Sustainable Agriculture News Bulletin
Volume 2, Number 18
October 8, 1993
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HEADLINES:
- PRESIDENT'S SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL TO MEET NEXT
WEEK
- WRI SAYS FARM POLICIES PROVIDE NO INCENTIVE FOR
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
- ALTERNATIVE SYSTEMS SHOW INCREASED PROFITS
- BRITISH GROUP SAYS SAPS ENCOURAGE DEFORESTATION
- AFTERMATH OF WAR TAKES TOLL ON NICARAGUAN ENVIRONMENT
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News Summaries
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PRESIDENT'S SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL TO
MEET NEXT WEEK
President Clinton's Council on Sustainable Development is scheduled
to meet in Washington D.C. next week. The council is linked to a
United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development which has
agreed to meet through 1997 to discuss the issues included in
Agenda 21, the product of last summer's Earth Summit. Sustainable
agriculture is not scheduled to be taken up until 1995; however,
other issues covered in the meantime include biological diversity and
sustainable communities. The meeting will take place at the
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue,
Washington D.C. For more information, contact the Citizens Network
for Sustainable Development, 73 Spring Street, #402, New York, NY
10012, Tel: (212) 431-3922, Fax: (212) 431-4427, email:
citizensnet@cdp.apc.org.
Source: Frances Mike, "President's Council on Sustainable
Development," July 21, 1993; Linda Elswick, World Sustainable
Agriculture Association, MEMO TO SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
GROUPS, October 1, 1993.
WRI SAYS FARM POLICIES PROVIDE NO INCENTIVE FOR
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
In a new report entitled AGRICULTURAL POLICY AND
SUSTAINABILITY: CASE STUDIES FROM INDIA, CHILE, THE
PHILIPPINES AND THE UNITED STATES, the World Resources
Institute (WRI) says that sustainable agriculture could be as
profitable as conventional methods if governments provided the
right incentives. WRI says the three billion acres of land that have
been severely degraded since WWII proves the instability of today's
agricultural production system. The study quantifies this
degradation in a comparison of the economics of conventional and
sustainable production. "The true costs of conventional farming are
being miscalculated in both the developing world and the United
States," said WRI associate Paul Faeth. "When environmental costs
are included in calculating farm income, resource-conserving
agriculture can compete economically and financially with
conventional farming. Policies that encourage inappropriate natural
resource use not only make no economic sense for the country
involved, but are not in the long-term economic interest of the
farmers themselves." Among the study's recommendations is a call
for governments around the world to spend more money on
researching the benefits of sustainable agriculture.
Source: "Farm Policies Around the World are Stacked Against
Sustainable Agriculture, Says WRI Report," WRI NEWS RELEASE,
September 22, 1993.
ALTERNATIVE SYSTEMS SHOW INCREASED PROFITS
A recent article in CHOICES, a quarterly publication of the American
Agricultural Economics Association, on alternative agricultural
systems concludes that production costs can be lowered while
returns remain unchanged. The three scientists who performed the
study are John Ikerd, Sandra Monson and Donald Van Dyne, all of the
University of Missouri. Their alternative systems involved different
crop rotations, low-till methods and lower inputs of pesticides and
fertilizers. The study compared farm level costs, returns, chemical
use and soil loss for both conventional and alternative systems in the
production of corn, soybeans, milo, small grains, cotton, peanuts and
tobacco in nine regions of the country. Their conclusions include:
Increased profits; reduced soil loss by an average of 70%; reduction
in fossil fuel energy use by 22%; a reduction in direct production
costs by 17%; reduced herbicide use by 40% and nitrogen fertilizer
use by 30%; and an increase in labor intensity by only 7%. "In
general, the study indicates that cropping systems which incorporate
reduced tillage, greater cropping diversity and more efficient
management of commercial pesticides and fertilizers can improve
resource conservation, reduce environmental risks, reduce costs of
production and increase short run profits in comparison to
conventional systems of farming," the authors conclude.
Source: John Ikerd, Sandra Monson and Donald Van Dyne,
"Alternative Farming Systems for U.S. Agriculture: New Estimates of
Profit and Environmental Effects," CHOICES, Third Quarter 1993.
BRITISH GROUP SAYS SAPS ENCOURAGE DEFORESTATION
A report published recently by Friends of the Earth (FOE) U.K.
concludes that Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs), as advocated
by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, contribute to
deforestation in developing countries. SAPs involve an overall
economic restructuring, including trade liberalization and an
emphasis on commodity exports, aimed at reducing developing
countries' debt burdens. The groups says that the process of
imposed economic restructuring forces small countries to exploit
their natural resources to their fullest capacity. They caution the
British government to pay close attention to the initiatives where aid
money is being channeled. "While the British government says it
evaluates the impact of its aid projects -- including the 28 million
pounds spent on forestry last year -- it pays no meaningful attention
to the environmental damage caused by the hundreds of millions
spent on SAPs," said Melissa Le Marchant of FOE. The report cites a
Food and Agriculture Organization statistic that says tropical
rainforests are being decimated 50% faster than 10 years ago. "SAPs
exacerbate the problem of environmental destruction, gearing the
whole country's economy into exports and forcing the poor to push
into marginal lands which are then over-used," said Harriet Lamb of
the World Development Movement.
Source: "SAPs Encourage Deforestation," SOUTH NORTH
DEVELOPMENT MONITOR, September 30, 1993.
AFTERMATH OF WAR TAKES TOLL ON NICARAGUAN
ENVIRONMENT
The contra war in Nicaragua during the 1980s and the resulting
destruction of the Central American country's economy is taking its
toll on the environment. Amidst 60% unemployment and 70%
poverty rate, more and more people are moving into marginal areas
to try their hand at agricultural production. However, their
inexperience has led to increased deforestation as these new farmers
employ harsh slash-and-burn techniques to produce and expand
cattle ranching. "The problem is partly an inheritance of the war. If
people had good incomes, they wouldn't burn firewood, they'd buy
gas. But they don't have work, they don't have food," said Danilo
Lacayo, a spokesperson for Nicaraguan President Violeta Chamorro.
A government program established in 1987 is attempting to stem the
tide of environmental destruction. The project divides the country
into three zones; one for development, one for preservation and one
as a buffer zone where sustainable farming could be practiced.
However, officials say they have been unable to stop migrant
farmers from coming in and practicing slash-and-burn. While
funding has been a problem for the project, conservationists have
been working to teach farmers more sustainable methods such as
crop rotations and alternative forms of tillage. "Now we know how to
protect the land and make it give more. There's pride here now,"
said one farmer. Many, however, believe the buffer zone will be
deforested within three years and the country shows little sign of
economic recovery. "In a poor Third World country like ours, I don't
know where to place the blame -- I just think the peasant is not to
blame -- people have to eat," said Carmen Herrera of the Nicaraguan
Environmental Movement.
Source: "Nicaragua's Economic Misery Intensifies Ecological
Destruction," MESOAMERICA, September 1993.
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Resources
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NYCAP NEWS is a quarterly publication of the New York
Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides. Articles focus on pesticide
and food safety issues. For subscription information, contact NYCAP,
33 Central Avenue, Albany, NY 12210.
The September 1993 issue of the USDA's AGRICULTURAL
OUTLOOK covers "Strategies for Wetlands Protection and
Restoration." Outlook is produced monthly and annual subscriptions
cost $35.00. For more information, contact ERS-NASS, 341 Victory
Drive, Herndon, VA 22070, Tel: (800) 999-6779 or (703) 834-0125.
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Events
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OCTOBER
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ANNUAL EASTERN NORTH AMERICAN PERMACULTURE
CONFERENCE, October 7-11, 1993, Prospect, PA. FFI, contact: EPC
Coordinator, John Irwin, 104 Gaywood Drive, St. Clairsville, OH 43950,
Tel: (614) 695-3008.
LAND INSTITUTE FALL VISITORS' DAY, October 10, 1993,
Salina, KS. FFI, contact: The Land Institute, 2440 East Water Well
Road, Salina, KS 67401.
SOUTHERN SOIL FERTILITY CONFERENCE, October 12-13, 1993,
Memphis, TN. FFI, contact: Dr. Richard Large, Tel: (901) 527-2780.
WORLD FOOD DAY, October 16, 1993. FFI, contact: World Food Day,
1001 22nd Street NW, Washington D.C. 20437, Tel: (202) 653-2404.
ALLIANCE CO-OP CONFERENCE, October 22-24, 1993, Spencer,
WV. FFI, contact: Co-Op News Network, Box 583, Spencer, WV
25276, Tel: (304) 927-5173.
SCIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY: RESHAPING AGRICULTURAL
RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, October 24-26, 1993, Seattle, WA.
FFI, contact: Norma Fuentes-Scott, (509) 335-2921, Colette DePhelps,
(509) 335-2887.
FALL CONSERVATION SYMPOSIUM, October 30, 1993, St. Paul,
MN. Sponsored by the Nature Conservancy. St. Paul Student Center,
University of MN, 2017 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, MN 22108.
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Produced by: Michelle Thom, Institute for Agriculture and Trade
Policy, 1313 5th Street SE Suite 303, Minneapolis, MN 55414, Tel:
(612) 379-5980 Fax: (612) 379-5982 EMail: mthom@igc.org or
mmthom@alex.stkate.edu. In addition to this news bulletin, the
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