An occasional discussion of the social context of agricultural
practices can sometimes help some appreciate the deep roots of the
threats to the viability of ecological agriculture.
But I will also withdraw from pursuing this thread further.
On the idea that farmers should think more like businesses and CEOs:
It seems that this is precisely the cause of the major shift towards
ecologically-unsustainable practices.
I act as informal adviser to an organized farmers' group in the
Philippines. Some plant rice, others vegetables; some maintain fruit
orchards. I'd like to share some of their comments about maintaining
ecologically-sustainable practices:
- They have very little bargaining power because they are poor. Their
family will go hungry if they don't sell their crop soon after
harvest.
- Their product is perishable (rice will last for many months, but
fruits and vegetables are), which worsens their bargaining power.
They are currently discussing whether it is better to plant most of
the food crops they consume themselves (rice + vegetables) or heed the
government call to plant cash/export crops. The emerging consensus
seems to be to plant enough food crops (and enough variety) for their
own consumption, so their families won't go hungry if they are unable
to sell their surplus. This improves their bargaining power. At the
core of this idea is subsistence agriculture (producing for one's own
consumption). This leads to the idea of diversifying crops (also to
fishponds, raising chicken, ducks and pigs, etc.) When they have
secured their family's food -- even if accountant's calculations show
they will earn more from cash crops -- only then will they focus on
cash crops. Some of the farmers moved in this direction in the last
planting season. More will probably do it in the next planting season.
Another idea that emerged is the local processing of perishable goods
into less perishable ones. Again, this is meant to improve their
bargaining position, but is so far only a future prospect.
They want to avoid chemical agriculture (big debate: some don't use
any pesticide or chemical fertilizers at all, but their neighbors do).
But since all of them have little cash, there is recurring interest in
avoiding chemicals as much as possible.
The government's position is *very* different. It essentially pushes
-- even forces -- the farmer to plant export crops. Most govt support
programs are for export-oriented crops. These programs come in
technology-packages that include seeds and of course chemicals.