OT The third World CAN Help Itself

Hi Folks

Over the last few months there have been many caring and concerned
people asking what can be done to improve the food situation in parts of
the third world and most of these discussions seem to have revolved
round ideas we could take to them from our own experience, rather than
drawing on the knowledge and resources which are already there. I
thought this example of the harnessing of local resources was a very
good one to show what can be done effectively for some of the problems.

It relates to the experience of a Catholic priest who has a parish in
the Southern Phillipines in Eastern Mindanao. He says "economically
things are very hard for the people we work with. I often think our main
role is to keep hope alive".

One of the principal problems these farmers face is the loss of land due
to claims by international mining companies  (upheld by the government
under enabling legislation),  allowing them to alienate large tracts of
land which really belong to these people for exploration and
exploitation. Not only do the local peasents have less land to work
with, but mining operations in the higher areas destroy forest and cause
horrendous erosion problems.

To get the best out of the remaining land the Church has locally
promoted an organic farming project. This "has a very practical aim, it
is cheaper to grow things organically. Presently many small farmers have
to borrow money to buy exopensive fertilizers. They often fall into the
vicious circle where they have to sell off nearly all their produce to
pay their debts. The organically produced food is also healthier"

Three month courses are run during which the participants plant 20
varieties of rice in a 1/10th hectare plot. They generally discover that
about 8 of these varieties are very good. They then select seed from
these and plant their main crop. This is labour intensive, but the
project has a great community dimension and farmers and their families
help one another.

And what is the result?

"The yield..with selected varieties is just as good as you can get with
chemically-assisted crops... Different strains of rice are resistant to
different diseases and pests. When  a number of varieties are planted
the danger of crop failure is greatly reduced. We have also benefited
from going back to.. the old farming wisdom, simple things like planting
the rows further apart in order to reduce breeding ground for pests. The
seeds in a row are planted more densely so there is no loss of volume".

At present about 80 farmers are involved, but it is difficult for some
others to accept the necessary discipline of first faithfully following
the course (the seed bank only becomes available if one does the full
three months). No doubt the example of the good cheap results achieved
will persuade more to join as time goes on.

A few interesting lessons we ourselves can learn from the operation.
Although rice is the only crop involved, the farmers' plantings cannot I
think be described as  strictly monocultural. Instead of aiming at
genetic purity to ensure a perfectly even crop as the technologists seem
to find desirable, up to about eight distinct varieties are put in and
each of these is no doubt fairly heterogenous and capable of further
evolving to meet the various environmental challenges.  Because the
varieties involved have all developed locally they are in ny case
already naturally selected out to be well adapted to local problems
without the help of chemical props. Nature is a real survivor -
remarkably pliable and adaptable when not put into a strait jacket of
technology. (This is of course similar to the effect we ourselves can
get from using open-pollinated seeds.) 

The other thing is the drawing on local experience about the most
effective planting and growing methods for the particular area, rather
than imposing ideas which were worked out in a different context. It is
fatally easy to fall into the delusion that solutions to cultural
problems are universal. I have myself been caught out several times
trying to advise people in other parts of the world and am learning to
leave strictly cultural solutions to people who really know the local
scene and its quirks, confining my suggestions to basic principles only.

As in many other parts of the globe, the problems of poor people in the
Phillipines seem to be largely imposed from outside by the multinational
companies and the greed of their own wealthy cast. A social, rather than
an agricultural revolution is really what is wanted to allow them a
decent standard of living.

Moira

-- 
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata, New Zealand. (on the "Ring of Fire" in the SW Pacific).
Lat. 41:16S Long. 174:58E. Climate: Mediterranean/Temperate
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