What is Sustainable Agriculture: Bayer Crop Science Vs Good Gardeners International

Hear the beginning of this pad cast from Bayer Crop Science

Our response

Sent to  Sophie Anton and Beatrice Fenton  Producers of BBC Farming Today

From Richard Higgins Chairman of Good Gardeners International

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

My comment to Bayer Crop Science (today) and their view on sustainability: ‘Why only a few paces from my back door, in Shenley Park Hertfordshire, there is a commercial 300 acre field that has a 60-70% cover crop failure rate, where 60-70% of the crop just has not germinated, with its modern approach to sustainable agriculture and low till farming”  ……..  My thoughts immediately were….If a crop won’t germinate or a crop won’t flower its because of bankrupt soil. Bankrupt soil equals bankrupt farmers…..

Sir David King, Institute of Environmental Sciences

“This is the most serious challenge humanity has ever had to face up to,” King said. “Time is no longer on our side. What we continue to do that is new, and what we plan to do over the next 10 to 12 years will determine the future of humanity for the next 10,000 years.

GGI  response:

Pest and disease in agriculture are a symptom of too much mechanisation 

Too much mechanisation is a symptom of the desire for monoculture agriculture

Too much monoculture  has resulted in removal of animals trees and hedgerows and people from the countryside

Removal of these things has resulted in the loss of species that everybody is suddenly so concerned about.

Removal of all these things contributes to carbon loss and towards climate change.

Our system of agriculture is Totally Sustainable Agriculture in that within our system we don’t spray any weeds or kill any insects with insecticides for successful farming.

The poisonous chemicals have destroyed the food chain for birds and the lower species and we blame Badgers for the spread of TB. Rather we control weeds, and deter weeds with our soil treatment, when they are small with intermediate technology or appropriate technology…

These weeds are a source of minerals, vitamins and proteins that are currently omitted in all the main systems of  agriculture and our system means they are controlled and harvested rather than being sprayed and killed and their bio mass becoming useless. Our system employs them and processes them and then the constituents within are returned to the soil and thus our food.

“Depletion of these minerals and trace elements in our food results in a deficit in mental health” (Crawford, Imperial College London. ggi.org.uk)

It is a government statement that ‘the mineral content of the food of Europe is practically Zero’  (DEFRA, 2007)

 Previously, Mark Buckingham: GM crops will reduce chemical inputs by 8%

The GGI system reduces chemical inputs by 100% .

As I said at an AGM meeting of the Good Gardeners where Grow Organic were present

“Gardening should be more like farming and farming should be more like gardening.”

Our policy is that Good Farming comes from Good Gardening and the best examples crop production you will see in this country is to be found on the allotments and gardening clubs of the country because they can demonstrate the lack of pests and diseases without the use of chemicals.

What is needed, and I know it’s a big step, indeed it would be a massive leap for mankind,  is to return to a soil based economy, a carbon economy. This alone will have a big impact on  climate change.

If you go on cutting/burning down your rain forests, which are the lungs of the world you can expect more climate change and more climate disasters….. We are Consultants in Soil Fertility and sustainable carbon saving techniques for farmers in the rainforest.