Regenerative Agriculture: What’s Missing? What Do We Still Need to Know? PDF
Preview Regenerative Agriculture: What’s Missing? What Do We Still Need to Know?
David Dent Boris Boincean Editors Regenerative Agriculture What's Missing? What Do We Still Need to Know? Regenerative Agriculture · David Dent Boris Boincean Editors Regenerative Agriculture What’s Missing? What Do We Still Need to Know? Editors DavidDent BorisBoincean ChestnutTreeFarm,ForncettEnd SelectiaResearchInstituteofFieldCrops, Norfolk,UK AlecuRussoBa˘l¸tiStateUniversity Ba˘l¸ti,Moldova ISBN978-3-030-72223-4 ISBN978-3-030-72224-1 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72224-1 ©SpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2021 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartof thematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseofillustrations,recitation, broadcasting,reproductiononmicrofilmsorinanyotherphysicalway,andtransmissionorinformation storageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodology nowknownorhereafterdeveloped. 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ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland Foreword: The Future of the Land, The Future of Farming More than 25 years ago, I happened to be one to the editors of a large volume of papers presented at a conference which we gave the same title as the book: The FutureoftheLand.DavidDentwasoneofthecontributors.Thefocuswasonland useplanningbutmanyoftheissuesraisedtherearestillrelevanttoday.Figureson land use are sometimes inaccurate and not detailed enough, environmental effects are difficult to measure over time and cannot be extrapolated easily, policies and governanceareunclear,notwithstandingtheneedtouniteallactorsanddisciplines. TheconferencetookplaceatWageningenUniversityandResearch,thenasnowan internationalcentreforeducationandresearchwithalongtraditioninsoilandcrop science, as well as animal production, forestry, biodiversity and nutrition. When I look at Wageningen now, it strikes me how much we have grown in terms of interdisciplinarityandfundamentalresearch,andinternationalcollaboration. Itakethelibertytoindulgeinthismemoryofanot-too-distantpasttodemonstrate boththecontinuityandthechangeswithrespecttoapastthatisonlyageneration away.Thebookinyourhandsposesmanyofthequestionsthatoccupiedusthen.This isnotbecausesciencehasnotmadeanyprogressinthelastdecades.Onthecontrary, theprogressinourunderstandinghasbeenimmense,especiallywhenitcomestothe toolsatourdisposalsuchasbigdata,modellingandartificialintelligence.However, the similarity of today’s and yesterday’s questions emphasizes how tenacious and complex are the issues around land and its use. Indeed, comparing the two books shows how this new volume testifies to the growing depth of our understanding: interdisciplinarityandthecouplingoffundamentalandpracticalresearcharefound in nearly every contribution. Above all, within the broad geographical spread, the powerfulcontributionoftheEastandSouthofEuropeisabonus. Where do we stand, what is missing, what else do we need to know, the key sections in the book, are universal questions for all fields of science but they take onaspecialmeaninghere.Thisisafieldthatissooftenforgotten.Foodmayhave becomeafashionablepreoccupationofthemiddleclasseseverywhere:veryrarely isthisinterestextendedtothelandandthelandscapeswherethisfoodisgrown.And ifitis,then,aswithfood,misunderstandingsabound.No,organicagricultureisnot alwaysthesolutiontoimprovingsoilqualitybut,then,norisconventionalagriculture. v vi Foreword:TheFutureoftheLand,TheFutureofFarming Large scale agriculture is not always bad, nor is small scale always good. No, not all natural vegetation should be considered untouchable, nor are all species to be protected. Agriculture always means disturbing natural ecosystems and exploiting preciousorganicmatterandnutrients.Thereisnofreelunchanditisimportantto communicatetheeffectsandnuancesofhumaninterventionstothepublicatlarge. Thereismuchtolikeinthisbookand,occasionally,todisagreewith.Butthen, scientific understanding has always progressed through debate and the thorough reviewoffactsandopinions.Idonotconcurwiththoseauthorswhobelieveinterna- tionaltradehascausedfoodshortagesingeneral.Althoughtherearecertainlymany unwantedconsequencesofinternationaltrade,suchasworkers’wagesandfactory safetyandenvironmentalcosts,thereisplentyofevidencethattradehasledtolower food prices, higher food safety standards, and fewer severe supply fluctuations. In fact, the last serious price fluctuations, in 2008–2010 (too early to judge what the fall-out of the COVID-19 crisis will bring) were mostly due to export restrictions andprotectionismbysomeofthebigcerealproducers.Agricultureandfoodforthe world are best carried out in those areas where the conditions are optimal from a naturalandeconomicpointofview.Whatthatmeans,particularlyintermsofsoils andland,isoneofthethemesofthisbook. Onbiodiversityandthenaturalenvironment,too,itisimportanttoexaminethe evidence.Themostdestructiveformofagriculture,intermsoflossoftopsoil,organic matter and vegetation is unfertilised annual cropping in the tropics. This is still a sizeableproportionofthecultivatedarea.Itisundeniablethatbigfarming,especially in the case of feckless use of chemicals, has had devastating effects on water, soil biodiversity,andair.However,itshouldnotbeforgottenthatyieldincreases,i.e.the efficiency of land, water and input use, have freed up enormous areas of land that canbededicatedtotheconservationofnature. Whathaschangedradicallyinrecentdecadesistheemergenceofnewtechnolo- giessuchasdrones,CRISPR-Cas9geneediting,artificialintelligenceandbigdata. Whattheybring,collectively,isagreatercontroloftheenvironmentandtheplantor theanimal.Tobeprecise,theyallowprecisionfarmingandprecisionbreeding,even totheextentofbringingback,oneday,thepossibilityofmodernmixedfarmingand mixedcropping;andthebetterweareabletomonitortheeffectsofouractions,the betterwecancontrolanynegativesideeffects.Wearenowabletoapplywhatwe usedtodreamabout:tofertilizetherootzoneofasingleplantattherightmoment intime,toclosethecyclesofnutrientsandenergyand,perhaps,eventofixenough carbontocounterbalancetheemissionsofgreenhousegases. Last but not least, the key question that should worry us is: Who will be the farmersofthefuture?Clearly,youngpeopleeverywhereaspiretosomethingother than working the land for little money and little social status. The future must entail investments in mechanisation, increasing labour productivity, and fostering entrepreneurship.And,ultimately,thequestionis:Willthefarmsofthefuturestill belandbased?Myshortanswer,andsurelythesubjectforatantalisingnewbook: bluefarmingofalgaeandotherspecies,plantproteinsandverticalgreenhousesin urbanenvironmentswillallhavetheirplacebut,intheend,whenitcomestocarbo- hydratesandmuchofourprotein,thelandwillremainthefoundationforourfuture. Foreword:TheFutureoftheLand,TheFutureofFarming vii Asthisrichvolumeshows,thereisnofutureformankindwithoutcarefortheland (evenonMars,wewillneedtoconstructsomeequivalentofasoil).IthinkthatDavid andBorisandtheirauthorshavedonearemarkablejobtoshowfarming,soils,land andnatureinalltheirdiversityandsimilarity. Amsterdam/Wageningen,TheNetherlands LouiseO.Fresco April2020 Introduction The first lesson learnt by men and women in the field of rural development after theSecondWorldWarwasthatit’snotallthesameoutthere.Welearnedthehard way. Reliable knowledge of the land is indispensible. The second lesson, learned somethirtyyearslater,wasthatitisnotenough.Developmentturnedouttobenot sosimpleaswehadthought:someofthegoalsnowseemillusory,theconstraints more intractable, the contribution of science disappointing in the absence of ways andmeansofusingit(Young2007). ThemantraoftheBrundtlandReport—sustainabledevelopment that‘meetsthe needsofthepresentwithoutcompromisingtheabilityoffuturegenerationstomeet theirownneeds’wasanattempttosquarethecircleofpoverty,landdegradationand under-development.ItblossomedalongsidetheGreenRevolutionandtheexpansion oftradeafterthefalloftheBerlinWallin1989:Malthuswasbanishedbytriplingthe yieldsofthemainfoodcrops,andspendingpowercametofar-flungpartsoftheworld. The Green Revolution came with high-yielding crop varieties, cheap power and fertilizers,potentpesticides,andexpansionofirrigation.Theseindustrialinputsare nolongercheapandthesystemexpendsmoreenergythanitproduces.Unknowingly, industrialisedagricultureisflaringoffsoilorganicmatter—theenergysupplyoflife inthesoilthatbreaksdownwastesandtoxins,regeneratesplantnutrients,combats pestsanddiseases,andmaintainstheporespacethatallowsinfiltrationofrainfall, watersupplytoplants,anddrainagetostreamsandgroundwater.Andmineralisation ofsoilorganicmatterisamajorsourceofthegreenhousegases.Thingscannotgo onlikethis;sustainabilitydemandsthatagricultureobservesHippocrates’dictum: Atleast,donoharm. For the time being, we are growing more than enough food. It is unequally distributed but international trade means that shortages are not an issue of supply but an issue of inaccessibility—from combinations of poverty, war, displacement of peoples, and bad governance. But markets offer no protection to the weak, nor to resources that have no market value like air, water and biodiversity—so envi- ronmentaltrendscontinuetodeterioratealarmingly(UNEP2007,FAO2018,IPCC 2019). If water quality had a price tag, then no chemical waste would be dumped inrivers,nofertilizerswouldleachtostreams,groundwaterandthedeadzonesof ix x Introduction shallowseas.Iftheairhadapriceonitshead,factorychimneys,powerstationsand exhaust pipes would pump out a no poison. If emission of greenhouse gases was costed,weshouldbewellonthepathtobringitintolinewiththesinkcapacityof plantsandsoils.Andwhatisthepriceofbiodiversity? Our title Regenerative Agriculture does not refer to any particular alternative farming system. We simply mean farming that is both productive and sustainable; farmingthatdoesnoharmbut,morethanthat,farmingthatrebuildssoils,landscapes and communities. It is within reach. This symposium demonstrates that many of theideasweneedarealreadyoutthere;farmersandresearcherswillalwayscome up with more good ideas but we need to bring them together and different times andplacesneeddifferentcombinations.Butwhereasgovernmentsandbigbusiness can act effectively because they can invest and bear the risks but it is harder for smallholderswhobarelykeeptheirheadsabovewater—andfewwaysoffarmingare asdestructiveassmall-scalecultivationofannualcropsinthetropics.Moreover,the existenceofsustainablepracticesdoesn’tbanishhumanerror,ignorance,corruption, short-sightedpolicies,andunscrupulousprofiteering. Atanearlierforkintheroad,JohnF.Kennedy’sCommencementAddressatthe AmericanUniversity,(1963)helpedrescuetheworldfromapathofself-destruction. He argued that we can translate the will for peace into achievable goals and, so, progressstep-by-step.Withinafewweeks,thelimitedtestbantreatywasnegotiated and the course of history changed. Louise Fresco (2016) reminds us that, in the sameway,wecantranslatethewillforsustainabilityintoachievablestepstowards sustainability,forinstance: (cid:129) Makeproductionprocessesmoreefficientbyusinglessrawmaterialsandenergy perunitofproduction,e.g.usinglessfertilizerbybetterplacementandtiming (cid:129) Find alternatives to non-renewable inputs like fossil fuels and their derivatives, e.g.substitutebiologicalnitrogenandbiologicalpestcontrolsforchemicals (cid:129) Re-userawmaterials—closethecyclessothatoutputsbecomeinputs:e.g.crop residuesbecomemulchorstockfeed,thenmanureorbio-fuels,thenasourceof soilorganicmatter (cid:129) Zerotillage (cid:129) Perennialgrainsandlegumestoreplaceannuals (cid:129) Land use planning: plants and products for places, produce where there is a competitive advantage, at the same time avoid unnecessary transport. So trop- ical fruits are best grown in the tropics, perennial vegetation to capture carbon in places where it is always warm and wet, and the steeper the slope, the more completethegroundcover. These were amongst the topics of the symposium in Ba˘l¸ti on 30 November/1 December2019underthebannerofFarmingForever.Wehavearrangedtheproceed- ingsinfourparts.PartI,WhereWeStand,scanssomeoverarchingissuesofpolitics and economics. Farmers find themselves between the tyranny of farm gate prices, highlightedbyTonyAllanandDavidDentinThecostoffood,andthemenaceof globalheatingunderscoredbyLennartOlssoninPoliticsofsoilsandagriculturein a warming world. Far from being an actively managed carbon sink, agriculture is Introduction xi responsibleforonethirdofglobalemissions,andlanddegradationiscompounded byexploitationofwaterresourcesandmassextinctionofspecies.Thepriceoffood is not the cost of food because the damage done along the way is not accounted for,soproducersaresubsidizingconsumersandexportingcountriesaresubsidizing importers.Thingscannotgoonlikethis.Iffarmersaretobegoodstewardsofthe land, the price of food must go up or farmers have to be paid for environmental services.Eitherway,Societymusttakemoreresponsibilityforitsfood,water,and environment. PartII,KnownKnowns,embracesthecommunityofpracticeknownasConserva- tionAgriculture(CA),bornoutofnecessityandadoptedacross15%ofglobalcrop- land.Itisnolessproductivethanindustrialagricultureand,atleast,itdoesnoharm. InCarbonmanagementinConservationAgriculturesystems,DonReicoskyunder- scores the significance of replacing the dominant agricultural system that depends onintensiveapplicationofindustrialinputsbyonethatmakesabetterfistofcarbon management. In Resilient cropping systems in a Mediterranean climate, Johann Strauss provides a South African perspective facing acute water scarcity, where cerealmonocroppinglosesthreetonsofsoilpertonofgrainproduced.Heempha- sisestheneedforsimultaneousadoptionofthethreeprinciplesofCA—zerotillage, continuousgroundcoverandcroprotation—againstabackdropwhere40%ofhis farmers follow at least one of these practices but only 14% adhere to all three. Indeed,drylandseverywherepresenthard-to-handleproblemsillustratedbyLaziza- khonGafurovaandMukhiddinJulievinCentralAsia;thecatastropheoftheAralSea isastarkwarningoftheirreversiblechangesbroughtaboutbyrecklessexploitation oflandandwaterresources. LucaMontanarella,PanosPanagosandSimoneScarpaconsiderTherelevanceof BlackSoilsforsustainabledevelopment,thesignificanceofChernozem,Kastanozem and Phaeozem to global food security as well as in achieving the UN Sustainable DevelopmentGoals.ThisthemeistakenupbyRattanLalinManagingChernozem forreducingglobalwarming.Rattanflagstheopportunityforawin:winsituationby restoringthenaturalfertilityofChernozem,therebyachievingagronomic,economic, environmental and societal benefits, not least mitigating and adaptating to climate change. Butscienceisnotenough.Pragmatic,far-sightedpoliciesareneededtoputscience towork.InClimatechangepolicyforagricultureoffsetsinAlberta,Canada,Tom Goddardprovidesapracticalexample.In2002,Albertadecidedtogo-it-alonewith itsclimatechangepolicyand,in2007,promulgatedanActofParliamentrequiring big emitters of greenhouse gases to cut their emissions or, either, pay cash-down or purchase carbon offsets, thereby creating a carbon market. Since then, no-till farmershavesuppliedthemarketwith14milliontonsofcarbonoffsetsvaluedat143 millioneuro.Publicprocurementcanbeanotherleverforchange.KathrynWilson’s contribution illustrates the health and social benefits of cooperation between local producers and consumers, not least the empowerment of rural communities. This powerhasnotbeenusedovertlytoleveragechangestothefarmingsystem,butthe poweristhere.
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