Despite its attractions it hasn’t taken off
policies, favouring the specific needs
reports, watering down the key messa-
as much as you might have hoped.
of small-scale farmers, such as access
ges and delaying the inevitable paradigm
Why not?
to information and skills. National and
change with all the dangers further delay
It has been adopted by 50,000 farmers –
regional research institutions aren’t really
implies.
but it could go further. The first problem
set up to cater for these needs and most
was, and still is, a lack of recognition by
often do not have enough contact with
That’s why I have set up the Biovision
the donor and development community of
these farmers in the first place. On the
Foundation. To give farmers the informa-
the potential of push-pull as a sustainable
international level, the CGIAR Centres
tion they need to be successful, to deal
way of addressing soil fertility and the
have been dominated by western approa-
with the changing environments, biotic,
issue of low productivity. Then there was
ches to agriculture that focus on breeding
abiotic and economic. Our magazine, The
a shortage of Desmodium seeds – which
with the idea of increasing yields. There
Organic Farmer, is now read by about
are very small – we got women’s groups
is an obvious need to reform agricultural
200,000 farmers in Kenya and beyond,
to run nurseries to supply these, which
research at all levels, to bring it in tune
and some three million farmers listen to
did help, but it was still not enough to
with the findings of the IAASTD report
the radio programme that is linked to
‘Agriculture at a Crossroads’, which
it. This is not just about farmers having
argues the need to pay more attention
access to new knowledge, but also
to the whole system and to the soil. This
exchanging their own experiences with
report recommends organic agriculture
their peers. The Biovision Farmer Informa-
and agroecological practices as the way
tion Programme is backed up by InfoNet,
forward that will assure the long term
an information source developed and
productivity of the soil and a multifunc-
maintained by the Biovision Foundation.
tional agriculture. The report argues the urgency of putting this new paradigm in
Talking of markets, there has been much
place without further delay and that ‘busi-
debate about the price of food recently.
ness as usual’ is no longer an option. The
People have been complaining about
report also emphasized the need to bring
increases in food prices – but the reality
on which to base their food and nutrition
farmers, and in particular women, into
is that in the west only 8% of average
security.
the research and extension cycle and at
family incomes go on food: in Switzerland
get the method ‘go viral’. Push-pull is like all sustainable agricultural practices in that it is quite knowledge intensive, and so requires working extension systems. Farmers like push-pull once they have grasped it – but it needs good timing. A shortage of resources made it difficult to carry out a strong Farmer Field School programme, so that was another stumbling block. New funding opportunities have been secured so new dissemination projects are now being planned. But, a major part of the problem is people’s heavy reliance on maize as a staple cropinstead of using a more diversified and climatically better adapted set of crops
an early stage; to hear their priorities and
it might be just 3%. That’s an all time low.
People often talk of the difficulties of sca-
what holds them back. But since its publi-
Cheap food comes with huge environ-
ling up sustainable agriculture.
cation in 2008, governments (even the
mental, social and economic costs. Food
Yes there’s a kind of inertia in the system
ones that have endorsed the report) have
needs to be realistically priced or else
that needs to be overcome by better
continued to procrastinate: writing more
more small, medium scale and family far-
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3-2011 | ECOLOGY & FARMING