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Reducing Petroleum Input to Farming, given reduced supply and rising prices  A Farm for the Future 01, and more in this series.   BBC documentary on the precient global farming and food crisis, filmed in the UK. Featuring Martin Crawford (Agroforestry Research Trust), Fordhall Farm, Richard Heinberg and others.   Topics covered are the influence of oil on the food production, peak-oil, food security, carbon emissions, sustainability and permaculture.

Peru Passes Monumental Ten Year Ban on Genetically Engineered Foods

March 10, 2012 www.occupymonsanto360.org| “In a massive blow to multinational agribiz corporations such as  Monsanto, Bayer, and Dow, Peru has officially passed a law banning genetically modified ingredients anywhere within the country for a full decade before coming up for another review.”

“Yum!
Peru Passes Monumental Ten Year Ban on Genetically Engineered Foods Alternative World News Network
In a massive blow to multinational agribiz corporations such as Monsanto, Bayer, and Dow, Peru has officially passed a law banning genetica…”
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Filed under: Farms & Gardens, GMO Bans, GMO set backs, GMOs, Local Food, Organic Farming

Brothers on a Goal to Turn Abandoned Industrial Wastelands in Mini Farms

“Is it possible two cheap plastic buckets can help reduce global malnutrition?  Sounds crazy, but there’s some amazing technology that can be created by combining two cheap 5-gallon buckets along with some other low cost or free materials.

Benefits of the 2-bucket system:
1) 50% to 80% reduction in water usage.
2) 100% reduction in weeds…never pull a weed or use herbicides.
3) Once planted, very little attention is required.
4) Foolproof: People with very little training (like us!) can reap bountiful harvests.
5) All you need are a few square meters of space…even rooftops, industrial wastelands, etc”

 

‘Two buckets (brothers) on a mission. Is it possible two cheap plastic buckets can help reduce global malnutrition? Their mission is to turn the rooftops and abandoned industrial wastelands of developing countries into mini-farms filled with green growing vegetables’ Organic Gardens Network
Global Buckets
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Filed under: Animals & Plants, Children & Youth, Farms & Gardens, People, Profiles, Plants, Urban Agriculture

Community-Owned Compost and Biofertilizer business – Philippines

March, www.permacultureglobal.com| Last year I spent 10 months working within a Filipino NGO (PAGBAG-O) that is a federation of people’s organisations made up of small-scale farmers. There are approximately 2000 farmers who are members of this organisation which has been implementing programs to help them develop sustainable livelihoods. It’s been an interesting experience to work within a local, grassroots organisation where I’ve learnt a lot as well as shared knowledge and collaborated in developing new projects. So I was very happy to return this month.

The project I’m currently involved with is a community-owned compost and biofertilizer business. I have enjoyed being a part of this project because it connects and supports many of the existing programs and creates the potential for PAGBAG-O to become more financially autonomous. The ‘Sustainable Resource Management and Development’ program of PAGBAG-O is actively training farmers with knowledge and practical skills to implement more sustainable farming. The ‘Community Based Enterprise Development’ program assists members to improve their income through access to micro-finance, adding value to products, diversifying crops for sale and producing more food for use in the home and local community.

 

“~ COMMUNITY-OWNED COMPOST AND BIOFERTILIZER business supported by Filipino NGO and 2000 small scale farmers. This report is by Bron(wyn) White, pictured below. As she wrote to us, “I am also interested in sharing Permaculture resources and stories to a broad audience and I’m trying to gather good resources and find the best place to post them at the moment, like a Permaculture wiki.” She is currently in the Phillippines, and will be able to begin internet work on this in May”

Permacultureglobal.com – the interactive map and database of the Worldwide Permaculture Network

www.permacultureglobal.com

This project serves a lot of purposes in the local community of farmers here in the Philippines. It supports a local NGO’s education and training programs in sustainable agriculture practically and at the same time generates income to keep on delivering t…

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Filed under: Farms & Gardens, People, Profiles, Permaculture

Into the woods: Seattle plants a public food forest

Feb 28, 2012, www.grist.org | “Food forests are shaping up to be the next evolution of urban farming. “A food forest is more of a perennial garden; it’s a land management system that’s based on the natural system of a forest,” said Glenn Herlihy. He designed the original plans for the BFF with classmates in a permaculture course in 2009, and, as part of a volunteer steering committee called the Friends of Beacon Food Forest, has been actively involved in nudging it to fruition ever since.”

 

“Into the woods: Seattle plants a public food forest
grist.org
There’s a stretch of arterial in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood that I’ve traveled probably thousands of times without giving a second thought to the empty, grassy hillside it parallels. …”

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Filed under: Farms & Gardens, Food Forests

France to Cut Pesticide Use in Half by 2018

~ FRANCE CUT PESTICIDE USE 4% from 2008-2010 ~

wakeup-world.com, 2/18/12, Tom Philpott – motherjones.com, France, the EU’s largest agricultural producer, is now targeting a 50 percent reduction in pesticide use between 2008 and 2018, with initial results showing a 4 percent cut in farm and non-farm use in 2008-2010.

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Filed under: Farms & Gardens, Pesticides

Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), Video + New Yorker article: 12 million acres reforested in Niger

Thumbnail<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> “A good news story for a deforested and degraded world”: www.youtube.com, 9/19/10, posted on fb 2/23/12
It’s time to let the genie out of the bottle. Tony Rinaudo presents this good news story for a deforested and degraded world – it’s all about Farmer Managed ….” COMMENT: GoodNews FortheEarth:
~ MOST SUCCESSFUL REFORESTATION TECHNIQUE IN THE WORLD? Perhaps. — 12 MILLION ACRES IN NIGER, A SUCCESS STORY DISCOVERED 20 YEARS LATER. See p.7  in this article in “The New Yorker” (pp. 5-9) describing the unexpected success of farmers’ restoring trees among their crops  http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/12/19/111219fa_fact_bilger
The two keys to this success are classic examples of localism:
— it is done by farmers on their own land, not by paid workers on land owned by others.
— it supports the natural regeneration of trees, rather than planting new ones.
Here’s the website for Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration, featuring a 7 page report.
http://www.interaction.org/document/farmer-managed-natural-regeneration-0
Diana Hartel, Martita Rivera and 9 others like this. 3 Shares
You-Tube has many other related videos.
The re-greening of the Sahel via FMNR is discussed at length in Mark Hertsgaard’s book, “Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth,” see pp. 187-195, and 302 at http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Living-Through-Fifty-Years/dp/0618826122
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Filed under: Farms & Gardens, Food Forests, Forests, Restoration, Tree-plantings

USA, European Union Sign Organic Foods Trade Partnership

February 22, 2012, www.ens-newswire.com | “As of June 1, 2012, organic products certified in Europe or in the United States may be sold as organic in either region under a new partnership agreement signed last week in Nurember at the BioFach World Organic Fair, the world’s largest trade show for organic products. ”

“Government policies that support the organic industry is good for the earth. Previously, growers and companies wanting to trade products on both sides of the Atlantic had to obtain separate certifications to two standards, which meant a double set of fees, inspections, and paperwork.
The new partnership eliminates these barriers, which have been especially difficult for for small and medium-sized organic producers.
“This agreement comes with a double added value,” said Commissioner Ciolos. “On the one hand, organic farmers and food producers will benefit from easier access, with less bureaucracy and less costs, to both the U.S. and the EU markets, strengthening the competitiveness of this sector. In addition, it improves transparency on organic standards, and enhances consumers’ confidence and recognition of our organic food and products.” “
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Filed under: Economics, Farms & Gardens, Organic Farming

It’s Not a Fairytale: Seattle to Build Nation’s First Food Forest

http://www.takepart.com/sites/default/files/styles/tp_content_wide/public/forest.jpg
February 21, 2012, www.takepart.com | Forget meadows. The city’s new park will be filled with edible plants, and everything from pears to herbs will be free for the taking.
Seattle’s vision of an urban food oasis is going forward. A seven-acre plot of land in the city’s Beacon Hill neighborhood will be planted with hundreds of different kinds of edibles: walnut and chestnut trees; blueberry and raspberry bushes; fruittrees, including apples and pears; exotics like pineapple, yuzu citrus, guava, persimmons, honeyberries, and lingonberries; herbs; and more. All will be available for public plucking to anyone who wanders into the city’s first food forest.“This is totally innovative, and has never been done before in a public park,” Margarett Harrison, lead landscape architect for the Beacon Food Forest project, tells TakePart. Harrison is working on construction and permit drawings now and expects to break ground this summer.

“A trend developing everywhere.”
It’s Not a Fairytale: Seattle to Build Nation’s First Food Forest
“Seattle’s vision of an urban food oasis is going forward. A seven-acre plot of land in the city’s Beacon Hill neighborhood will be planted with…”
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Filed under: Farms & Gardens, Food Forests

Profile of a Hero: Martin Litton

Feb 20, 2012, www.hcn.org | “Martin Litton, 95, wastes no time on proprieties. “I’m supposed to be dead, you know,” he says.  A towering presence with a booming voice, Litton has spent his life battling developers, extractive industries and federal agencies on behalf of iconic Western landscapes. With David Brower and Edward Abbey in the 1960s, he successfully fought the damming of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon and helped kill a Disney resort planned near Sequoia National Park.”

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Filed under: People, Profiles

Monsanto Found Guilty of Chemical Poisoning in France

February 13, 2012, www.aturalsociety.com | “In a major victory for public health, a French court decided today that GMO crops monster Monsanto is guilty of chemically poisoning a French farmer. The grain grower, Paul Francois, says he developed neurological problems such as memory loss and headaches after being exposed to Monsanto’s Lasso weedkiller back in 2004.”

“The monumental case paves the way for legal action against Monsanto’s Roundup and other harmful herbicides and pesticides made by other manufacturers. The case is extremely important, as previous legal action taken against Monsanto by farmers has failed due to the challenge of properly linking pesticide exposure with the experienced side effects.
Monsanto Found Guilty of Chemical Poisoning in France | Natural Society
A French court decided today that genetically modified foods monster Monsanto is guilty of chemically poisoning a French farmer using Lasso.”
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Filed under: Business Policy, Farms & Gardens, GMO Bans, GMO Lawsuits, GMO set backs, GMOs, Pesticides