it’s the other way around.” However it seems these types of dichotomies are often both/and more than they are either/or. It is true that we are shaped by the stories that we inherit, but we are also co-creating these stories through the actions that we consciously — or unconsciously — take. It might be closer to the truth to see as us and our stories as co-emerging and co-evolving.

All stories worth telling are essentially about the transformation of relationship. Whether it is the relationship between a person and themselves, between two people, between a people and a place, or all of the above. In a good story, characters grow and evolve in the context of events that help them to deepen their own understanding of their purpose within the systems in which they exist. These systems are stories in themselves — one level nested within another in either direction, to a degree that we don’t fully comprehend.

The story of Humanity is an incredibly fascinating one. In a sense it is so complex that it could never be fully told. Yet we can identify the general patterns of this story to better understand why things have turned out the way they have. How have our fundamental relationships — with ourselves, amongst ourselves, with the places we inhabit — evolved over the course of its unfolding?

We might see it all as an emergence of purpose, whereby we can ask ourselves: what is the rightful role of humanity on Earth? We have inherited a narrative in which humans are the owners and dominators of the planet, which evolved into the “responsible owner” of the well-intentioned sustainability movement. In this we cling to the idea that it is our destiny to gain complete control of our place — yet in the back of our minds we somehow know that we cannot, and our stories are tragedies ending in doom and death. As far as we are shaped by our stories we are spearheading the fulfillment of those grim destinies painted there.

On the other hand, many are waking up to the nature of the human storyteller: one that does more than imitate and repeat those inherited narratives but points them forward to help guide us in the shaping of our own future. We learn from them what does and does not work. For the human being, they are what drives adaptation; they are very much alive.

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Cowspiracy: Revelation or Cheap Trick?

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Are environmentalists afraid of stepping in cow dung? The documentary film Cowspiracy contends that large environmental groups are turning a blind eye to the harmful effects cattle have on ecosystems and human health. Environmentalists bristle at the charge and point to work promoting vegan and vegetarian diets and campaigns against factory farms and other excesses of the animal agriculture industry. The film, which was backed by Leonardo DiCaprio, presents “a sensationalist conspiracy where none exists,” according to Greenpeace executive Robin Oakley.

However, a growing number of environmentalists are praising cows and claim they can be climate healers rather than the villains they are often made out to be. They contend that a cow’s methane-rich burps can be offset if cattle grazing patterns are carefully managed. The result, they say, can be pretty landscapes and healthy soil that stores both carbon and water. Is that just spin from cattle ranchers? Does Cowspiracy use green groups as a foil to make a sensational film to generate buzz? A conversation about the future of an American icon in the age of climate disruption.

This podcast features:

Kip Andersen, Founder, AUM Films and Media
Nicolette Hahn Niman, Author, Defending Beef
Jonathan Kaplan, Director, Food and Agriculture Program, Natural Resources Defense Council

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 12, 2016

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Why Michael Pollan Swears by Cooking From Scratch

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Author: Randy Hayes

In Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation, Michael Pollan describes his personal journey of stepping away from processed and packaged foods toward cooking from scratch, and highlights the grievous consequences of industrial modernity in the daily arena of eating and drinking. Specialization, Pollan argues, “breeds helplessness, dependence, and ignorance and, eventually… undermines any sense of responsibility.” Cooked persuasively illuminates how the industrial mindset fosters the domination of nature and distorts public governance, and offers, instead, justification and guidance for a healthier way of eating and a richer life.

But is this a significant book for those dedicated to getting humanity in sync with nature’s ways? Speaking of the allure and benefit of cooking, Pollan explains, “Perhaps what most commends cooking to me is that it offers a powerful corrective to this way of being in the world—a corrective that is still available to all of us.” Is cooking then a vital ingredient for a socially just and ecologically sound society?

Pollan, a journalism professor at the University of California, Berkeley, has been a prolific and effective messenger for food and sustainable agriculture issues, with such popular books as The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food. People with such a wide platform have a vital role to play in broadening a movement beyond the choir. In this sense, Pollan has been an eloquent ally in the great transition to a better world.

Calls for meaningful action for social change too often become reduced to requesting yet another donation or letter to unresponsive politicians. Herein lies a role for cooking, “a magic that remains accessible to all of us, at home.” Cooking your own food builds self-reliance and community. It is an available tool for personal transformation and, by promoting an affiliation with nature, progressive environmental change. Ever stumble when trying to tell friends or colleagues what they can do to help save the day? By combining more local food and more time in the kitchen, one can wrest a modicum of societal control away from corporate executives to regular folks. This is at least part of the solution to confronting the contemporary social and ecological crisis.

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Strange ‘Farmfellows?’ Pigs and Chickens Regenerate the Land in Bela Bela, South Africa

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When I arrived at the farm, six mother pigs were sleeping under a tree. Surrounding them were about 50 piglets calmly intermingling with dozens of chickens.

I came here, to Bela Bela, north of Pretoria, South Africa, to learn more about a project I’d heard so much about. Run by a diverse team of individuals, this grass-fed pig and poultry project is attracting widespread attention from neighbors, cooperatives, government officials and many who are interested both in restorative grazing methods, and how to run an economically successful farm.

What I learned from my visit with the operators of this innovative project was this: Pigs and chickens make great companions. And when fed a natural diet, and properly managed, they regenerate degraded lands, require minimal medical intervention and use of antibiotics, provide a good income even in during times of drought, and create opportunities for synergy with other local businesses.

From cattle to pigs and chickens

The Bela Bela pilot project is a “necessity is the mother of invention” story. The team here used to raise cattle on the 40-hectare (ha) (about 100 acres) farm. But then circumstances forced them to give up on cattle. The land simply could not sustain an economically viable number of cattle because of its size and because of the degraded state of the land and vegetation. It was impossible to rear cattle herds without massive external inputs of purchased feeds

So the owners decided to purchase a herd of nine pigs.

A short 16 months later, the herd has grown to 500—about 200 adult pigs and 300 followers—who forage side by side with chickens, which have proven to be good companions.

Managing the pigs is as simple as keeping them in three herds. The farm team moves the herds daily, using “tractors.” Moving the herd takes about 30 minutes per herd, and the pigs are counted through a race, which is a portable metal structure which funnels the pigs through a narrow (roughly 2 meters long) section for easy counting, inspection and sorting and moving.

Sows that are ready to farrow are isolated and kept behind the main herd, until their piglets are weaned. Weaned piglets move to the “nursery school” herd—which is where I found 200 piglets happily eating aloes the day I visited. The aloes, a favorite food for the piglets, also serve as a natural de-wormer.

Creative watering points provide wallows for the pigs who enjoy a mud bath just as warthogs and wild pigs would in the wild habitat. The mud provides the best natural dip, eliminating the need for dipping, which is the term used to describe the application of chemicals used to kill external parasites, mainly ticks, on livestock. Dipping has become routine on most farms and is a glaring example of symptomatic treatment using linear thought processes, instead of addressing the root causes of challenges faced by farmers. Routine dipping leads to livestock becoming dependent on the chemicals applied at very strict timings. 

Good for the environment and the animals

Previously, the land at the Bela Bela farm had been exposed to high doses of herbicides which had created large swaths of bare, exposed soil. But the introduction of pigs and chickens is gradually restoring the land’s biodiversity.

Some parts of the farm may take time to fully recover from the impact of previously used degenerative farming practices. But so far the team here is finding that proper management of the pigs and chickens can help repopulate the land with new species of grass, earthworms and insect activity. As it turns out, the hoof action of pigs, and the soil-scratching activity of chickens hunting for insects, break the soil’s hard surface. This improves the soil’s permeability, which in turn encourages the regrowth of natural vegetation.

Combining pigs and chickens is also proving to keep disease to a minimum. Farm Manager Anderson Mutasa says that it is critical to spend a great deal of time with the animals, observing both the environment and the animals, in order to be able to read the signs indicating that either is unwell. Mortalities are low and at a level to be expected as pigs adapt to a new environment. The ethos on this farm is that treating with antibiotics only masks the symptoms of the diseases and does not breed a herd that is well adapted to their environment. Consequently, there is no specific breed of pigs found in this herd, only those that are adapted to this environment. In this case, it is the darker skinned pigs that are proving to be the best adapted.

Profitable for farmers and the local economy

Pigs are not only fast land regenerators, but they also provide a quick return on investment. Because none of the team members had any prior experience raising pig, there were some initial costs associated with the learning curve. But what the team has since learned is that raising pigs and chickens together, in harmony with the environment, presents an excellent opportunity to make good profits at almost no cost at all. Unlike big livestock, such as cattle, pigs have lower investment costs. The animals breed 2.5-3 times a year with an average of 6-7 piglets per pig.

The team here describes their work as “low cost but high skill farming” because the managers must invest time in observing and understanding the environment and animals they are working with, in order to help the animals adapt to the their environment. But they do not spend money on expensive inputs, such as fertilizers and pesticides.

While the farm prospers, so do other local businesses. Waste from local dairies and hatcheries is recycled as feed for the pigs. For instance, waste from the production of yoghurt and cheese provides food that is rich in probiotics, which helps maintain the pigs’ gut health. And unfertilized eggs from a nearby hatchery, along with discarded vegetables not suitable for sale at the local market market provide excellent protein and other nutrients for the pigs.

The project at Bela Bela provides another benefit to the local community: education. As word spread about the project’s success raising pigs and chickens without commercial feed, the farm soon evolved into a teaching farm. Fortunately for farmers wanting to venture into free-range pig and chicken farming, the team at Bela Bela is happy to share experiences and knowledge. They have already been approached for training by a cooperative of about 350 households in the area, and they helped set up the pig and poultry project at the Africa Centre for Holistic Management (ACHM).

This project is showing huge potential for sustainable and scalable farming. It is accessible to entry-level farmers, and is particularly well suited for community projects because of quick returns at low cost. Unlike big livestock like cattle, pigs have lower investment costs. The animals breed 2.5-3 times a year with an average of 6-7 piglets per pig.

Many new collaborations are on the horizon and we wish them well and look forward to hearing more about their sure success in the future.

Precious Phiri is the Zimbabwe-based Africa coordinator and steering committee member of Regeneration International, a project of the Organic Consumers Association.

Soil Matters

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Russ Lester’s property looks, at first glance, like that of many of his neighbors. He grows about 900 acres of walnut trees a few miles east of Winters. But at Dixon Ridge Farms, Lester never tills his land, and he keeps cover crops growing most of the time. He also laces the earth around his trees with biochar, charcoal-like leftovers from biomass energy production. Added to the soil, this gritty burnt material  —  made largely of carbon  — stays there for a long time.

These simple practices have profound implications for the environment and, especially, the climate: Lester’s farm is a carbon sink, absorbing carbon atoms more rapidly than they can escape into the air.

“We’re carbon negative,” Lester says. “Most businesses and farms, and most people, are carbon positive.”

“We aren’t going to get out of our gas-guzzling cars anytime soon or rebuild our cities, and we have major infrastructure issues that won’t be solved anytime soon -— but we have the knowledge and the tools to modify right now the way that we grow food.”

Renata Brillinger, executive director, California Climate & Agriculture Network

Agriculture generates lots of carbon dioxide, the main culprit in climate change. Louise Jackson, a UC Davis soil scientist, explains that tilling the earth allows microbes to better access the soil’s organic matter, which consists of about 50 percent carbon. “And like people, they produce carbon dioxide,” Jackson says.

Due to unsustainable farming practices, staggering volumes of carbon — hundreds of billions of tons — have escaped from the planet’s soils and into the atmosphere since the dawn of agriculture. The pace of emissions has increased since the advent of mechanized farm machinery, and over time, carbon-rich soil that was almost black as coal when human fingers first broke its surface has been transformed into thin, pale dirt.

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