Ecological Farming: A Different Form of Agtech –Exclusive Report

by Louisa Burwood-Taylor (AgFunderNews) ... “Ecological farming is ‘AgTech’ but of a different kind. It is a return to the original definition of ‘technology’, which comes from two Greek words: technis, which means art, skill, craft or the way something is gained, and logos, which means word or thought. ‘Technology’ does not just mean physical objects such as new machines or seeds. It also refers to knowledge or mental objects. Knowledge-intensive farming systems, therefore, are advanced forms of human technology,” reads the report.

Ecological farming is a set of principles which aims to help farmers mimic local ecological processes through an understanding of how the soils, water, climate, vegetation, birds and insects of an agro-ecosystem interact. A large focus is on soil health and the means to increase soil organic matter and biotic activity through the recycling of nutrients from one part of the system to another.

– use of biologically active soil amendments (e.g. composts) to recycle nutrients and suppress soil-borne diseases;

– minimal use of agrochemicals because of their impact on soil biology and biodiversity;

– effective utilisation of grassland by livestock species through controlled grazing;

– incorporation of trees and bushes within cropping and livestock systems (agroforestry);

“In many cases, multiple techniques are used together. Rather than simply increasing the efficiency of linear processes, ecological farming focuses on redesigning whole systems. The goal is to build a system that is more than the sum of its parts. The mental framework is ‘farm as ecosystem’ not ‘farm as factory’,” writes the report.

Other terms used to describe this alternative farming system include agro-ecology, eco-agriculture, organic, biodynamic, permaculture, conservation agriculture, regenerative agriculture, biological farming, ecological restoration, and low input sustainable farming.

This method, or methods of farming, were first flung into the mainstream in September 2014 when the Food and Agriculture Organization’s director-general José Graziano da Silva called for a ‘paradigm shift’ towards sustainable agriculture, and a move away from the use continued use of chemical inputs. “We cannot rely on an input intensive model to increase production,” said Silva. “The solutions of the past have shown their limits.” READ MORE Download study