The progress of high-input oil-based agriculture Agricultural output of industrialised countries doubled Agricultural output of industrialised countries doubled Global use of nitrogen fertiliser tripled between WW2 and 1960 Global use of nitrogen fertiliser tripled between WW2 and 1960 … tripled between 1960 and 1970 … tripled between 1960 and 1970 … doubled again by 1980 … doubled again by 1980 BUT POPULATION GROWTH KEPT PACE BUT POPULATION GROWTH KEPT PACE

Modern efficiency? On traditional farms 10 kcalories of food energy for every 1 kcalorie expended on the cultivation On traditional farms 10 kcalories of food energy for every 1 kcalorie expended on the cultivation On the modern farm for every 10 kcalories put in we get 1 kcalorie in food On the modern farm for every 10 kcalories put in we get 1 kcalorie in food

Agriculture becomes an industry

 Worldwide, 95 per cent of all food production depends  on oil!  Maybe a third of this goes to make artificial fertilisers.  Another third fuels tractors and combines.  The remaining third is irrigation, pesticides and so on.

73 million people in 78 countries now depend on the United Nations World Food Programme

2008: food riots in Egypt, Haiti, El Salvador A glimpse of what lies ahead

A great bargain? Greater productivity Greater productivity It resolved the nutrient bottleneck easily and cheaply It resolved the nutrient bottleneck easily and cheaply It did away with drudgery of working on the land It did away with drudgery of working on the land BUT … at what cost? BUT … at what cost?

THE PRICE WE PAY

The price of industrial agriculture The cost in terms of global warming from all the oil consumed (agriculture consumes 30% of oil use). The cost in terms of global warming from all the oil consumed (agriculture consumes 30% of oil use). … and all that methane from ruminant stomachs … and all that methane from ruminant stomachs Abandonment of rotation-based fertility Abandonment of rotation-based fertility Pollution and depletion of water resources Pollution and depletion of water resources

Deeper costs Loss of vocational dignity and idealism Loss of vocational dignity and idealism Downgrading of farming as a way of life Downgrading of farming as a way of life Losing sight of the dignity and fulfillment of meaningful labour Losing sight of the dignity and fulfillment of meaningful labour Loss of the skills and insights central to a fully intelligent and sustainable agriculture Loss of the skills and insights central to a fully intelligent and sustainable agriculture Loss of contact with the natural world Loss of contact with the natural world

Look at the real price Hundreds of millions forced off the land Hundreds of millions forced off the land … to add to the billions in urban slums … to add to the billions in urban slums

Beijing

We need a new agricultural revolution, an agrarian economy that is based on local adaptation of economic activity to the capacity of the land to support such farming

Farming with brains rather than by habit or convenience …

IT CAN BE DONE Crop rotations Composting and manure (soil organic matter critical) Greater national and local self-reliance in food production A more balanced diet with less meat

Floodplain farming in South China Retaining soil organic matter is the key to sustainable farming

The modern organic movement ‘The slow poisoning of the life of the soil by artificial manures is one of the greatest calamities that has befallen agriculture and mankind.’ Sir Albert Howard

Organic farming takes up where Howard left off Enhancing and building soil fertility by growing diversified crops Enhancing and building soil fertility by growing diversified crops Crop rotation Crop rotation Adding animal manure and green compost Adding animal manure and green compost Using natural pest control Using natural pest control

Simple steps such as … Straw mulching can triple the mass of the soil biota Application of manure can increase the abundance of earthworms and soil micro- organisms five-fold

Rice paddies in Bali, Indonesia

Rice terraces in the Philippines

Local ingenuity: diagonal storm channels in Java, Indonesia

Conservation tillage Edward Faulkner: no-till farming Disk harrow replacing the mouldboard plough

Community-supported agriculture (CSA)

Urban farming is part of the answer 800 million people 1 in 10 families in some US cities Two-thirds in Moscow One-sixth of mid-19th century Paris farmed … making it self- sufficient in greens, fruit and vegetables

Urban farming is part of the answer

In 50 years time we will need every hectare of agricultural land we have

The challenge facing the agriculture of the future To merge traditional knowledge and experience with the modern understanding of ecology in order to sustain agriculture in a way that can feed the population of the 21st century … and all the centuries after.

More people are needed on the land, practicing intensive organic farming on smaller farms, using the best of science and appropriate technology, but not high capitalisation The future of humanity may depend on it …

If countries such as Angola and Ethiopia – even – had new Agrarian economies geared to their own variety of enlightened agriculture … They could be self-sufficient in food several times over

There are so many areas where real progress can be made. ‘Agriculture in poorer regions can be improved through investment in rural infrastructures, a better organization of local or national in rural infrastructures, a better organization of local or national markets, systems of irrigation, and the development of techniques of sustainable agriculture. New forms of cooperation and community organization can be encouraged in order to defend the interests of small producers and preserve local ecosystems from destruction. Truly, much can be done! Laudato si, 180

To read: Farming in Ireland: the last chapter (The Future of Farming)